Pylon plans in Essex receives considerable opposition
National Grid wants to build nearly two hundred kilometres of pylons between Norwich and Tilbury, but faces strong opposition.
Detailed plans, including pictures visualising how 50-metre-high pylons could alter the landscape of Essex’s countryside, have been published as part of plans to build a new transmission route between Norwich and Tilbury.
National Grid’s plans to build 183 kilometres of pylons through Essex have been met with considerable opposition from councils and opposition groups along the route.
The project is aiming to reinforce the transmission network between the existing Norwich Main Substation in Norfolk and the Tilbury Substation in Essex, via its Bramford Substation, the new East Anglia Connection Node (EACN) Substation, and the new Tilbury North Substation.
National Grid states that the pylons are necessary because the existing transmission network, even with current upgrades, will not have sufficient capacity to accommodate new renewable energy, a substantial proportion of which is expected to be generated by offshore wind over the next decade and beyond.
If the application receives development consent, construction is expected to start in 2027 and is anticipated to take approximately four years.
Part of the planned route of the Tilbury to Norwich pylon development is planned to cut along the edge of the Dunton Hill garden village near West Horndon.
Elsewhere in Essex, people in Chelmsford worry the pylons could threaten an ancient settlement near Little and Great Waltham. It’s thought the settlement could be as old as Stonehenge, but the pylons could carve through it as it does not have a protected status.
National Grid here have shown before and after pictures of a view from Broad’s Green.
Essex County Council has said National Grid’s current plans for the Norwich to Tilbury pylon project remain “wide of the mark of what is acceptable” to the people of Essex and fail to consider the long-term impact it would have on Essex, with very little offered by way of social value and community benefits.