A year ago the National Grid announced that a stretch of electricity transmission lines across the Pewsey Vale in the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty had been shortlisted as part of its project to put cables underground and so reduce the visual impact of overhead lines on landscapes in AONBs and National Parks.
The advisory group to the project has now identified the four priority projects. They are in the New Forest, Dorset AONB, the Peak District and Snowdonia. The National Grid have stressed this does not mean the Pewsey Vale project has been dropped, it remains under consideration for future work under the project.
The priority lines will now be subject to detailed technical feasibility studies and it is possible that one or more might fall away in which case the advisory group will select another project from the shortlist.
For the North Wessex Downs AONB, Rose Somerset said: “We are disappointed that the work to move the cables has not been prioritised but there are still opportunities for lower voltage lines to be moved underground and we are always looking for suggestions for stretches of lines that could usefully be removed.”
£40,000 for youth provision is still up for grabs
