Government incentives supporting pylons project that will end in Tilbury are criticised by Tory leader
CONSERVATIVE party leader Kemi Badenoch has described the government's offer of discounts to speed up National Grid's plan for a huge line of pylons from Norwich to Tilbury as "tone deaf."
The opposition leader said she and six other Conservative MPs from across East Anglia have written to Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, to demand a thorough assessment of alternatives for the project. However, they did agree on the need to expand electricity infrastructure.
But Ms Badenoch said they are adamant that National Grid's approach is wrong.
She says it risks environmental damage, hurting house prices, and disrupting farms, businesses, and community spaces.
The National Grid project would see 159km worth of overhead cables strung between 50-metre-high pylons spanning from Norwich to Tilbury — the remaining cabling would be run underground, making the whole project 184km long.
Known as the East Anglia Green project, the scheme was first announced in early 2022.
At the time it was immediate condemned by East Tilbury councillor Fraser Massey, who called on National Grid to consider running the cables around the coast, under water. That was rejected on cost grounds.
While a group of campaigners have done their best to raise the profile on the potential impact of the pylons in Thurrock, by and large opposition here has been low key.
Local campaingers did make their voices heard at last year's Feast and Fair in Horndon on the Hill.
Recently the government has suggested that households within 500 metres of new or upgraded pylons will get discounts off their bills of equivalent to £250 a year in a bid to reduce opposition and delays to new projects.
In a letter to constituents, Mrs Badenoch said: "Attempts by the government to buy off communities with financial incentives are not just tone-deaf – they're seen as a bribe to silence legitimate objections.
"We are calling for a serious, independent reassessment of all the options, including underground and offshore solutions, to ensure we get this vital infrastructure right without trampling over local voices."
A government spokesperson said: "We need new infrastructure to protect family and national finances with energy security, through clean, homegrown power we control.
"Underground cabling is more expensive than onshore overhead transmission lines, and costs are borne by the electricity billpayer.
"Projects are subject to a rigorous planning process, in which the views and interests of the local community are considered. We have set out plans for households within 500 metres of new or significantly upgraded electricity transmission infrastructure to get up to £2,500 off their electricity bills over 10 years."
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