COMMUNITIES across Somerset are getting ready to fight plans to construct a 37-mile stretch of towering electricity pylons from Bridgwater to Avonmouth.

National Grid says the connection will be needed when Hinckley C, two new 1800 megawatt reactors at Hinkley Point, becomes operational in 2017.

The company is proposing two potential routes with 46.5-metre, 400,000 volt pylons spaced at 400-metre intervals across the countryside, including the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The plans have met with opposition from local councils and politicians, and action group No More Pylons has set up a website to campaign against the proposals.

Consultation is now underway and local people are being asked to comment on four possible options. The first (corridor 1a) would see the existing line of 26-metre, 132,000-volt pylons decommissioned and replaced with the new, larger structures. It has not been confirmed how this would affect landowners as the spacing is wider for the larger pylons so the exact location could vary. A second option (corridor 1b) would see the new stretch of pylons run parallel to the existing structures.

Corridor 2 would see a new line across the Somerset Levels and Moors, flanking a proposed World Heritage Site, and includes two further options. It follows a route which runs to the east of the existing overhead line from Bridgwater before joining it at the Mendips. Beyond this, one option is to run parallel and to the east of the M5 motorway and the other would follow the existing 132,000-volt route. North of Weston-super-Mare, it would follow a line to the east of Nailsea before rejoining the existing overhead line near Portishead.

Campaigners are angry that there is no option to run the power line underground or under the sea. Earlier this year, National Grid chief executive Steve Holliday told The Independent that an undersea grid has an important role to play in future power connections.

Tessa Munt, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for the Wells constituency, has been working with parish councils and campaign groups to oppose the plans.

"I am appalled by the proposals. These pylons are an eyesore, they hum and they make people feel sick. Putting them undersea really is the only option, and I doubt that anyone would mind an extra 10p per quarter on their electricity bill to do that," she said.

"Everyone accepts that electricity has to be transported from where it is made to where it is needed but National Grid seems to be proposing 1950s solutions to a 21st century problem. The impact will be massive in financial, environmental and social terms."

According to Mrs Munt, the large overhead pylons could pose a threat to health as well as impacting on the area's important tourist industry.

"There have always been questions about the health of those who live near pylons and one of the proposed routes comes very close to Mark School where our children spend 30-plus weeks a year. Reported health hotspots for cancer and leukaemia near Hinckley Point and along the existing pylon route have been dismissed as a statistical blip by the various authorities," she added.

According to Mrs Munt, the height of the pylons means they will probably need aircraft warning lights spaced at 15-metre intervals from top to bottom. They will carry a line of 18 cables and it is also expected that plastic flight deflectors will be fitted to protect birds.

"The presence of these pylons will ruin our countryside, wreck our tourism and compromise forever our chances of gaining the prized World Heritage Site status," she said.

Mrs Munt said she would like to see National Grid offer options including a route under the Severn Estuary, an overhead route parallel to the M5, an underground route running parallel to the M5 and underground routes running along the corridors which form the existing proposals. She believes the projected cost for each option should also be provided.

Hinkley C and National Grid's subsequent powerline proposals form part of a government plan to reduce electricity production powered by fossil fuels by 2020. National Grid hopes to submit its final plan to the Infrastructure Planning Committee (under which local authorities act only as consultees) in 2011.

National Grid spokeswoman Jane Taylor said underwater and underground cable routes were given thorough consideration but were dismissed because of financial, technical and environmental limitations. The cost of overhead pylons works out at around £2million per mile, and the price can be multiplied by around 15 times for underground installation. Laying the cables under the Severn Estuary would cost more than £1billion. The cost of the chosen option would be passed on to customers.

Mrs taylor explained: "There is not yet a proven technology to carry the sort of load we are looking at underwater. The very high tides of the Bristol Channel would make construction extremely difficult - the cables can't just be dropped, they have to be buried. There is also a big technical issue in terms of integrating with the existing network.

"Laying cables underground would take up a swathe of land about the width of a dual carriageway because the cables have to be a certain distance apart."

Mrs Taylor also said the proposed overhead power cables would operate well within Health Protection Agency guidelines.

Wells MP David Heathcoat-Amory has raised the matter in parliament, questioning the reason for abandoning an underwater option before consulation got underway.

Mr Heathcoat-Amory said: "The government is at least now aware of the matter and I will be following this up with other questions and interventions.

"As the law stands, the final decisions on National Grid's application would be made by the government's new independent Infrastructure Planning Commission. I believe the decision should be made by a minister answerable to parliament. I will, therefore, keep the pressure up on the government and ensure that local opposition to these pylon proposals is fully understood."

Several meetings have already been held to discuss the proposals, including one in Wedmore last week. The latest meeting takes place in Mark Village Hall this Sunday (13th December) at 5pm

National Grid's proposals can be viewed and commented on at www.nationalgrid.com/hinkleyconnection

The No More Pylons Website can be viewed at www.no-more-pylons.co.uk

Mathew Manning

mmanning@bvmedia.co.uk