Farmers rally in Suffolk village over new pylon route

A dozen tractors rolled into the village of Cotton, near Stowmarket, on Saturday (15 November) as farmers and campaigners staged co-ordinated protests across East Anglia against National Grid’s plans for a 180km pylon route between Norwich and Tilbury.

The demonstration formed part of a day of action in at least eight villages along the proposed route, organised by the Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk Pylons campaign group.

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The rally in Cotton drew around 15 tractors, representing the number of pylons expected to pass through the parish. Two Conservative MPs, Bernard Jenkin and James Cartlidge, joined the protest.

Rosie Pearson, founder of the pylon campaign group, said: “It’s been going on for nearly three and a half years, across the heart of rural arable land across three counties.

“It’s a major issue to farmers… farms might be cut in half. Everyone knows there are better ways of doing things.”

She added that the protest aimed to remind residents that “they can still fight” during the registration window with the Planning Inspectorate, which closes on 27 November.

Protests were held in villages along the proposed route © Chris Lockwood

Land losses

Local farmer Andrew Bullock, who expects to lose one-third of his arable land if the scheme proceeds, brought four tractors to the protest.

He said: “We are all for renewable energy, but this project is crazy. It will take out a third of our arable land.”

He explained that the construction work would involve “pushing the top soil off”, a process that “concerns me the most with the drainage and the soil structure”.

Mr Bullock added: “We won’t be able to farm the land as they will be going through the centre of two or three of the fields. I feel like I am banging my head against a brick wall.”

Nearly 40,000 people have signed a petition urging an offshore grid instead, with others calling for underground cabling.

Listening mode

A spokesman for National Grid said: “We’ve been listening to local communities, landowners, and representatives over the past three years to help shape our Norwich to Tilbury proposals.

“Through hundreds of consultation events, online forums, and direct conversations, the project received around 20,000 pieces of community feedback, with numerous changes made to the project.

“The secretary of state for energy security and net zero will make the final decision, following a recommendation from the Planning Inspectorate, on whether we have achieved the right balance between environmental considerations and engineering options.”