Eight Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty could become even more beautiful after plans were revealed to remove pylons and move the lines underground.

A study by National Grid has pinpointed 12 sections of high voltage lines in eight Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) and National Parks from Dorset to the Peak District.

Visual impact

The pylons in the shortlisted areas are seen as having the most significant landscape and visual impact, following an independent study overseen by landscape expert Professor Carys Swanwick.

The protected landscapes that have been singled out as having existing power lines with the most significant visual impact are Brecon Beacons National Park, Dorset, High Weald, New Forest National Park, North Wessex Downs, Peak District National Park, Snowdonia National Park and Tamar Valley.

The study assessed 571 km of National Grid’s electricity transmission lines in England’s and Wales’s most treasured landscapes. It forms part of the Visual Impact Provision project, a major initiative to reduce the visual impact of existing transmission lines in protected areas.

Strutt & Parker consultant Ian Thornton Kemsley said: “This is a very welcome move for those areas which will benefit and shows a very positive approach to the environment. It is a pity that despite campaigns for burying the Beauly Denny power line – the high voltage 136-mile cable linking the Highlands to central Scotland by 600 towers – underground, the pylons are being very visibly installed throughout the Cairngorms National Park.

"It would have been a great idea to bury them underground but that proposal was considered and rejected by the Scottish Government. Perhaps these plans, if they come into play, can set an example for the future throughout the UK and not just in England and Wales.”

Allowance

The project will make use of a £500 million allowance made available by Ofgem until 2021.

Part of this allowance will be used by National Grid to mitigate the visual impact of sections of high voltage overhead lines in some of these locations. 

A range of engineering measures could be implemented including the replacement of existing overhead lines with underground cables and the re-routing and screening from key public viewpoints of the lines.

George Mayhew, National Grid representative on the project Stakeholder Advisory Group, said that while the electricity network is vital to our way of life, this project will help reduce its impact on some of our most treasured landscapes.

National Grid is also set to use part of the £500m for smaller localised visual improvement projects that can be accessed by all AONBs and National Parks with existing National Grid electricity infrastructure.

Set to be launched in 2015, this landscape enhancement initiative has an ambition to provide up to £24m over six years.

A Stakeholder Advisory Group comprising organisations including the Campaign for National Parks, Campaign to Protect Rural England, Campaign to Protect Rural Wales, English Heritage, Cadw, Natural England and the National Trust, is helping National Grid to identify which transmission lines should be prioritised and how the fund should be allocated.

Members of the group have recommended that a study on a section of overhead line which crosses the River Tamar in the Tamar Valley should now be progressed to assess the feasibility of engineering work to reduce its visual impact.

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