Say 'No to Pylons!'
National Grid pylon threat to Stour Valley
DVS response to National Grid Norwich to Tilbury 2nd Consultation
The Society submitted this response to National Grid's latest consultation exercise. Although we believe the consultation has not been conducted in good faith, we have nevertheless participated to ensure our views are recorded. You can read the full response by clicking on the button below:
Stratford, Langham, Higham Pylon Walk
Come join James Cartlidge MP and concerned residents on Thursday 31st August 2023 for a Pub, Pylon, Pile-In at The Anchor in Stratford St Mary at 5.00 pm.
This will be preceded by a walk around the valley between Langham and Higham, to see the devastation that the underground/trenched route will create.
The walk will leave the Black Horse pub in Stratford St Mary at 3.15 pm, and will take about 1.5 hours. Dogs are welcome, but might need to be kept on leads.
Contact Frances Torrington by email: [email protected] if you can join us, to have an idea of numbers.
A reminder that if you have not yet signed the Essex Suffolk Norfolk Pylon Group's pettion, you can do so at
National Grid pylon update July 2023 – no good news
National Grid have re-named East Anglia GREEN as The Great Grid Upgrade Norwich To Tilbury – a pylon by any other name is still a pylon and these still extend across three counties with some undergrounding. Sadly, little else has changed, despite 23,000 people, 14 MPs, four county councils, several district councils and many parish councils saying NO to 180km through the heart of East Anglia and YES to an offshore grid.
Their second non-statutory consultation has opened and will be live until 21 August 2023. Our campaigning partner, Pylons East Anglia, will be providing tips on how to respond later this month and we will share those as soon as we receive them. See their website for comprehensive information on the proposals and the battle to stop the pylons: Pylons East Anglia campaign page
Although the section through the AONB will be underground once completed, it will be a wide scar across our beautiful vale over the years it will take to construct it.
Luke Marshall’s Facebook group has much more information on the impact within the AONB.
Dedham Vale AONB - Pylons and Undergrounding
NG are holding some consultation events – the first one below clashes with the traffic for the Tendring Show, but if you are attending the show, the Venture Centre is within easy walking distance of the showground.
Date & Time Location
Saturday 8 July, 11am-4pm Lawford Venture Centre 2000, Bromley Road, Lawford, Manningtree CO11 2JE
Thursday 13 July, 2-7pm Langham Community Centre, School Road, Langham,
Colchester, CO4 5PA
Wednesday 19 July, 2-7pm Copdock Village Hall, Old London Road, Copdock, IP8 3JN
NG are holding one-hour online webinar sessions, where they will present their proposals followed by an open question and answer session.
Tuesday 25 July 7-8pm
Saturday 12 August 10-11am
Thursday 17 August 10-11am
A recording of a general overview presentation will also be available to view on their website. You can register for these on their website.
Stop the Pylons - Minister hears from campaigners and local councillors
Graham Stuart, Minister for Energy and Climate visits the Vale
On February 2nd, Sir Bernard Jenkin, MP for Harwich and North East Essex, brought Graham Stuart, MP, Minister for Energy and Climate, and Zac Richardson, Director of New Infrastructure at National Grid (NG), to Essex to hear from campaigners and local councillors about our objections to NG’s proposed East Anglia Green pylons and associated substations across Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk. After visiting Dedham and the location for the proposed substations in Ardleigh, they held a round table discussion in Lawford with representatives from the DVS, the Pylons East Anglia and Stour Valley Underground campaign and local councillors. Graham Stuart was in listening mode and acknowledged that there are options to do things better bringing offshore electricity from windfarms onshore. He has set aside funds to look into this, looking forward to 2050, not just to 2030. This demonstrated that the Pylons campaigns are having an effect, although there is much work still to be done to reverse NG’s proposals and make the Offshore Grid a reality. We are very grateful to Sir Bernard for making this meeting possible and to Rosie Pearson of the Pylons campaign and the society’s Luke Marshall for the strong cases they made to the group. BBC’s Look East programme on February 2nd led with this story, which is available on iPlayer.
Say 'No to Pylons!'
DEFRA Recognises Threat National Grid Pylons Pose to Character of the Stour Valley
In response to a letter from Robert Erith, President of the Dedham Vale Society, Lord Gardiner of Kimble, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs, has wriiten to assure the society that:
'I share your passionate concerns of the significant impact that this option will have for the landscape value of the Stour Valley. The Government’s commitment to achieve 40 GW of electricity generation from offshore wind by 2030 does not in my view preclude compliance with the number of planning protections afforded in legislation and associated guidance.'
The full text of our letter to him and his response can be read below
URGENT ACTION NEEDED BY 6 MAY TO STOP MORE PYLONS IN THE STOUR VALLEY!
Since 2009, we have been campaigning for the Government to extend the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) up the Stour valley towards Sudbury.
We are told the continued delay in the boundary approval process is due to a lack of manpower in Natural England, with civil servants busy with Covid-related responsibilities. This situation is improving, helped by the Prime Minister's 30:30 pledge to give 30% of the UK's land protected status by 2030.
But now, just when we might have expected at long last to realise the extension, National Grid has surfaced with proposals for a new row of huge pylons to run from Bramford to Twinstead that would degrade not only our beloved countryside but also the prospects of getting the AONB extension approved unless we can justify the extra cost of putting the cables underground in the Stour Valley.
We now urgently need your help.
Pylon plans for the area are not new but were put on hold in 2013. At the time, National Grid had — after a long campaign by our society and others — agreed to undergrounding power lines in both the northern stretch of the Dedham Vale AONB and through the AONB extension designate across the Stour Valley towards Alphamstone. They appear to be about to renege on this decision and are challenging us to put forward our views as to whether the additional cost of underground cables (£118 million) in this location is justified.
“We are therefore seeking views from stakeholders and consumers as to whether the previous decision to underground this section still provides value for money.” (National Grid)
They have asked for our views on:
- The landscape and cultural value of the Stour Valley
- Progress on proposals to extend the Dedham Vale AONB boundary in the Stour valley towards Sudbury.
The deadline for submissions is Thursday 6 May so there is no time to lose. We have therefore prepared a letter for you to use either as it stands or as a basis for an email to the National Grid at the following addresses:
You can find the letter in this attachment National Grid letter May 2021
Please also copy your email to Lord Gardiner, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Rural Affairs at DEFRA, who is responsible for Protected Landscapes (National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) [email protected] and to your local MP:
- James Cartlidge, MP for South Suffolk [email protected]
- James Cleverly, MP for Braintree [email protected]
- Sir Bernard Jenkin, MP for Harwich and North East Essex [email protected]
- Will Quince, MP for Colchester [email protected]
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