Lib Dems challenge Tory response to Pylons Consultation (South Suffolk Liberal Democrats)

South Suffolk Liberal Democrats <southsuffolklibdems@googlemail.com>

Lib Dems challenge Tory response to Pylons Consultation

February 3, 2010 1:00 AM

Liberal Democrats will be challenging a decision by Suffolk's ruling Conservatives to recommend a route of electricity pylons through the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Conservatives have left in an option which suggests that corridor 2b would be least environmentally damaging option, even though it passes through the Dedham Vale AONB, and the sensitive landscape area of the Stour Valley. The Liberal Democrats will insist that the issue be considered again at a meeting of Suffolk County Council on the 18th of February.

Commenting on the decision Liberal Democrat Group Leader Kathy Pollard said "Opting for one of the four suggested routes plays into the hands of National Grid, who are proposing a short term solution which will scar for decades to come the lovely countryside captured by John Constable and Thomas Gainsborough."

She added "The Dedham Vale Society and Colne-Stour Countryside Association have both suggested that the County Council should ask for undergrounding or an undersea option rather than identifying a corridor which the Conservatives say is the 'least worst option'. This is also the view put forward by the campaign groups Bury not Blight and Stour Valley Underground and is completely in line with the policy of the CPRE (Council for the Protection of Rural England). It would be very unwise to opt for a route at this stage, even with the suggestion that there should be undergrounding in the most sensitive areas, as there is absolutely no guarantee that undergrounding will happen. National Grid have said that the regulator requires them to be economically efficient. This could well mean that they choose the cheaper option of Corridor 4, which avoids the AONB."

Liberal Democrat Councillor for Bosmere, Julia Truelove, said "We must do all we can to protect the Suffolk countryside, which is vital to the tourist economy and the well being of those who live in the area. An undersea grid would be a smarter option, given the amount of electricity generation which will be either offshore or, in the case of nuclear, on the coast. Failing that the undergrounding of both new and existing cables in a tunnel would be a far more acceptable solution for all concerned. If we don't stand up to protect the Suffolk countryside we will be failing in our duty."