Nailsea residents wave farewell to the last pylon
August 2023 saw the last of 23 pylons removed between Nailsea and Portishead as part of National Grid’s Hinkley Connection Project.
The 132,000 volt line, operated by National Grid Electricity Distribution (formerly Western Power Distribution ), used to run close to homes and over gardens in Nailsea. The wires between the pylons were removed in spring 2023, and now the pylon structures have disappeared too.
Across the Hinkley Connection Project, 249 pylons are being removed from the Somerset landscape to make way for the 143 new pylons (116 T-pylons and 27 lattice pylons) being erected to form the new high voltage electricity line from Bridgwater to Avonmouth.
The commitment by National Grid to remove the existing line was a direct result of feedback received during the consultation process.
The felling of the pylons in Nailsea started with three pylons on land owned by Nailsea Rugby Club and ended with a pylon on Hanham Way. The last of the pylons came down on 4 August 2023, and the view from residents’ properties changed in an instant.
People living and working in the west end of Nailsea were particularly pleased to see the last of the pylons disappear.
The Hinkley Connection route will connect six million homes and businesses to new sources of low-carbon, homegrown energy when the power station at Hinkley Point C begins generation.
