Tendring District Council formally raised serious objections on 19 March 2026 to a 184-kilometre power line project that would run through the north Essex countryside. The council expressed its opposition to the proposal from National Grid, warning that the 400,000-volt line would cause significant damage to the landscape and local businesses.
The council sent a detailed report to planning inspectors concluding that the project would cause unresolved harm to the environment and the rural economy. Leaders are concerned that building the project in the Ardleigh and Little Bromley area would take up the only high-quality farming land in the district.
Essex County Council has also repeated its own opposition to the scheme, joining leaders in Norfolk and Suffolk who want to see cables moved under the sea instead. A local campaign group called Essex Suffolk Norfolk Pylons has also gathered more than 40,000 signatures on a petition to stop the pylons being built on land.
The project is part of a £30 billion upgrade to the national energy network and is designed to provide power to six million homes. If the plans receive final approval in early 2027, construction could start later that year with the new lines expected to be working by 2031.
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