Consultation was “one-sided”

Lincolnshire County Council is looking to take National Grid to court over the way it has been consulting the public on its massive Grimsby to Walpole pylon scheme.
The Nation Grid announced in January that it would string up o 420 pylons across an 87-mile stretch from Grimsby to Walpole in West Norfolk.
The news hasn’t been well received, with protestors launching petitions and campaigning.
The Great Grid Upgrade has been pegged as a major revamp, crucial for eco-friendly power sources and since January 18 it has been out and about trying to win hearts and minds.
But the county council is not buying it, and reckon the consultation has been a bit one-sided with not enough airtime for pricier but less intrusive options, such as going underground or under the sea.
On Tuesday, the proposal was slammed by members of the Economic Environment Planning committee.
“I’ve taken the view that if you are going to have a meaningful consultation exercise, you’ve got to give people real options that they can choose.
“The fact that National Grid has discounted two of the option, and the only option on the table is the pylon proposal, I don’t think that’s a proper consultation.
“I think we’re going to look at it legally to see if there’s a challenge to the consultation process,” said Coun Colin Davie.
National Grid says the pylon plan under consideration is expected to cost £1.07 billion, while underground or undersea options are projected to cost £6.54bn or £4.39bn.
“The public’s view is crystal clear – they don’t want the pylons and they expect us, as their representatives, to oppose these proposals being imposed on us,” he added.
County council leader Martin Hill indicated that if the independent review into the plans reveal insufficient consideration of various other factors, they might contemplate further legal actions.
A spokesman for the National Grid said the ambition to connect 50GW of offshore wind by 2030, enough green energy to power every home in the country.
“We have assessed offshore and underground options for Grimsby to Walpole, but at approximately four times more expensive for offshore and up to approximately six times more expensive for underground cables. This would be at significant extra cost to consumers, and would not align with the requirements placed on us.”