Power line's route picked across Shropshire
A hugely controversial 30-mile high voltage power line will be built across some of Shropshire and Mid Wales most beautiful countryside under plans revealed by power chiefs today.
A hugely controversial 30-mile high voltage power line will be built across some of Shropshire and Mid Wales most beautiful countryside under plans revealed by power chiefs today.
National Grid bosses want the 400,000-volt line to run from Cefn Coch, near Llanfair Caereinion. to Lower Frankton, near Oswestry.
They say the route – their preferred choice of 10 options – could run both underground and on pylons and cost up to £562million to construct by 2015.
It will link windfarms in Mid Wales with the national power network in England.
The plans sparked a storm of controversy last year when National Grid outlined the ten options, with thousands of people joining a series of protests against the plans.
Today’s announcement of the preferred route comes after months of delays with campaigners claiming the scheme had left a ‘shroud of uncertainty’ hanging over the region.
At two public events in Shrewsbury and Welshpool today, project leaders revealed they have chosen Cefn Coch, near Llanfair Caereinion in Powys, as the site for a large substation where all the power from the windfarms will be collected.
A corridor of countryside spanning from Llansantffraid to Lower Frankton, between Oswestry and Ellesmere, has been identified as the best route to transport electricity from the windfarms to the main electricity network.
The capital cost of the project could be anything from between £178 million to £562 million, depending on how much of the cable is laid underground.
National Grid chiefs today said they had not yet decided how the 400kV connection will be constructed but it is likely to be ‘a combination of both overhead lines and underground cables’.
More work will now be carried out to establish how many pylons will be needed and how much of the cable can go underground.
The proposed route will go up past Meifod, and travel between Pant and Llansantffraid to the north and Four Crosses to the south. It will then go close to Knockin, Maesbury, and West Felton and directly through the village of Wootton before reaching its end point of Lower Frankton having travelled within just a few miles of Oswestry. The final route would sit in a broader corridor identified by National Grid and includes a variation to one of the original routes to skirt the Vyrnwy Valley.
National Grid said listening to local views had ‘played an important part’ in coming to a decision, which they said had included consideration of issues like landscape, flooding, heritage, ecology, tourism and transport.
Jeremy Lee, lead project manager for the company, said: “We’ve been very keen to listen to the feedback from local people, and for it to help shape our plans together with the further work we’ve carried out following our consultation.
“We believe the substation site and route corridor we’ve chosen will allow us to balance all the things we have to consider.
“We are at an early stage and still have many decisions to make. We will carry on listening to local views and these will play an important role as our plans progress.
“We understand people have concerns about overhead lines, but where they are used, we will work hard to reduce any visual effects by routing the line carefully and using appropriate pylon designs which could include the new T-pylon.”
The decision will come as a relief to some, with a number of options being ruled out by the electricity giant, including the second potential substation site at Abermule, near Newtown.
A second period of consultation will start shortly across Shropshire and Mid Wales, with a number of public information events planned to inform residents about the preferred substation site and route corridor.
Read more in today's Shropshire Star and have your say on the power line route in the comments below:
Comments for: "Power line's route picked across Shropshire"
pickaxe
If there is ever an unequivocal case - anywhere - for the cables to be laid underground then it is this scheme. Pylons will impact the landscape dreadfully.
OK - it will cost more, but National Grid can easily afford it - they made £3.5 billion profits last year.
They should not fob Shropshire and Powys off with a cheap option - our counties are too special for that
simon
Not against windfarms as such but these cables must be put underground - at least the damage can be repaired and over time nature will help. A string of pylons are will spoil the rural vistas, they are also prone to snow and wind disruption underground acbles are more reliable.
My guess is it will come down to money and shareholder profits not environment in the end - so lets hope the councillors develop some spine and resist this 'revised scheme' on behalf of those people who elected them. Worrying when you have to rely on them though -isn't it?
H. St. John Peasbody
Danny Boyle didn't reflect this in his version of the green and pleasant land at the Olympics opening ceremony.
