23 July 2009
Now you see them....soon you won't. Overhead power lines will soon be a thing of the past at two West Lakes beauty spots.
Electricity engineers have begun work to remove a total of 3.4km of overhead power lines and poles in Lorton Vale, near Crummock Water, and replace them with underground cables so they don't spoil the view.
It's all thanks to a pioneering partnership between Electricity North West, United Utilities, Friends of the Lake District and the Lake District National Park Authority which has already seen around 11km of overhead power lines removed in Cumbria.
The £5m programme uses an allowance from electricity regulator Ofgem, which is set aside specifically to remove overhead wires in areas of high landscape value like national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty.
In Lorton Vale, two sections of line will go underground at a cost of £275,000 - a 750m section at the foot of Grasmoor fell, near Lanthwaite, and a 2.6km section between Swinside and Miller Place, including the hamlet of Hopebeck.
Work near Lanthwaite started at the end of June and will take until early August. The project at Swinside will follow immediately afterwards and take a further two months.
United Utilities engineer Jeff Canfield, who is managing the two schemes, said not only was the area beautiful, it was also historic. "We are employing an archaeologist at part of the scheme in case we unearth anything special. We will also have to take great care to protect water life when we cross Hope Beck. But when we're finished the landscape will look the same as it did before the power lines were built."
The wires were highlighted for removal following a survey of more than 100 kilometres of line by volunteers from conservation charity Friends of the Lake District and the Lake District National Park Authority.
Penny Ozanne who works for both Friends of the Lake District, which has campaigned for the removal of overhead lines for many years, and the Lake District National Park Authority welcomed the work.
"This is great news for some of our most highly valued landscapes which will benefit from uninterrupted views. Ofgem has announced a commitment to continue the allowance. However there is more work to be done, Ofgem have given a commitment to the funding, but exactly how the money can be spent has still to be agreed - it will be important to ensure that our most iconic landscapes will benefit," she said.
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