Update 15 June 2022
The National Grid consultation is closing on 16th June. If you have views you wish to express about a line of 50m pylons (one every 300m) passing 1 kilometer from the end of Top Row – you still have time, just. However, the closing date does not stop you from contacting those who may be interested to hear your views on this matter, such as:
- District Councillors – see here for contact details
- Norfolk County Councillor – see here for contact details
- Mr R Bacon, MP for South Norfolk – see here for contact details
- Leader of South Norfolk Council , John Fuller – see here for contact details
- OFGEM CEO – Jonathan Brearley
- Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – Kwasi Kwarteng (Secretary of State); Sarah Munby (Permanent Secretary)
Update 26 May 2022
From Karen Fisher:
“You may be aware of a National Grid Proposal which they are calling “East Anglia Green” which is a proposal to take green energy generated by the wind farms on the North Norfolk Coast via 180kms of 50m tall steel pylons from Norwich to Tilbury in Essex.
“National Grid have chosen their preferred route for the pylons and have only notified those who live very close to where they will be situated. Therefore there may be many people who will live within sight of these hideous pylons without having any knowledge of the proposals and therefore no chance to make their views known. National Grid are running a public consultation until the 16th June asking for feedback on the proposals.
“I live in a village which will have these pylons put straight through the middle of it and although we accept the need for this energy to get to the southeast we believe that this should be done via undersea cables to protect the countryside for us all.
“To see how close your parish might be there is an ‘interactive map’ allowing you to zoom in to a particular part of the route available here. The interactive map is helpful providing that you can view it properly – it is really best viewed on a computer screen rather than a phone.
“Even if your parish is not close to this route we hope that you may be prepared to join us in the fight against this proposal by asking people local to you to sign the petition calling for these cables to be put under the sea rather than through the countryside which will destroy important habitats as well as the mental health of so many people.
“This is the link to the petition.
“There is also a Facebook campaign page covering Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex if anyone in your parish is interested in more information. The page may be found at – https://www.facebook.com/groups/718238339216424
“Additionally you can contact Martin Starkie who is one of the people spearheading the campaign at forncettpylons@btinternet.com
“Thank you for your time in reading this. Any support to save our countryside will be welcome.”
Update 29 April
From Jacqui Fenn, Regional External Affairs Manager, National Grid
East Anglia GREEN is a proposal to build a new high voltage network reinforcement between Norwich, Bramford and Tilbury. While our existing high voltage electricity network in East Anglia has been sufficient until today, it doesn’t have the capability needed to reliably and securely transport all the energy that will be connected by 2030 while working to the required standards.
The network reinforcement that East Anglia GREEN will provide would be achieved by the construction and operation of a new 400 kV electricity transmission line over a distance of approximately 180 km and a new 400 kV connection substation.
The reinforcement would comprise mostly overhead line (including pylons and conductors – the ‘line’ part), underground cabling through the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), works at existing substations at Norwich, Bramford and Tilbury and a new 400 kV connection substation in the Tendring district.
East Anglia GREEN will play a vital role in delivering electricity efficiently, reliably, and safely and will support the UK’s move to reduce carbon emissions.
Consultation Events
To support the consultation, we are holding a series of in-person events and online webinars.
Public Information Events
Visit one of our face to face public information events being held at the following locations across the proposed route to find out more and speak to experts within the team.
| Date | Time | Venue |
| Thursday 28 April | 12-6:30pm | Ingatestone and Fryerning Community Centre, 7 High Street, Ingatestone CM4 9ED |
| Wednesday 4 May | 12-6:30pm | Witham Public Hall, Collingwood Road, Witham CM8 2DY |
| Saturday 7 May | 10am-4pm | West Bergholt Orpen Memorial Hall, 45-57 Lexden Rd, West Bergholt CO6 3BG |
| Monday 9 May | 12-7pm | Chadwell Village Hall, Waterson Road, Chadwell St Mary RM16 4NX |
| Wednesday 11 May | 1-6:30pm | Mulbarton Village Hall, The Common, Mulbarton NR14 8AE |
| Saturday 14 May | 10am-4pm | The Palgrave and District Community Centre, 10 Rose Lane, Palgrave IP22 1AP |
| Tuesday 17 May | 12-7pm | Holton St Mary Village Hall, Holton St Mary, Hadleigh CO7 6NW |
| Wednesday 18 May | 12-7pm | Burstall Village Memorial Hall, Burstall, Ipswich IP8 3DR |
| Saturday 21 May | 1-6pm | Laindon Community Centre, Aston Road, Laindon SS15 6N |
| Tuesday 24 May | 11am-5.30pm | Writtle Village Hall, 18 The Green, Writtle, Chelmsford CM1 3DU |
| Friday 27 May | 1-7pm | Needham Market Community Centre, School Street, Needham Market IP6 8BB |
| Saturday 28 May | 10am-4pm | Lawford Venture, Centre, Bromley Road, Lawford, Manningtree CO11 2JE |
Online webinars
Attend an hour online webinar where we will present details of the proposals followed by an open Q&A. The briefings are either for the entire route or split by local authority. Visit our website to register.
| Date | Time | Topic |
| Friday 22 April | 2pm | Overview of project |
| Saturday 23 April | 10am | Overview of project |
| Monday 25 April | 7pm | Overview of project |
| Tuesday 26 April | 2pm | Our proposals in the South Norfolk district |
| Friday 6 May | 10am | Our proposals in the Babergh, Tendring and Colchester districts |
| Tuesday 10 May | 2pm | Our proposals in the Chelmsford district |
| Friday 13 May | 10am | Our proposals in the Thurrock district |
| Thursday 19 May | 2pm | Our proposals in the Mid Suffolk district |
| Friday 20 May | 10am | Our proposals in the Braintree district |
| Wednesday 25 May | 2pm | Our proposals in the Basildon and Brentwood districts |
| Wednesday 8 June | 2pm | Overview of project |
| Thursday 9 June | 7pm | Overview of project |
All information on the proposals, including an interactive map, all consultation materials and how to provide your feedback are available on our website. Please visit nationalgrid.com/east-anglia-green.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the East Anglia GREEN Community Relations Team on +44 (0) 800 151 0992 and/or EastAngliaGREEN@nationalgrid.com
Original post
National Grid is planning a significant upgrade to the electricity power supply for the East Anglia Region. As you can see from the image in this post, the potential path for the pylons passes to the East of Top Row and as such we think that you should be aware of their proposals.
A consultation period is now open from 21 April to 16 June 2022 (their comment form is available here). There will be a public session in Mulbarton on 11 May from 1pm to 6.30 pm in the Village Hall. See the newsletter about the consultation process and other venues here.
A high-level document addressing the whole project is available here (58Mb) for download. An extract from this document covering our area can be found here (6Mb).
For more information about their plans for South Norfolk, you may wish to look at their website.
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