The National Grid has announced a shortlist of the most intrusive electricity pylons that cross national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs) – they will now see if it is possible to tear them down and bury the power lines.
One of the eight areas shortlisted is the Pewsey Vale in the North Wessex Downs AONB. After feasibility studies are completed, the National Grid plan to replace 25 kilometres of offending pylons.
It is no easy task to bury power lines. They need a 50-metre wide trench to be dug two metres deep to take the six lines carried by most high-voltage pylons. And hard rock and archaeological sites will get in the way.
Work on this scale may be too disruptive for some landscapes. Chris Baines, chairman of National Grid’s stakeholder advisory group, told the Guardian newspaper: “Undergrounding is best when you can do it, but we also have to make sure the treatment isn’t worse than the disease. It can leave quite a scar that is hard to heal.”
The National Grid says that to move overhead cabling underground it costs roughly £7 million for every pylon. Over eight years this scheme will add £500m to electricity bills – equivalent to 22p a year on an average bill.
There are about 571 kilometres of pylons within the national parks and AONBs of England and Wales – and after this scheme is completed, 95 per cent of them will remain.
That the special qualities of the Pewsey Vale have been recognised has delighted the North Wessex Downs AONB. Their planning advisor, Andrew Lord, told Marlborough News Online: “This is a very scenic area with wide views across the area from Salisbury Plain and the Pewsey Downs.”
“The flat low lying landscape of the area has meant the pylons are particularly intrusive and visible from the surrounding downland and Milk Hill, the highest point in Wiltshire. We are looking forward to the next step of the project and are hopeful that it will result in good news for the Pewsey Vale.”
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