‘We don’t even notice the pylon in our garden after 30 years’: Nottinghamshire residents say plans to give discounts for homes near pylons aren’t needed
Elaine Riley, 78 and Michael Riley, 86 moved into their house in Toton, near Beeston, in June 1996 and their garden backs on directly to a pylon
Nottinghamshire residents living in the shadow of pylons say new government plans to reduce energy bills for people who move into houses near the structures are unnecessary.
The government says people who move into newly-built houses within 500m of new or upgraded pylons will get discounts of up to £250 a year from 2026.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the compensation, which will be funded by increasing bills across the country by 80p, could deliver cleaner energy in the UK and get more homes built. People living in existing homes near pylons won’t be eligible.
Mr. Miliband said on Monday (March 10) the plans are about “recognising the service” people living near pylons were doing for the country – but residents in a Nottingham village surrounded by pylons say they’re just part of everyday life.
Married couple Elaine, 78, and Michael Riley, 86, moved into their house in Toton, near Beeston, in June 1996. Their garden backs directly on to one of the pylons.
“It’s a structure and doesn’t cause us any immediate problem – when you’re in the house, you don’t notice it,” Elaine said of the pylon, named AK-49 by the National Grid.
“It was there before these houses were built, so the houses should have been built further away. When you’re off the estate, you can see it from a long distance away.
“That’s the directions I always give – ‘we’re under the pylon’. But in the garden we’ve disguised it with a high hedge and trees.”
Elaine says the pylon hasn’t caused any major issues during their 29 years in the house, which they bought when they were “a bit desperate.”
“We don’t get cheaper electricity – we joke about hacking into it,” she adds.
“In the weather, the pylon hums. Occasionally, helicopters check the lines, but other than that, no problems. We’ve got to have electricity and if pylons are the only means of transporting it, then they’ve got to be there.”
The National Grid says there are more than 90,000 transmission and distribution pylons across the UK.
Under the new plans, £250 will be deducted from energy bills of people in newly-built homes near pylons each year for 10 years, paid for by increasing average annual bills across the country by 80p.
Councillor Richard Mallender, the Green Party representative on Rushcliffe Borough Council for the Lady Bay ward, supports the plans.
“We need to get that renewable power to where people live and where new homes will be built,” he said.
“There’s a lot of scaremongering and people going ‘I don’t want a pylon in my area – it’ll spoil my view. The climate crisis is far more important and we have to deal with that for all our futures.
Explore more
