A united cross-county call to protect the East Anglia and Lincolnshire countryside from an invasion of pylons has been made by Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Lincolnshire councils.
The new alliance has repeated calls for the Government to ensure plans for bringing offshore energy onshore are properly costed and benefit from new and emerging technology.
The group is working together to continue to urge National Grid to seriously consider alternative infrastructure to bring offshore energy onshore and reduce the impact on local communities.
The councils are also concerned by the pace at which National Grid is intending to install infrastructure and believe this will lead to poor decision-making.
Pylons and onshore renewables can lead to the loss of valuable farmland necessary to grow food for the region, alongside the destruction of homes and a negative impact on tourism.
Essex County Council has previously voiced concerns over the use of pylons to bring the energy onshore for the south of England. It continues to believe it would be better to slow the pace of the project to allow National Grid to properly consider new technologies, rather than rushing into using the older technology of pylons.
The council leaders, who remain supportive of the need to use offshore energy and other alternative sources to reach net zero targets, believe slowing the project down by five years will make other options like underground and offshore cabling cheaper – cutting the impact on communities and farmland.
It will also give National Grid more time to properly cost the project and explore all the options available, rather than retrofitting existing plans to support using onshore pylons as the only viable option.
Under National Grid proposals, energy generated by wind farms off the coast of Scotland would travel through seabed cables to Lincolnshire. From there, it plans to build a network of pylons running through Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex from Grimsby to Tilbury – a distance of approximately 180 miles.
National Grid insists installing pylons along the east of England is the cheapest option. But the councils argue National Grid has failed to provide enough evidence that they have fully explored and costed the different ways energy generated in Scotland can be transported to the south.
Local leaders across eastern England believe undersea or underground options would be much better, with significantly less impact on rural communities.
In a joint statement, Leader of Essex County Council, Councillor Kevin Bentley; Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, Councillor Martin Hill; Leader of Suffolk County Council, Councillor Matthew Hicks; and Leader of Norfolk County Council, Kay Mason Billig, said:
“We recognise the need for alternative types of energy and the importance of decarbonisation and meeting net zero targets.
“But this need for change cannot come at the expense of rural communities across the east of England, who are not being listened to in this rush to meet environmental targets.
“National Grid appears to have given no consideration to compensation for farmers and homeowners, the cost and impact of additional infrastructure like roads to support this new pylon network, or the economic impact on tourism on the east coast and in areas of natural beauty.
“This is why we’re working together to urge National Grid and the Government to properly consider alternative ways of bringing offshore energy onshore, to put the communities that will be most impacted at the heart of their plans, and to recognise that pushing ahead with their plans as they stand will have a huge negative economic, ecological and environmental impact on our rural communities.
“These are impacts that could be significantly reduced, if only more consideration was given to alternative solutions.”
Essex County Council Member Lesley Wagland, Special Lead Member with principal accountabilities on Major Infrastructure Projects and Freeports, added:
“A fair and just energy transition is much needed, and Essex County Council stands with its neighbouring councils in supporting plans to bring offshore energy onshore.
“But alternative options must be equally explored, and the benefits must reach residents, farmers and businesses. The plans as they stand will have a huge impact without providing any value to communities.
“The proper strategic option for this project is integrated offshore technology that minimises the need for the onshore infrastructure that will be so damaging to our counties. National Grid failed to address this at the start and has been attempting to retrofit a case against it ever since. Essex and our neighbours deserve better.”
Cllr Peter Schwier AIEMA
Climate Czar
Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste Reduction & Recycling