A series of consultations will soon take place, giving locals a chance to air their views to National Grid about a new high voltage electricity transmission line planned to run through East Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.
The new line and associated works are part of the National Grid’s ‘Great Green Upgrade’ and will cover an area from Creyke Beck, Cottingham to High Marham, in Nottinghamshire. The expansive 90km power line will be capable of transporting six gigawatts, enough to power six million homes, and could affect areas in Ellerker, Broomfleet, Blacktoft, the RSPB Blacktoft Sands Nature Reserve, Ousefleet, Adlingfleet, Fockerby, Garthorpe Luddington, Keadby, Crowle and Ealand.
The proposal for the line was explained in a recent report by National Grid, which cited the need for expansion at an unprecedented scale and pace to deliver the demand for clean power and energy security as the reason for its instalment, in mind of the government’s plans to reach net zero by 2050. In a statement released to its website, National Grid added: “The North Humber to High Marnham proposal will support the UK’s net zero target by reinforcing the electricity transmission network between the north of England and the Midlands and facilitate the connection of planned offshore wind generation and interconnectors with other countries, allowing clean energy to be carried on the network. “The reinforcement is needed because our existing power lines do not have sufficient capacity for all the new sources of electricity that we expect to connect to the network over the next ten years and beyond.”
The National Grid also released an interactive map, detailing its proposals for areas affected by the new line. The map separates the line into 11 sections, of which, sections three to six represent areas North and South of the Ouse local to our readers. In section three, which outlines an area running from the A63 dual carriageway to the River Ouse crossing, the National Grid proposed a graduated swathe of three possible routes, all of which would cross the Selby-Hull railway line and the Market Weighton Canal. The consultation would discuss whether or not the line would go north or south of the villages of Ellerker or Broomfleet, and the possible implications of the line crossing close to the existing 400kV overhead line. Section four of the proposed route crosses over the River Ouse and directly interacts with the Humber Estuary internationally designated sites, an area east and west of the existing line that crosses over the RSPB Blacktoft Sands Nature Reserve.
The interactive map stated: “It is anticipated that no permanent structures would need to be constructed within the international designated sites, reducing the likelihood off permanent habitat loss within the sites.” It added that a larger distance between the new line and the existing overhead line would be needed and would require tall pylons to ensure that the conductor wires would not interfere with vessels moving along the river. Moving through to Adlingfleet, where a proposed eastern path of the Section five would bring the overhead line closer to the village and the neighbouring villages of Fockerby and Garthorpe. An alternative path west would see the line come into closer contact with the existing overhead line, limiting landscape and visual impacts. As the planned line moves further south, it may intersect the route of the existing 400kV line, with at least one of the spans of this line needing to be replaced with underground cables in the area.
Public consultations are due to take place during the month of June and July. A consultation is to take place at Haxey Memorial Hall on June 19, from 12pm to 7pm.
The new line aims to meet the needs of the future and follows a route spanning East Yorkshire to the Midlands. (08-06-213 SU)
