Sutterton farmers and residents tell Boston and Skegness MP Matt Warman why they are opposed to pylons

Plans to build a swathe of pylons along the Lincolnshire coast were slammed by residents during a public meeting.

People packed into Sutterton Village Hall on Monday evening to tell Boston and Skegness MP Matt Warman why they are against the National Grid proposal to put pylons over an 87-mile stretch of coastline.

The National Grid says it is looking to overhaul its transmission system by putting up a string of pylons between Grimsby and Walpole, in Norfolk, in order to move renewable energy across the country. It also includes a substation at Weston Marsh.

The assembly was also opposed to the cables going underground, damaging prime agricultural land while concerns were also expressed by angry farmers who feared that cultivating some fields will be ‘uneconomic’ due to the pylons footprint.

Food security and the blight of 50 metre pylons being placed near their homes and business were also concerns raised.

Get the latest news to your inbox by signing up for The Briefing

One third-generation farmer said previously good double-cropping land had never come back to full production since a gas pipeline had been trenched through in the 1970s.

Others were concerned about possible health implications from living near high-power lines.

Mr Warman said he would pass constituents' views to National Grid while also emphasising the importance of residents engaging themselves with National Grid’s consultation process.

He said National Grid had told him its pylons option would cost £1 billion compared to £4 billion for undersea and £6 billion for underground.

“But the value of the landscape and farmland is enormous. There is more than cost to consider, cost spread over 40 years. When you look at it in the round, pylons are not the cheapest option,“ said Mr Warman.

Protest group, No Pylons Lincolnshire, has challenged National Grid’s costings, pointing out that the figure for pylons was capital cost only and did not include any of the other costs that would have to be factored in if it was to abide by the Government’s best-practice Green Book assessment. This would mean factoring in the cost of damage to the environment, loss of farmland and compensation to be paid.

It also pointed out that while National Grid was claiming £4 billion for laying cables for around 100 miles undersea, the much longer Viking Link of 475 miles under the sea to Denmark cost £1.7 billion. Even allowing for the difference in size and number of cables needed to carry more power the cost difference was questioned.

Others queried whether the Government's net zero credentials would stay intact if the tons of steel required to build the pylons came from coal-fired foundries in China.

Mr Warman, who is working with other Lincolnshire MPs Victoria Atkins (Louth and Horncastle), Sir John Hayes (South Holland and the Deepings) and MPs in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex where pylons are also planned by National Grid, pledged to support the work of No Pylons Lincolnshire in continuing to oppose the pylons plan and support instead an undersea route and the establishment of an offshore integrated grid to enable connectivity at sea of the current offshore wind turbines and others coming online in the future.

He concluded again by urging everyone to take part in the current National Grid consultation, which ends on March 13.

The grid states that without the additional network capability brought by the proposal, offshore windfarms could be ‘constrained’ at high generation times as the power could not be safely transported due to the existing transmission system.

A spokesperson for National Grid had previously told this newspaper: “We understand that plans for new infrastructure, including pylons, can cause concern in nearby communities, and we will be giving careful consideration to environmental and community impacts, and to feedback we receive from local people and stakeholders through our first consultation process which runs until 13 March 2024.”

The easiest way is to email your name and the sentence “I strongly oppose National Grid’s pylons proposal for Grimsby to Walpole” to contact@g-w.nationalgrid.com or write to Freepost G TO W (no stamp or further address required) or ask for a feedback form by emailing contact@g-w.nationalgrid.com or by phoning 0800 0129 153 to request a consultation pack with feedback form and a Freepost return envelope.