From November 2024, we will be carrying out essential maintenance work on the 400kV overhead electricity transmission line between Lovedean in Hampshire and Bolney in West Sussex.
 

Project overview

Over the next year we will be refurbishing sections of the overhead line between Lovedean and Bolney, replacing fittings on pylons and repairing steelwork where necessary.

The route, made up of 190 pylons with two circuits, begins at our substation in Lovedean and runs close to the South Downs National Park, to our substation at Bolney.

We will refurbish each circuit separately to allow electricity provision to be maintained when the power is turned off on one side of the pylons. There will be no disruption to the supply of electricity while this work is carried out.

We are committed to investing in the ongoing refurbishment of our network to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of our customers and communities for years to come. This maintenance work is needed to ensure a continued, reliable supply of electricity to homes and businesses.

What you can expect to see

While the refurbishment is ongoing, you can expect to see work to establish access routes, repairs to pylon steelwork, and engineers working at height to replace the fittings. Our working hours will be between 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday.   

The work will be carried out by Morgan Sindall, on behalf of National Grid.

We don’t anticipate our work causing any major disruption, but you may hear some noise while we are working, or notice some construction vehicles in your local area.

To facilitate these works we will occasionally need to temporarily close local roads, footpaths and bridleways where they intersect with the overhead line route. We will ensure that these closures are communicated with local communities ahead of them taking place.  These closures will ensure the safety of members of the public and workers whilst these essential maintenance works are being undertaken.   
 

What’s next?

To enable the first stage of refurbishment to start next year, we are currently in the process of undertaking an inspection of each of the pylons to assess their condition.

This requires the site surrounding each pylon to be prepared, which involves clearing any vegetation to enable safe access. All vegetation clearance is being undertaken in line with the guidance and consent provided by the relevant authorities.

Once this initial period of vegetation clearance and site inspection is complete, we expect the main works to commence in March 2025.

We anticipate that the maintenance works will be complete by November 2025.
 

Keeping you informed

We will update this webpage as we progress through the project to let you know where you might expect to see our team working.  For some areas, updates will be provided by email or post before we start our work.
 

Contact us

If you want to find out more about the project or have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in contact by emailing us at: [email protected]  or by calling 0800 998 7802 (between 9am and 4:30pm, Monday to Friday).