Concerns about a lack of well-thought-through policies and joined-up thinking about National Grid’s Great Grid Upgrade have prompted the Suffolk Preservation Society (SPS) to join with Norfolk and Essex branches of the CPRE (Campaign To Protect Rural England) to commission a report titled Greening the Great Grid Upgrade setting out the case for modifying the current proposals for enlarging the electricity grid.
It was written by Dr Andy Tickle, an independent planning and campaign consultant who has worked on energy, planning and environmental issues for over 40 years.
Currently, there are seven projects which will have a massive impact on local communities and landscapes in East Anglia. The report provides a detailed critique of the Great Grid Upgrade’s strengths and weaknesses and how it might be improved to reduce the impacts on the countryside and ensure that impacted communities are properly heard.
The report considers that National Grid could be moving too fast with its plans, risking leaving a legacy of individual projects that may be surplus to our energy requirements, do not integrate with each other, fail to maximise their full environmental benefits and marginalise affected communities.