Anti-pylon residents in Shropshire and Mid Wales are urged to object
Villages and towns on the Shropshire/Welsh border will have to suffer abnormal loads travelling through their streets every day for the next five years as well as the possibility of pylons constructed across farmland if windfarms in Mid Wales get the go ahead.
Yet they have just one chance to object to the year-long inquiry into whether planning permissions for five windfarms should be given,a campaigner has said.
A public evening session of the inquiry will be held in Welshpool Town Hall next Thursday and the Montgomery Against Pylons campaign group is urging those worried about the impact on the area to go along.
Jonathan Wilkinson, chairman of the group said the effects of the windfarms would be widespread yet Thursday night was the only chance ordinary people had to make their fears known to inspector, Mr Andrew Poulter.
During the continuing inquiry in Welshpool, Mr Poulter questioned whether the high voltage pylons were really neccessary to carry the power from a substation planned at Cefn Coch, to the National Grid line at Lower Frankton near Ellesmere.
Mr Wilkinson said: "Mr Poulter was of the view that it may be possible to carry the electricity on ordinary, double wood poles.
"We are urging ordinary members of the public, whether they are concerned about the windfarms generally, the traffic the construction will generate, or the proposed link from Cefn Coch into the National Grid to attend the evening session at Welshpool Town Hall on April 3 from 6pm to 9pm."
Last week the planning inquiry in Welshpool heard that abnormal load lorries would travel from Ellesmere Port to windfarms in Mid Wales every day for three-to-five years.
Dyfed-Powys and West Mercia Police officers would work on rest days to provide an escort along the route which would go down the A483 past Oswestry, through the middle of Pant and Llanymynech, Welshpool, Newtown and onwards to one of the five planned windfarms. The cost of the policing would be met by the haulier.
It is proposed to build windfarms in Llanbadarn Fynydd, near Llandrindod Wells; Llaithddu, near Newtown; Llandinam, near Llanidloes; Llanbrynmair and Carnedd Wen, near Machynlleth
Parish Councillor for Llanymynech and Pant, Dilys Gaskill, said it was terribly worrying.
"We want more details of these abnormal loads – for example the times they are to come through," she said. "The infrastructure will struggle to take these lorries. Even though the trial runs of abnormal loads proved successful, what about the long term affect on the roads?"
