Campaigners fighting 110-mile pylon route ask King to help highlight their cause

A campaign group fighting a plan to erect 110 miles of new electricity pylons across the countryside has written to the King asking for his help.

The group have asked King Charles to push the government to consider alternatives to the National Grid scheme, which would see the new 50-metre high pylons crossing Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.

The line would carry energy generated by offshore wind farms.

The proposal, known as East Anglia Green, has angered opponents from the Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk Pylons Action Group who say the electricity should be carried by power lines under the sea, rather than through countryside.

The government has agreed to a review by the Electricity System Operator (ESO), which will consider offshore routes, but now campaigners have written to the King too.

The letter, drafted by Colchester-based chartered engineer Martin Snook, asks the King if he will "support the need for the government to properly and fairly consider alternatives to the current scheme".

Mr Snook said: "We decided to contact King Charles at this point because we believe that, as head of state, he should be aware of what is going on before it is too late to change course.

"The National Grid pylons proposal is a bad solution that will leave an awful legacy. It will cause untold damage to the environment and to communities."

Campaigners want an integrated offshore grid to be built instead, allowing power from the North Sea wind farms to be taken around the coast rather than across the countryside.

Mr Snook added: “Our letter is possibly an unusual step to take but the more time passes the greater the risk the project will proceed in its current form by default."

Campaigner Rosie Pearson added: “Everyone knows how committed the King is to environment conservation, so we hope he will be able to help us in some way.

"We are aware he doesn’t intervene in political disputes but he may be able to help persuade the government to consider the offshore alternative we as a group have researched and costed.

"Germany, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Italy and Ireland have all committed to offshore grids – and it’s high time we did the same.”

People in Essex have said they fear the pylons will be a blot on their landscape.

Campaigners said they had support from MPs but that government departments seemed unwilling to challenge the National Grid.

On the East Anglia Green website, National Grid says new energy infrastructure is essential due to a "significant increase" in renewable and low carbon electricity in East Anglia.

It adds: "It will play a vital role in delivering electricity efficiently, reliably, and safely and will support the UK’s move to reduce carbon emissions." 

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