Susie B
The Timeless and Magical Meifod Valley must not be wrecked by people who care only about how much profit they can make.Surely this must be the time for MPs and councillors to show that they are actually representing those people who elected them and make sure the powerline goes underground.Money should be no object, if we can spend billions on the Olympics which benefits mostly London , then surely we here in Powys and Shropshire should expect no less a contribution to secure our beautiful heritage!
Underground
If this great country of ours can build the channel tunnel and hold the olympics then we can bury cables underground.
Pylons should not even be under consideration - the only argument for pylons is cost.
David Jones
This is going to have a considerable impact on the Montgomery Canal, which annoys me.
What's the point of having renewable energy if the environment is to be wrecked in another way?
Keith
You are not alone,The Montgomery Canal annoys me too
Expat
Isnt it typical that those perpetrating this monstrosity should release the news at this precise moment in the assumption that we are all too thick to notice anything but the Olympics.
I dont think the folk in Abermule should rest on their laurels , they`l be wanting another power station there next when they find out that the currently proposed scheme doesnt produce anything near the promised power output !
novacane
I'm not just saying thsi to be controversial, but I find electricity pylons quite a majestic addition to the countryside, a drop of industrial imagery on the rural landscape. They have become as much a part of the countryside as trees and fields in my opinion. I don't think they detract from the beauty of an area at all, and once in place, I'm confident the fuss will soon die down.
Jamie
That must be a wonderful attitude to have, as all countryside must look marvellous to you, but I think you'll find the majority view is that they permanently scar the landscape.
There are few panoramic views to be had these days where the stamp of modern human infrastructure is not visible in the landscape. People often travel to such places as it allows them to believe for a while that are looking back in time to a land that really was "green and pleasant".
There are places in Scotland where I holidayed in the past to enjoy that "wild" feeling. Many of those are now being blighted by pylons and I shan't be returning. There will be no need to drive several hundred miles to look at industrial metal construction, as there is plenty available more locally and they want to fill in the few remaining gaps!
Soggy Sue
I'm with you, I don't see pylons as an eyesore. As a matter of fact, I don't see pylons at all as they tend to merge with the landscape. I am sure that none of the protesters would be prepared to give up their tvs, microwaves, mobile phones etc., to save the landscape. We all use electricity and why should it be that those people unlucky enough not to live in Shropshire/mid Wales should be the ones to have the inconvenience of industry, major road links, power stations/lines etc. so that others are free to live a quiet, uncluttered and priviliged life style? I am sure that the majority of visitors to our area would not even THINK about there being pylons and power lines, never mind putting them off visiting.
fantastic iconoclastic
It's not a choice between pylons or no electricity. The cables CAN be put underground. Don't let Shropshire get fobbed off on the cheap by the greedy and rich power companies.
You might be the kind of person who is unmindful or indifferent, but some of us prefer not to see a stanley knife slashed across the face of a much loved friend (to paraphrase the idiot son).
Andrew finch
Desecration of an area of natural beauty for the sake of renewable energy ??????.
charlie
The cables must go underground, where humanly possible, for the benifit of future generations and the enviroment of the aera, we are already paying for all these infrastructure schemes anyway, through the high price of gas and electric, see today EDF profits are up by 4.6% according to business section.
EssVeeEmm
I am horrified at the idea that this beautiful countryside is to have pylons marching through it.
These are some of the most beaufiful views in the land.
Surely the cables will be buried - the busy roads passing through the Welsh Marches, e.g. A5, already create traffic pollution across this Welsh/English borderland.
Enough profit is made to enable the views to be preserved. No more discussion is needed - do the right thing by the citizens/taxpayers.
mat
Every comment opposed to pylons on this forum is valid and considered. Setting aside the cost in pounds stirling, what is the cost in kWh - how long will it take for the scheme to replace the energy needed for the whole installation and what will be the energy losses through converting to higher voltage for transportation. How green is this energy? Before wrecking unspoiled countryside, the consumption side of the equation should be better explored - however this isn't in shaeholder interests.
fantastic iconoclastic
Q: Why do you need renewable energy?
A: To save the planet of course!
Q: How are you going to save the planet?
