Pylon the pressure at public meeting
A PUBLIC meeting will be held tonight (Wed) as campaigners ramp up their effort against more pylons on Anglesey.
Campaigners on the island have for years been fighting the National Grid’s proposals for a new line of overhead pylons to connect the proposed Wylfa Newydd nuclear plant, as well as other energy schemes.
A recent petition set-up against the Grid’s proposals has already gathered over 600 signatures, following visits to several fairs and car boot sales, and being available to sign at Rhun ap Iorwerth AM’s constituency office in Llangefni.
Cheryl Weaver, of the ‘Anglesey Says No To Pylons’ group, said: “We go to the car boot sales every weekend and are receiving a lot of support from both locals and tourists.
“It appears no-one wants the overhead run of pylons and the feedback we’re getting from many tourists is they would go elsewhere for their holiday.
“The impact on Anglesey would be devastating.”
Mr ap Iorwerth, meanwhile, was critical of recent reports that the Grid had posted a pretax profit of £4.7bn - up 14% from last year.
The Grid has consistently argued that undergrounding - which is the preferred option of Anglesey Council as well as the MP and AM, would cost around £1bn compared to around £550m for pylons, with the line set to follow broadly the same route as the existing structures.
But the Plaid Cymru AM said: “We all know the Grid has a duty to make a profit for its shareholders, but it also has a duty to protect the interests of the people of Ynys Mon.
“It should be a priority to safeguard Anglesey another row of pylons.”
A spokesperson for the National Grid, said: “We have undertaken extensive public consultation on our proposals to connect Wylfa into our network.
“We’re continuing to review our proposals following our consultation last year, looking at what local communities and specialist bodies told us.
“We do recognise that people have concerns about the second line and we’re working hard to see if we can reduce effects further.
“Our aim is to keep the effects on Anglesey and Gwynedd as low as we can while also meeting important environmental, technical and cost requirements placed on us by government.
“People are always very welcome to contact us if they have any questions about our work.”
The public meeting will be held tonight (Wednesday) at Tre Ysgawen Hall, 7pm. from