National Grid launches consultation on plans to build pylon network between Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex
It would bring offshore wind power to East Anglia
National Grid's launching a new consultation on their plans to build more than 100 miles of pylons between Norfolk and Essex, via a substation in Suffolk, which would bring offshore wind power to East Anglia.
The consultation will run between Wednesday 10 April and Tuesday 18 June, and National Grid says it's is an opportunity for communities to see how the design of the project has progressed in response to two previous consultations - which it says received around 7000 feedback responses.
People will also get a chance to share their views on a preferred draft alignment for the overhead line, an alternative design at Waveney Valley and substation extension works at the existing Norwich Main and Bramford substations and works within the existing Tilbury Substation.
National Grid says the feedback it receives at this stage of consultation, along with technical assessments and environmental surveys, will inform the development of the project before a DCO application is submitted to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS).
If the application is accepted, PINS will appoint an ‘Examining Authority’ to independently review and examine the application, including encouraging the submission of views from communities and other interested parties.
The Examining Authority will then make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, who will decide whether to grant consent for a DCO.
Liam Walker, Project Director for Norwich to Tilbury, said: “Our plans are an essential part of The Great Grid Upgrade, the largest overhaul of our energy network in a generation.
"By developing this project, we will be able to connect new sources of low carbon energy to homes and business across East Anglia and Britain so that everyone has access to cleaner, more affordable electricity.”