Maldon's river estuary and huge swathes of mid-Essex hill country is to be enhanced by the removal of 50 electricity pylons.

A major project to upgrade the power network in Essex is being carried out in the Maldon area by the new utility network operator, 24seven as part of a £100 million a year rolling programme for the whole of East Anglia - of which Essex gets the lion's share of work.

An £850,000 refurbishment and reinforcement scheme will cater for the predicted growth in demand for electricity in the Maldon and South Woodham Ferrers area as well as securing the power supply for around 15,000 existing customers.

The project will also bring added environmental benefits to the area - by getting rid of the pylons and diverting the power to modernised cabling elsewhere.

Nine kilometres of overhead power line, supported by 50 steel pylons, will become redundant as a result of this network reinforcement project and will be dismantled.

Work under the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation is due to start next week while negotiations for the use of the helicopters is on-going with the aim of Cock Clarks to Howe Green work beginning in early December.

Said 24seven's senior project manager, Bob Booth: "The recent floods have left the ground beneath these lines too soft to bear the weight of the heavy cranes we would normally use, so we are looking at the feasibility of using a helicopter instead."

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