Wylfa Newydd pylon route published as consultation is launched

National Grid has just published a map showing the 27km route of the new pylon line which will transport power from the new Wylfa Newydd nuclear power station on Anglesey to the Pentir substation in Gwynedd on the Welsh mainland. Much of the proposed line will follow the route of an existing pylon line which runs from the Wylfa nuclear power station across Anglesey and into north Gwynedd.

National Grid has also published images of the five-metre wide tunnel that will carry cables under the Menai Strait. This will be one of the most significant civil engineering projects in Wales in recent years, undertaken by some of the greatest engineers in the world. The tunnel will be around 4km long and means that pylons will be situated at some distance from the coast, thereby avoiding impacts on the Anglesey Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Trust land at Plas Newydd and Vaynol Park.

Gillespies was commissioned by National Grid plc to advise on the landscape and visual issues in routeing both the overhead line and siting the associated infrastructure which includes extensions to the substation, new sealing end compounds and tunnel head houses. The planning team at Gillespies are also providing specialist consenting officer support to National Grid.

Although some impacts from the pylons will be unavoidable, National Grid has chosen a route which will keep the impacts of the new connection on communities and the environment to a minimum.  Feedback from communities and technical specialists has been used to further reduce the effects of the proposal. 

Gillespies will continue to work with National Grid in reviewing the proposals alongside the information received from the current consultation and develop them further to ensure that effects on landscape and visual interest are minimised  through a carefully designed and mitigated overhead line route.

Read the BBC article here