Published: November 16, 2009
300 residents from across Burnham area flock to power lines meeting

Hundreds of residents from across the Burnham-On-Sea area attended a public meeting in Mark on Monday (November 16th) where controversial plans to build a new 400,000 volt power line connecting Hinkley Point to Avonmouth went on show.

As first reported by Burnham-On-Sea.com in September, the National Grid wants to connect the proposed new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point to a new sub-station near Bristol - a distance of 37 miles.

Two potential 'route corridors' for the huge pylons have been identified, with one running close to East Huntspill, Watchfield, Mark and Bason Bridge.

Over 300 concerned people flocked to Mark Village Hall, as pictured here, for Monday's four-hour public meeting organised by National Power.

Project Manager Peter Bryant told Burnham-On-Sea.com at Monday's meeting: "It has been a very busy day. There have been lots of questions asked from people who have been both for and against the pylons. Some have certainly had strong feelings, but these have not all been against the pylons."

"We haven't decided yet where the route of the pylons will go, so cannot say who will be most affected. People have been asking about compensation and those that have pylons on their land may be able to make claims."

Burnham-On-Sea.com spoke to several residents at the meeting to seek their views about the scheme.

Local resident Terrence Cutler told Burnham-On-Sea.com: "I don't understand why they can't put the power lines underground. In this day and age, the technology must be there to hide them away. One of the maps shows the pylons coming across my six acres, which is a concern. The estate agent tells me the value of our land could fall by quite a large sum."

Mark resident Razaka Firmager told Burnham-On-Sea.com: "I've had a long conversation with one of the National Power staff and am amazed that the pylons will not have the capacity to take away the extra power generated by a Severn Barrage or the proposed Bridgwater Bay lagoon in the future."

"Further, higher voltage lines would be needed. It seems to me that the government and National Power are not talking to each other."

But local resident John Harris added: "We need the power in this country, so the extra electricity lines have to be built and they have to go somewhere. Nobody likes them, but they're essential."

Depending upon the final route, the new line would be approximately 37 miles long and is planned to be built by 2016 at a cost of around £2 million per mile. For a map showing the two proposed routes of the power lines, click here.

Our photos show the scenes in Mark Village Hall at Monday evening's consultation event