Burnham-On-Sea’s Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate has this week hit out at the National Grid’s consultation process over a new corridor of electricity pylons being proposed to run through our area.
Tessa Munt, who lives in Mark, attacked the “ill-considered” proposals and said the consultation process has been a “sham.”
As first reported by Burnham-On-Sea.com in September, the National Grid wants to connect the proposed new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point to a new sub-station near Bristol – a distance of 37 miles.
Two potential ‘route corridors’ for the huge pylons have been identified, with one running close to East Huntspill, Watchfield, Mark and Bason Bridge.
Tessa, pictured above holding a map displaying the two routes, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “During my two hours at the National Grid exhibition in Mark, I heard different answers to the same questions.”
“Consultation, judging by National Grid’s attempt, is like some ghastly timeshare sales pitch. My dilemma is that Option A is in the wrong location, is ill-considered and not value for money, and Option B is also in the wrong location, is ill-considered and not value for money. In the National Grid’s exercise in sham democracy, there isn’t a ‘ none of the above’ option and I want one.”
“I also object to the timing of this consultation. Between now and the deadline of January 4th there are school holidays, Christmas, New Year and postal services disrupted by the seasonal surge of cards and letters.”
“This whole exercise is designed to split our communities right down the middle, setting one village against another. The time has come to stand together as one Somerset.”
“But many residents don’t yet know what’s going on. I’ve met dozens of local people who didn’t get a letter about these proposals.”
Tessa says she plans to write to every resident in the villages most affected by the plans to ensure they know what’s coming.
“Using 1950s technology for a 21st century project is unacceptable,” she added.
“When the National Grid’s spin-doctors were challenged about alternatives, such as putting the lines underground, using super-conductors to go under the River Severn like they do in other parts of Europe, or using the land along the M5 which is blighted already, they resorted to threats about ‘the costs’.”
“But we’re going to be paying the costs of whatever they do through our electricity bills for the next 60 years as they continue to pay fantastic salaries to their Board and dividends to their American and European shareholders. However, this is not just about money. The cynical National Grid – to quote Oscar Wilde – ‘knows the cost of everything, but the value of nothing’. Its spinners will call our objections ‘nimbyism’ and wave away the facts.”
“These proposals will ruin our countryside, wreck our tourism, and compromise forever our chances of gaining World Heritage Site status. Visitors are essential to Somerset’s economy. Who will want to visit or holiday in a county whose countryside is scarred by these vast, 152ft ugly metal towers, humming continuously and lit like Christmas trees – only all year round?”
“National Grid’s consultation should be a consultation. It should give us all the information we need to make an informed decision.”
Tessa added: “I want to know how long the routes are, and what the real costs are if National Grid put the power lines underwater in the Bristol Channel, on land alongside the M5 corridor, underground along National Grid’s favoured routes, or overland on those routes as they currently propose.”
