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A former Countryfile presenter will lead efforts to make pylons less of an eyesore in natural beauty spots, National Grid announced on Wednesday.
Chris Baines, an author, broadcaster and environmentalist, will chair an independent group to identify ways to reduce the visual impact of electricity infrastructure in nationally protected landscapes.
Ofgem last year agreed electricity transmission owners acrossBritaincould spend £500 million on such projects over the next eight years.
Baines will work with organisations including the Campaign for National Parks, Campaign to Protect Rural England, Campaign to Protect Rural Wales and the National Trust to decide where best to spend the money.
John Pettigrew, UK chief operating officer at National Grid, said: “Our electricity network connects people to the energy they use, the energy our society is built on. In announcing the appointment of Chris as independent chair of this important group, we are reinforcing our commitment to work with a wide range of groups to reduce its visual impact on the landscape and environment.”
Baines has previously sat on review panels for the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment and the London 2012 Olympic Village. As a former trustee of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, he helped allocate the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Baines said: “I’m delighted to be part of the Visual Impact Provision Project, which represents a major opportunity to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and environmental heritage of our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Stakeholder Advisory Group has an important role to play in identifying projects to ensure that the fund is used in the most efficient way to deliver maximum benefit for our most treasured landscapes.”
The Campaign to Protect Rural England welcomed the announcement. Policy director Neil Sinden said it was a “significant step forward in removing electricity pylons and transmission lines from some of our most precious landscapes”.
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