Legal action's being considered on plans to put pylons between NE Lincs and Norfolk

The national grid could be facing legal action on plans to put over 4 hundred electricity pylons between North East Lincolnshire and Norfolk.

Lincolnshire county council is considering a legal challenge saying consultations don't allow enough time to explore alternatives.

The plans would see up to 420 pylons across an 87-mile stretch from North East Lincolnshire all the way to Norfolk.

It will go across parts of the Lincolnshire Wolds

The National Grid says it's a major revamp, crucial for hooking up new eco-friendly power sources.

I think we're going to look at this legally

However Lincolnshire County Council says it will consider challenging the consultation.

They have major concerns over how it will impact both tourism and farming.

Councillor Colin Davie (Conservative), portfolio holder for Economic Development, Environment and Planning, said: “I’ve taken the view that if you are going to have a meaningful consultation exercise, you’ve got to give people real options that they can choose.

“The fact that National Grid has discounted two of the options, and the only option on the table is the pylon proposal — I don’t think that’s proper consultation.

“I think we’re going to look at it legally to see if there’s a challenge to the consultation process.”

National Grid said that the pylon plan under consideration is expected to cost £1.07 billion, while the alternative underground and subsea options are projected to cost £6.54 billion and £4.39 billion, respectively.

Nevertheless, Councillor Davie noted the company also introduced other proposals, including a subsea cable from Scotland to Lincolnshire.

The national grid feels it is the most cost effective viable option

This initiative aims to transport excess onshore wind energy to the national grid by routing it along the seabed and then bringing it onshore to their substations in Alford, which are included in the pylon plan.

“They can’t really be promoting a scheme when there has been no formal consultation on the other proposal.

So, I think they are racing ahead without due regard to the public’s view on this,” he added.

“The public’s view is crystal clear — they don’t want the pylons and they expect us, as their representatives, to oppose these proposals being imposed on us. That’s exactly what we intend to do.”

The representative for the Ingoldmells ward also noted that the council has requested the business plans for all three options, but ultimately, these have not been provided. Consequently, the Executive voted to conduct an independent review of the plans.

“We’ve requested their business plans and business cases for all three options, but these have not been forthcoming,” he explained.

“So we’re going to conduct our own independent review and look at what they are saying about costs.

“We don’t believe the costs for pylons are correct, simply because there’s no numbers for compensation requirements, compulsory purchases, or any of those things. We are going to have a real look at this.

“We are going to be very thorough about it and we are going to do it from a very legal perspective.”

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