Norfolk pylon locations revealed for 'net-zero power line'

National Grid wants to build a major new 112-mile 400kV power line they say is needed to help the UK achieve its ambition of net zero emissions by 2050.

Pylons on the existing power line through south Norfolk which is also being upgraded (Image: Google)

It would see them controversially building pylons across a swathe of south Norfolk which critics have said will lead to the "annihilation of the countryside".

READ MORE: New electricity pylons will 'carve up' the countryside, opponents claim

Where each of the huge pylons could be sited is to be revealed when an eight-week second public consultation begins on June 27.

Liam Walker, project director, said: “The feedback we received in last year’s initial consultation has been valuable in helping us to further shape our proposals. 

“This latest consultation is another part of our engagement with communities and stakeholders along the proposed route and we encourage people to share their views on the updated proposals.”

The new pylons would be 50m high and carry 400kV (Image: Newsquest)

The new proposed line would run south from an expanded main electricity substation at Dunston, near Norwich, down to Tilbury on the Thames estuary.

READ MORE: Norfolk County Council slams 'totally unacceptable' pylon plan

It would transport six gigawatts enough to power six million homes in East Anglia and across the country.

National Grid said the proposed new route broadly stuck to a previously suggested corridor parallel to the A140 before passing between Bressingham and Roydon, near Diss.

Further south part pylons will be replaced with underground cables - through the Dedham Vale area of outstanding natural beauty on the Essex/Suffolk border.

READ MORE: Row over cost of running pylon route offshore

However buried cables in Norfolk or taking the line down the coast offshore have been ruled too expensive. 

The corridor that the power would run from Dunston into Suffolk near Diss (Image: National Grid)

The consultation, which runs until August 21, includes an interactive website, four webinars and face-to-face events in Diss on July 7, Tibenham on July 10 and Tasburgh on July 18.

Full statutory consultation over the final planning proposals will be held in 2024. If given the go-ahead construction is planned to start in 2027 with the new connection becoming operational early in 2031.