Campaigners opposed to a 180km line of electricity pylons stretching through East Anglia have shared their frustration with Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss’s silence on the issue.
The group has written to Ms Truss, who is likely to be elected as Britain’s next prime minister next week, asking her to commit to the proposed project going offshore and underground.
While her rival Rishi Sunak has given his commitment to “delivering a coordinated offshore grid”, Ms Truss has remained silent on the question.
The pylons are being proposed by the National Grid, in a scheme known as East Anglia GREEN (Green Energy Enablement).
The utility company says the line is needed in order to transport the increasing amounts of energy being generated by wind turbines off the Norfolk coast - and help the UK meet its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The route would run from Dunston, just south of Norwich, down through south Norfolk and into Suffolk and Essex, before ending at Tilbury, on the Thames estuary.
Opponents of the project worry that the pylons, planned to be 50m high, will spoil the view of the local countryside and have impacts on wildlife.
National Grid has said that running the line offshore would not be “technically feasible or economic”.
Campaigners from the Essex Suffolk Norfolk Pylons action group contacted both Ms Truss and Mr Sunak, asking if they’ll back the creation of an offshore grid.
Group spokesperson Rosie Pearson said: “We believe it’s high-time Ms Truss nailed her colours to the mast and made clear her position on planned electricity infrastructure in her region."
She added: "She is not only a leadership candidate but she’s also a Norfolk MP.
“Our group and many of our supporters wrote to her in July but none of us have had a response – and that’s very disappointing”.
In a letter to the group, Mr Sunak’s campaign said: “Building vital infrastructure offshore will reduce disruption to coastal and rural communities…
“Where onshore infrastructure is required, a Rishi Sunak-led government would ensure that disruption to residents is minimised.”
Mr Sunak also recently said that he would order National Grid to consult again on “innovative and alternative solutions” for the scheme.
Ms Truss’s leadership campaign was repeatedly approached for comment on her position on the scheme, but no response was given.
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