Go-ahead to remove pylons near trail route

A MAJOR scheme to remove seven electricity pylons and more than a mile of overhead power lines is set to go ahead, despite objections from wildlife campaigners.

The pylons, which cover a distance of 1.1 miles from Dunford Bridge in the Peak District National Park to Wogden Foot, will be removed, and replaced by underground cables.

The cables will run beneath the Trans Pennine Trail from the entrance of the Woodhead Tunnel to a proposed new sealing end compound.

Improvements will also be made to the car park at Brook Hill Lane, and a temporary Trans Pennine Trail will be used for around 18 months while construction is ongoing.

Two bridges will also be built over the River Don, one temporary and the other permanent.

The proposal is one of four National Grid Visual Impact Provision projects which aim to make use of £500m from Ofgem to place existing overhead lines underground in nationally important landscapes.

The aim of the project is to reduce the visual impact of electricity infrastructure in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) and National Parks.

During a meeting of Barnsley Council’s planning regulatory, Laura Hobbs, from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, raised objections on behalf of the organisation.

Ms Hobbs said, during the meeting: “Yorkshire Wildlife Trust strongly recommend that the application be refused.

“This application would result in permanent loss of part of Wogden Foot local wildlife site. We do not feel that ecological assessments were given sufficient weight at this early stage.”

Chris Baines, chair of the National Grid’s visual impact provision project scheme’s Stakeholder Advisory Group, spoke in favour of the plans, saying that it will be the first project of its kind in the world. Councillors unanimously voted to approve the scheme.