National Grid's proposals for pylons: Hinkley Point C Connection Project

[whole diary]

[grahame]

The coming of the canals was regarded by some as blot on the landscape and special conditions were called for by some landowners "The Wroughton family permitted the Kennet and Avon canal to cross their land on two conditions: that it be widened to form an ornamental lake, known as Wide Water, west of their manor house; and that the view of the lake be closed by an ornate bridge over the canal." (link)

A similar thing happened with the railways "At Ravenscar you will see a sign for the old Ravenscar tunnels, which was built because the old landlord did not want the railway to pass over his land (a blot on the landscape)." (link)

Sue - welcome indeed to the forum.  May I take it from what I read on your website that you're asking for the Ravenscar option which was won in a previous generation, rather than the Wilcot (Wide Water) one?

P.S.  I'm not from the valley ... and don't have the knowledge to comment on the specifics.  But I do very much agree with communities getting together to reminder some of the more macro planners that there are real people that their plans will effect!

[Chris from Nailsea]

This meeting has been arranged to allow concerned residents in Nailsea and the surrounding area to give their views on the National Grid proposals.

For further details, see www.save-our-valley.co.uk/join.html

To contact the campaign organiser, e-mail to saveourvalleyBS48@yahoo.co.uk

For a related post on this forum, see http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=5515.msg53986#msg53986

[Chris from Nailsea]

The deadline for submitting responses to the National Grid consultation is on Friday - 8 January 2010.

I'll remove the 'sticky' label from this topic then.  In the meantime, please do send in your comments, if you haven't already done so!

Thanks, Chris.

[John R]

Done. I notice there was a decision due today on a pylon proposal through the Scottish Highlands, so we're not the only ones to have this inflicted on us.

[Chris from Nailsea]

A couple of updates on this: National Grid have extended the deadline for responses to the consultation to 22 January 2010, and Woodspring MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) Liam Fox led a debate in the House of Commons on 19 January - recorded coverage is on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) website.

[moonrakerz]

I wonder how many protest groups would be set up if planning permission was now being sought to build a "monstrosity"like this   

http://lisavalentine.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/ribblehead.jpg

or this   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Albert_Bridge_2009.jpg

[grahame]

I wonder how many protest groups would be set up if planning permission was now being sought to build a "monstrosity"like this 

On modern day stuff ... were there may objections to this? :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Falkirk_wheel.jpg

[moonrakerz]

I wonder how many protest groups would be set up if planning permission was now being sought to build a "monstrosity"like this 

On modern day stuff ... were there may objections to this? :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Falkirk_wheel.jpg

Don't remember any - they were probably pushed to page 37 of the Daily Record by all the protests about HS^▸ (High Speed (short for HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) High Speed Services)) 1 

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

A North Somerset MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) has compared the consultation over the proposed new pylon route from Hinkley Point to being asked how one wants to executed.
Dr Liam Fox told Parliament: "We have been offered the choice between two different land corridors with overhead cables.
"It is not much of a consultation - the choice between being hanged and being beheaded," the Woodspring MP added.
National Grid wants to run 400,000 volt power lines to Avonmouth.
The company's formal consultation period, which included public meetings and exhibitions in villages along both of the two proposed route, ended at midnight on Friday.
Dr Fox, who was grilling energy minister David Kidney about the plan, was supported in his concerns by three other Somerset MPs.
Wells MP David Heathcoat-Amory, Weston-super-Mare MP John Penrose and Bridgwater's Ian Liddell-Grainger also pressed the minister over the plans.
Mr Kidney conceded the consultation, which included the Christmas period and time affected by bad weather, could be seen as "inadequate".
But he added: "My understanding, however, is that there must be a second-stage consultation, which will run from February 2010 to March 2011, for which National Grid will be seeking views on its preferred route corridor.
"National Grid is therefore at the very beginning of the process for the proposal."
Campaigners want the power company to consider an underground route for the power lines.
The firm wants to have the 37-mile route in operation by 2016.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

National Grid urged to reconsider pylons consultation

National Grid has been urged to rethink its consultation on plans to build pylons from Avonmouth in Bristol to Hinkley Point in west Somerset.
The advice has come from the Infrastructure Planning Commission, the body that will ultimately decide if the 151ft (46m) pylons can be erected.
It advised National Grid to explain why running the cables underground or in the Bristol Channel is not be possible.
The energy company has said a full proposal will not be ready until 2011.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Further consultation on National Grid pylon plans

National Grid has announced a series of events to further explain its plans to build pylons from Avonmouth in Bristol to Hinkley Point in west Somerset.
The move comes after the energy company was urged to rethink its public consultation by the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC).
The first phase of consultation prompted 2,000 feedback forms, 1,100 e-mails and letters and 100 phone calls.
National Grid said it would announce the new events shortly.
The IPC, the body that will ultimately decide if the 151ft (46m) pylons can be erected, had advised National Grid to explain why running the cables underground or in the Bristol Channel would not be possible.
David Mercer, the energy company's major project manager, said: "In response to these concerns, we have decided to provide both written information and further opportunities for local people to meet the project team, and would welcome further public comments."

