Pylon protesters set to generate more pressure
Campaign groups will "pylon the pressure" on county leaders to fight off National Grid's corridor plans for the Cheddar Valley.
Representatives from most of the pressure groups like No Moor Pylons, Save Our Valley and others will attend the full meeting of Somerset County Council on Wednesday at 10am. No Moor Pylons is also urging residents who could be hit by pylons stretching from Hinkley Point to Avonmouth to attack the problem from a new angle.
Campaigners believe that by influencing the rules of the Infrastructure Planning Commission – the quango that might green light National Grid's plans – they can make underground electricity-carrying cables the norm instead of pylons.
Paul Hipwell, group chairman, said: "The rules which the new planning quango, the Infrastructure Planning Commission, use are currently being agreed.
"At the moment the rules say the only acceptable solution is 1960s pylon technology. No Moor Pylons is fighting to ensure the rules say that underground and undersea cables must be considered, and that the carbon footprint and electricity transmission losses must be a factor in deciding which transmission technology to use.
"If we are happy to bury wires in the plaster of our houses, why not bury electricity cables – the extra cost is less than a £1 per person per year."
Visit the Act Now page of www.no moor-pylons.co.uk to find out how.
Comments
by Maggie Gregory, Mark, Somerset
Monday, February 22 2010, 2:50PM
“It is remarkable when you think about it that since the Second World War development control policy, followed by successive governments of whatever political party, have sought to protect the countryside. But the draft National Policy Statement for Electricity Transmission takes no account whatsoever of that policy. Instead EN5 (a catchy title, isn't it) privileges giant pylons as the "best" (i.e. cheapest) way for National Grid to connect new power sources to the grid. And EN5 is based on outdated and inaccurate information.”