Electricity pylons in British beauty spots to be buried

Electricity pylons in some of Britain’s most beautiful rural landscapes are to be buried following a decision by the electricity regulator. The move will be paid for by a £500 million (€638m) levy on electricity users over the next seven years.

Twelve locations have been put on a shortlist by the national grid – including national parks in Snowdonia, the Peak District, the New Forest in Hampshire, the Brecon Beacons in Wales, and places in Dorset and Kent.

The cables will be buried in 50m wide, 2m deep trenches, though even those who support the removal of pylons accept that the trenches could be just as much of an eyesore in some cases.

The national grid, which has nearly 600km of high-transmission lines in national parks and areas of outstanding beauty throughout Britain, plans to screen pylons with trees in places where trenches cannot be dug.

However, trenches are extremely expensive, the national grid accepts. It puts the cost of running overhead lines at a tenth of the cost of putting them underground – at £2 million per kilometre compared with £22 million for underground lines.