National Grid pauses pylon removals in national park over “emerging complexities” surrounding EU habitats regulations

National Grid has paused work on a landscape enhancement project involving the removal of pylons in the New Forest National Park, saying its decision was “due to emerging complexities surrounding the European regulations designed to protect the natural habitats of protected species”.

The company said its decision followed advice from legal experts, regulator Ofgem and the company's independent Stakeholder Advisory Group.

The planned removal of eight pylons from Hale Purlieu in the national park was part of National Grid’s Visual Impact Provision (VIP) project, which makes use of £500m provision from Ofgem as part of the current price control period to reduce the landscape and visual impact of existing overhead transmission lines in nationally important landscapes in England and Wales.

In a statement the company said: “While these regulations are designed to prevent the permanent loss of habitats, and not stop short-term work that we believe could have provided a net gain to the environment in which we were working, it is evident that the legal position is complex and, importantly, untested for a project of this nature. It is therefore unlikely that a planning application for this project would receive approval before the funding deadline.”

David Wright, Director, Electricity Transmission, at National Grid, said: “This project would remove eight electricity pylons while enhancing a nationally important landscape, and potentially improving and extending the important habitats in this beautiful part of the New Forest National Park. It has been developed over three years with the close collaboration and support of many local people and national environmental bodies. Our extensive community and stakeholder engagement throughout has shown strong support for these plans.

“However, the current round of funding is only available for a limited time, and due to what we believe is an unintended consequence of the regulations it has become clear that we will not be able to complete this in time.”

Wright added: “We would like to thank everyone for their engagement and involvement to date and sincerely hope that it will be possible to return at some future date when the legal position has been resolved.”

National Grid’s independent Stakeholder Advisory Group comprises representatives from national organisations with an interest in enhancing landscapes and environments throughout England and Wales.

The group’s chairman and leading environmentalist, Chris Baines, said: “After three years of extremely intense work, it is disappointing to have to recommend pausing this project.

“There has been terrific support from many local people and environmental professionals, and I remain convinced of the long-term landscape and environmental benefits of this scheme. I do believe that it remains possible in the longer term to deliver exceptional visual improvement whilst at the same time enhancing the wildlife habitat at Hale Purlieu.

“However, there is a need to build confidence in the legal process before the project can move forward again.”

National Grid said it would continue to progress its other VIP projects to replace pylons with underground alternatives in the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Peak District and Snowdonia National Parks.  Early works on the construction of the fully-consented Dorset project to remove 22 pylons near the villages of Winterbourne Abbas and Martinstown began earlier this year.