It was an interesting evening yesterday for anyone with a mind even slightly interested in technology. National Grid held a seminar for Councillors to demonstrate more fully why they wish to build further pylons across Suffolk countryside to transmit electricity from Sizewell and the wind farms in the North Sea to London and beyond. The company was obliged to give this further information because without it the consultation might have been open to legal challenge. It seems that the company had failed adequately to discuss the other transmission methods that might have been used, such as using an underwater cable or burying the cables in a trench.
We learnt that consultation to date has elicited some 2500 responses from the public and organisations. Members of the public on the whole have been content to comment about the merits or demerits of the four routes on offer, but councillors, it seems, have demanded more information about the alternatives.
In the end of course it all comes down to money...pylons it turns out are by far the cheapest option. This is important, not just for National Grid, which after all will be compensated for the investment that it puts in, but for all of us who will see the level of cost reflected in our electricity bills. I personally believe that the case may not be quite as clear cut as National Grid make out, since it does seem that technology is rapidly changing in this area. However, I can understand that the company do not wish to experiment with new methods in what is a fairly crucial part of the grid.
In what is probably a positive development, National Grid seemed to imply that any cables that might traverse the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty at Dedham are likely to be undergrounded despite the additional cost. This method in itself is not without problems however.
Company management stated that the preferred route of most respondents to the consultation is Route 2, which of course is NOT the route that affects Waldingfield Ward, but which is the one that goes through the AONB. Although I am sorry that any part of the county is to be subject to this industrial blight, for the sake of those who might be affected in the Ward, I am hopeful that this preference will be translated into the final decision in due course.