[Tim]

Most other European countries are burying their new cables.  We are told that is too expensive (although National Grid never carry out proper comparative costings and merely refer back to a old study done in Scotland (Bueley-Denny) which found that the cost of burying cables in remote grantite moorland was high without really thinking about whether it is directly applicable to burial in other areas of the country or without considering new technologies such as trenchless tunnelling). 

It would be quicker and cheaper to run your house-wiring on the surface of the wall.  But almost everyone goes to the expense and disruption of burrying it in plaster. 

[Chris from Nailsea]

Rather better news in the Cotswolds: from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Dismantling of old pylons in Gloucestershire continues

The second phase of a ^1.6m plan to dismantle 140 disused electricity pylons in the Cotswolds is under way.
The pylons were linked to the former Berkeley power station and have been superseded by more modern versions.
In this phase, 53 of the metal towers and their overhead lines are being brought down along 15km (9 miles) of farmland from Cam to Chavenage Green.
The first phase of Southern Electric's project to remove the redundant lines started last autumn.
The third and final stage of the project, from Tetbury to Minety in Wiltshire, will take place later this year.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From This is Bristol:

Nailsea campaigners celebrate news that power lines won't go up near homes

Campaigners fighting plans to erect a 400,000 volt overhead power line near their homes in Nailsea are celebrating ^ after energy chiefs agreed to site it further away from their properties.

People living along the western fringes of the town have been campaigning for the last three years for the route of a new power line, proposed by National Grid to be changed.

Residents said the towering pylons ^ which would have been just metres from their homes - would cause a blight on their properties, pose possible health problems and destroy the nearby countryside.

National Grid, which published its draft plan for the route this week, say the new 37-mile line between Avonmouth and Bridgwater, is needed to bring electricity onto its transmission network.

Now after mounting pressure from residents the energy giant has agreed to move the new line further away from homes across Nailsea Moor towards Tickenham.

It has also agreed to dismantle both existing 132,000 volt lines which currently cross people^s gardens in Causeway View and Rhyne View.

One of the lines will be placed underground - meaning the blight of pylons adjacent to properties will be a thing of the past.

The line will then go towards Yatton and follow the existing line towards Churchill and Sandford, where a new sub-station will be built.

Nailsea Against Pylons Action Group spokeswoman, Fiona Erleigh, said it was good news for people living in the town, but the group would continue to press for the entire line to be undergrounded.

Mrs Erleigh said: ^We are pleasantly surprised by the announcement. It is good news for the people of Nailsea who have pylons in their gardens or directly next to their homes. I am also pleased for Nailsea residents that National Grid has listened to their concerns and moved the proposed power line further away from homes. However we will still be pressing for the entire route of this new power line to be undergrounded.^

The existing power line which crosses Tickenham Ridge will be taken down with the new line being routed to avoid the historic Priors Wood at Portbury.

The line will then come over the hill and follow the M5 before crossing over and following the A369.

The Portbury Wharf nature reserve will not be affected and the line has been kept away from homes.

The line from Portbury Dock to Avonmouth will follow the western edge of the village and the taller pylons along the river will be replaced with smaller ones.

The existing overhead line above Avonmouth Church of England Primary School will also be removed.

An eight kilometre stretch of the line through the Mendip Hills Area of Natural Outstanding Beauty (AONB^▸ (Areas Of Natural Beauty)) will also be undergrounded following pressure from residents, councillors and local MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament).

The five mile stretch to go underground will run under the Somerset Levels from near Biddisham north to the old Strawberry Line Bridge near Sandford.

As part of the scheme, the existing 132,000 line will be taken down, ridding the beauty spot of unsightly pylons.

Plans for the new power line were first introduced in 2009, with Weston MP John Penrose and North Somerset MP Liam Fox taking residents^ concerns to parliament.

Several hundred people also organised a march through Somerset^s villages to protest against the plans.

Mr Penrose said: ^This is great news for everyone who lives in and visits the Mendip Hill Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. If these whopping great pylons had gone ahead we'd have damaged some of our finest countryside. I^m absolutely delighted a combination of local pressure and good sense have won through.^

As part of the moves to underground some areas of the route, the number of pylons being used along the route of the overhead line will reduce from 240 to 145.

National Grid Senior Project Manager, Peter Bryant, said: ^We^ve been very keen to listen to the views of local people, for example on the importance of the Mendip Hills where we now plan to use underground cables. We understand people have concerns about overhead lines, but where they are used, we will work hard to reduce any visual effects by routeing the line carefully and using appropriate pylon designs, which could include the new T-Pylon.^

Further information on the draft route can be found at www.hinkleyconnection.co.uk.

Residents can also visit National Grid^s community information hubs in Congresbury, Nailsea and Avonmouth during November and December to find out more about the project.

Following consultation on the draft route, National Grid will consult on more detailed proposals before making a formal application for consent to construct the connection.

The Government will make a decision based on a recommendation made by the Planning Inspectorate.