CONSTABLE Country’s stunning landscape could be dug up as part of plans to upgrade the electricity network across the east.

The National Grid has launched a public consultation on its East Anglia Green Energy Enablement (GREEN) project.

The proposals aim to upgrade the network between Norwich, Bramford and Tilbury, with a new connection substation on the Tendring peninsula.

This is due to the significant increase in energy use likely to be generated as part of the country’s goal for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

According to the plans, the infrastructure will mainly include overhead cables and pylons except in the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) where underground works are proposed.

National Grid’s strategy document reads: “Generally, we would seek to avoid routeing through an AONB, partly to avoid impacting the nationally designated area and partly to avoid incurring the high additional costs of using underground cables to mitigate landscape effects.

“The longer length of the route around the AONB and the potential for additional constraints around Colchester led us to conclude that routeing through the AONB, using underground cable, is preferred.

“Of the routes through the AONB, the preferred corridor is furthest away from the bird populations in the estuary, so is likely to have least effect on them and also avoids conservation areas and the key tourist area at Flatford Mill, which might have been affected by construction in the other two corridors with cable through the AONB.”

Adam Sedgwick, who is a committee member of the Dedham Vale Society says “the real alternative is not one route through or around the AONB”.

He added: “It is quite clear there will be an immense amount of offshore wind electricity to drop the market and the logical way to do this is to build an undersea grid which could not only avoid the environmental effects of doing it on shore but also be well suited for exporting to northern Europe.

“Undergrounding through the AONB is all well but we still have the question ‘What about the pylons close but not in the AONB and are highly visible from it?”

To have your say on the consultation visit ngrid.com/3rGy8EY.