Burnham-On-Sea’s MP was among more than 100 residents who joined a protest on Sunday (January 29th) aimed at putting pressure on National Grid to bury a controversial 400,000 volt electricity line underground.
Campaigners met on the outskirts of Burnham ahead of an expected announcement this Tuesday by National Grid regarding the possibility of running the controversial proposed power line between Hinkley Point and Avonmouth undergound.
Burnham-On-Sea.com reported last week that protest group No Moor Pylons has welcomed a decision by National Grid to similar plans for a 50-mile line of pylons between Grimsby and Boston after saying it no longer plans to use overhead cabling to take power from an offshore windfarm.
Here, National Grid wants to build a line of 46.5m tall pylons in a ‘route corridor’ that will run past the Burnham area, through the village of Mark and close to East Huntspill and Watchfield.
Paul Hipwell from the campaign group No Moor Pylons told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “At last the tide is turning and common sense is prevailing. National Grid has decided that pylons are unacceptable to the people of Lincolnshire. They now need to decide that pylons are equally unacceptable in Somerset. They should halt their plans to build pylons across the beautiful Somerset countryside now.”
MP Tessa Munt gave her support to the campaigners during Sunday’s protest, which was held next to an existing line of electricity pylons, as pictured here.
Mr Hipwell added: “From the outset, National Grid has ruled out underground cables for the Hinkley to Avonmouth route, saying that they are 17 times more expensive than pylons. Now, an independent report into electricity transmission commissioned by the Irish Government has shown that, thanks to rapid advances in technology, the cost of undergrounding has fallen substantially and is now about the same as the cost of pylons, depending on local conditions.”
“The UK report into the comparative costs of pylons and underground cables, commissioned by DECC is a year late and it will be published on 31st January.”
Pictured: Top, Alan Sealey holding a protest sign and, above, Paul Hipwell with Tessa Munt, who addresed the crowd of 100 residents, as below
