MP Kawczynski's demand over pylon plans

A Shropshire MP today said he was trying to organise a meeting with his fellow county MPs and a Government minister over plans which could see hundreds of pylons put up in Shropshire.

Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, said he was outraged at plans by National Grid for new wind farms being built in Mid Wales connected to the National Grid between Oswestry and Shrewsbury through a 400,000-volt connection between a proposed sub station and an existing power line.

But the Tory MP today said he was demanding that if the scheme does go ahead, then all of the cables must be put underground rather than on pylons.

Mr Kawczynski said: "I am going to organise a meeting of Shropshire MPs with the Minister for Energy to seek assurance that if this does go ahead that the cables have to underground because the electricity companies are trying to pitch one community against another by showing different routes whereas in reality we shouldn't have any of these pylons going across Shropshire.

"In Sweden and Denmark they are putting their electricity cables underground and are saying it's a fraction of cost in difference."

Mr Kawczynski said he believed the proposed location of a substation, in either Abermule or Cefn Coch was too far from the National Grid and said it would involve putting up hundreds of overhead pylons for miles across the Shropshire countryside.

He said: "Your going to have electricity pylons transporting a relatively small amount of energy into the National Grid while destroying Shropshire villages."