A: Ummm...by destroying it's most beautiful parts with wind factories and pylons
Epic fail....
zorro
Why oh why can they not be forced to take the northern route to trawsfynydd, where only a few buzzards would object and nobody lives.
That route would keep everyone happy. And is perfectly feasible.
Keith
That alas would be akin to putting all your eggs in one basket, the question that readily comes to mind is would there be sufficient capacity, each and every cable does have a limit
David
One has only to read National Grid's former Press Releases on other proposals throughtou the country to realise how empty and meaningless the so called "Consultation Period" was, and of course the proposed 2nd and 3rd will be. Same words, same garbled rhetoric, same meaningless marketing ploys, in all representing a total insult to peoples intelligence.
We must realise National Grid's first and only interest is profit.
Whereas the efforts, enthusiasm and dedication of the protestors must be acknowledged and applauded, they, with respect, were never going to stop the development of Wind Farms or alter route corridors, and never will until this country comes to its senses and finally realises its stupidity in perusing an outdated means of energy. We gave up wind power over a 100 years ago and "progressed". It was never a reliable or efficient form of energy.
All concentration should now be placed on ensuring that all connecting cables are laid underground regardless of cost. The Pylons, not even the promised "T" type, should never have come into the equation for consideration. Could anyone believe that a senior member of the National Grid project team reportedly made this statement about the "T" type alternation pylon?
No price is too high to pay for the preservation of what little is left of our precious countryside of benefit to everyone. By comparison we are now staging the Olympic Games at phenomenal cost and with little benefit to anyone outside our capital city, we have watched the opening ceremony and Danny Boyles interpretation of our "Green and Pleasant Land". Its destruction should not be allowed and Government intervention ensured. Our Politicians are our elected representatives.
When our Nation finally comes to its senses, as inevitably it will certainly do, should we not then consider that we have over 200 years of fossilised fuel left beneath our shores, and should we not use this in modern clean burning and efficient coal fired power stations? This fuel is a natural resource its efficiency proven and unquestionable. Its mining would ensure employment for 1,000's of British Workers. We are concerned as a Nation, and rightly so, as to the legacy we leave behind for future generations but what legacy are we leaving by the present proposals?
There are obviously other alternatives for renewal energy, but perhaps the most viable alternative, like it or not, is the development of Nuclear Power.
Sadly little can be done or said about the site of the new sub-station and its devastating effect on the local community of Cefn Coch, except perhaps to plead for sanity and Government intervention. The proposals, as for the associated power lines, are grossly excessive and totally disproportionate to the requirements.
As said, National Grid's only interest is profit. However, one should not forget the role Scottish Power has played in the proposals. They too must share the blame for the contempt displayed by National Grid for the residents of Mid Wales.
No one can escape the consequences or feel safe from such development. Perhaps motivated and united by the assurance that our energy prices will increase substantially well above the norm to pay for this idiocy may unite the nation.
Edward
There's no doubt about it tourism in the area will be hit if these plans go ahead which will be devastating as visitors look for pylon free landscapes in which to spend their holidays.
Doof
Although I am not against wind power and don't find turbines to be intrusive the positioning of pylons would intrude accross the whole vista of my view. From before Four Crosses through to Frankton I will be able to see every pylon, thanks National Grid.
Any chance of compensation?
gary
fine by me its not coming near my house
i think surely this is better than the southern route by the AONB, oswestry is hardly the most attractive bit of shropshire after all!
pickaxe
Ah fine. As long as it doesn't affect Gary then anything goes. That's just peachy.
Luckily not everyone is so self-centred, some can understand that not everything has to be done in the cheapest and nastiest way possible.
By the way, you may not have the sense to see it, but the countryside around Melverley, across to Knockin and Ruyton XI Towns is a special part of the county. The wide open vistas will be affected terribly by pylons nearby. It will be a ugly scar stitched across the face of Shropshire that will be seen from huge distances away.
National Grid need to stump up that bit extra to put the cables underground. Shropshire deserves nothing less.
David
Oswestry may not be so attractive, but the pylons aren't going through Oswestry - the route takes them through some very nice countryside, pretty much all the way along the Montgomery Canal.
Vandalism, pure and simple.