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Dorset AONB pylon removal plans approved by council

National Grid Pylons in DorsetNational Grid
The current overhead lines were constructed between 1965 and 1969

Plans to remove a section of overhead pylons in Dorset's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) have been approved.

National Grid will remove 22 pylons along a five-mile (8km) stretch of the county near the villages of Martinstown and Winterbourne Abbas.

Overhead power lines will then be buried in the area.

The aim is to reduce their visual impact on the AONB, according to the utility company.

The plans, which were approved by West Dorset District Council, are subject to a legal agreement to secure money for ecological and landscape enhancements.

The preferred route of the underground cables was designed to avoid properties and known archaeology, National Grid said.

David Smith Martinstown, DorsetDavid Smith
National Grid wants to bury overhead powers lines along a five-mile stretch near the villages of Martinstown (pictured) and Winterbourne Abbas

The work is expected to take up to three years to complete.

Dorset's AONB was designated in 1959 and covers just over 40% of the county, from Lyme Regis to Poole Harbour and inland as far as Blandford Forum.