These bird's-eye view photographs show the progress being made as fields off the A47 near Norwich are transformed into a huge electrical substation.

The fields next to the A47 southern bypass, close to the village of Swardeston, are being concreted over for the construction of the facility.

Danish energy company Ørsted is building an onshore converter station on the land.

It will take power generated by the Hornsea Three wind farm, which is set to be built off the Norfolk coast.

The site, east of the village's Main Road, is where power, brought to shore along cables laid in a 35-mile-long trench across Norfolk, will be converted so it can be fed into the National Grid.

Eastern Daily Press: The fields near the A47 Norwich southern bypass are being concreted over during construction of a substation for the Hornsea Three windfarmThe fields near the A47 Norwich southern bypass are being concreted over during construction of a substation for the Hornsea Three windfarm (Image: Mike Page)

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The Planning Inspectorate granted permission for that converter station in 2020, while South Norfolk Council agreed, earlier this year, that large industrial batteries to store energy can be installed on part of the site.

That was despite concerns raised by Swardeston Parish Council and Nigel Legg, who was, at that time, South Norfolk district councillor for the area.

They were worried about the fire risk of the lithium-ion battery technology to be used and the visual impact of the development.

READ MORE: Lithium-ion batteries spark Norfolk fire risk fears

When the plans were approved Ørsted representatives said the company had worked closely with Norfolk Fire and Rescue Services over the technology and it was "not in anyone's interest" for there to be an incident at the site.

The creation of offshore wind farms off the county's coast has caused controversy, because of the impact on communities.

Eastern Daily Press: The substation will be used to take power from the Hornsea Three windfarmThe substation will be used to take power from the Hornsea Three windfarm

And the halting of Vattenfall's plans for the Norfolk Boreas farm, amid rising costs, has also cast doubt over the future of such projects.

But National Grid is pushing ahead with consultation over its proposal for a 112-mile 400kV power line - including over a swathe of south Norfolk - from an expanded main electricity substation at nearby Dunston down to Tilbury on the Thames estuary.

Councils, MPs, campaign groups and communities affected argue the cables should go under the sea, rather than overground, via 50 metre-tall pylons.