Warning over electricity pylons' impact on Shropshire countryside

A Shropshire couple today said plans which could see huge power lines built near to their countryside home would be an unsightly blot on the landscape.

A new 400,000-volt power line - running along huge pylons or as an underground cable - needs to be erected to link up the proposed new wind farms in Mid Wales to supply power into the National Grid.

Two locations at Cefn Coch or Abermule have been identified as sites for an electricity substation and 10 routes have been suggested for the power line that would tap into the Grid at either Welsh Frankton, Wigmarsh or another location.

Four of the suggested routes would run close to Kinnerley while two others could cross nearby countryside.

The National Grid says that no decision has been made on a route or whether the power line would be over or underground.

David and Pamela Ward, from Osbaston near Oswestry, said several of the proposed routes would run past their homes, a listed building.

Mr Ward said: "This is the downside of renewable energy.

"I would rather see offshore windfarms as I am concerned about the affect on windfarms on the landscape.

"The land the power line would cross is unspoilt landscape."

It comes as a steady stream of residents called into a drop-in mobile exhibition at Kinnerley Village Hall yesterday to talk to experts and see maps of where the electricity pylons could go.

And campaigners were today set to meet in Mid Wales to voice their concerns about the plans.

Fiona Dale, a founder of the No Pylons in Rea Valley group, said people were worried about health risks, property prices and wildlife should the National Grid go ahead with plans.

She was today meeting with campaigners at Marton Pool, near Welshpool, to join with other campaigners in the fight and to discuss plans.

The chairman of Great Ness Parish Council, Councillor David Nunn, said at a parish council meeting on Tuesday that councillors had pledged to monitor the progression of the consultation.

"We all want electricity but we don't want something like this running close to our homes."

Mick Evans, from Kinnerley, said he was concerned about the possible health issues.

"No one can say what damage living close to these pylons can do," he said.

By Sue Austin