Unsightly pylons are being torn down in a picturesque English county – as debate rages over plans to put them up in a scenic part of Galloway.
The public inquiry into SP Energy Networks (SPEN) controversial scheme for 118 pylons between Glenlee and Tongland opened in Kirkcudbright last week.
At the same time National Grid is spending £116 million dismantling pylons in the Dorset countryside after laying new cabling underground.
Campaigners want SPEN to do the same with its Kendoon to Tongland Reinforcement (KTR) project, claiming building the towers would destroy thousands of trees and habitats and scar the landscape.
SPEN insists that the undergrounding option would cost an estimated £96 million extra and cannot be financially justified.
Meanwhile, National Grid is carrying out work on improving landscapes and visual amenity in the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
A total of 22 pylons will disappear from the skyline under its Visual Impact Provision scheme to restore unhindered views.
Paul Hamnett, senior project manager for National Grid, told Dorset Live: “Our goal has always been to enhance this beautiful landscape.
“Now we’re seeing the fruits of our labour with the fields we used for civil engineering works being reinstated and, ultimately, the successful removal of 8.8km of overhead cables and 22 pylons.”
With Galloway in line for possible national park designation, the Galloway National Park Association has warned that pressing ahead with overhead pylons now could be an expensive mistake.
A statement to the inquiry on Tuesday from GNPA president Barbara Kelly and chairman Rob Lucas read: “GNPA recognises there may be a need for the line to meet current and future needs.
“The proposed overhead line route passes through some of the most sensitive areas of Galloway and should, as a matter of principle, be undergrounded along the least damaging route in line with best possible practice.
“It would be perverse in the extreme to install a highly damaging overhead line and, then, some time in the future when the damage is fully realised, to pay again to underground as is happening in other parts of the UK.”
Lead campaigners Galloway Without Pylons (GWP) accepts the infrastructure upgrade but wants the new line buried beside existing pylons, which are to be dismantled.
SPEN maintains its KTR project is urgently needed to replace ageing infrastructure, boost network resilience and increase capacity.
A SPEN spokesperson said: “We carefully considered undergrounding as an alternative to the proposed overhead line as part of a detailed study.
“While it may mitigate some effects, such as landscape and visual, it would have potentially greater effects on environmental considerations such as ecology and
archaeology.
“As a regulated company, we have an obligation to deliver efficient and economical projects that minimise the impact on people’s electricity bills and undergrounding would come at a significantly higher cost.
“We anticipate removing 90km of existing steel towers and replacing them with a total of 48km of new overhead lines which will be a mixture of steel towers and wooden poles.
“Our proposals include detailed mitigation plans and if we receive consent, we intend to work with local communities and landowners to identify opportunities for greenspace improvements, the linking up or extension of existing core paths, creation of nature trails, cycle ways and other routes.”
