Opposition to power line stepped up

A campaign against the routing of a controversial 220kV power line through the north-west has been stepped up with the news that construction work is about to begin.

The ESB National Grid is running the high-voltage 56km line through from Flagford, near Carrick-on-Shannon, to Srananagh, near Ballintogher, passing through parts of Roscommon, Leitrim and Sligo.

The plan received the approval of An Bord Pleanála in November 2002 after a high-profile campaign against the project from groups of objectors in the three counties.

ESB National Grid said yesterday that construction would begin on the project "within weeks". However, anti-pylon campaigners called for the resignation of the ESB chief executive over the issue, saying the company had failed to address environmental concerns.

Recently the umbrella group AMP (Against More Pylons/Alternative Means of Power) lodged a petition with the EU, claiming that the project's environmental impact statement was defective. Yesterday Mr Roy Henry, secretary of the group, called on the ESB National Grid to reconsider its plans.

"Even at this stage, it is not too late," he said. The scheme would damage "one of the last remaining unspoiled tracts of countryside left in the west", he said. "This despite the fact that the underground option, among others, is actually cheaper and less damaging to the environment," he said.

"We think this is a quick-fix solution. We want to see an integrated planning policy where development plans are honoured and where power can be generated in the west if it is needed in the west."

However, ESB National Grid rejected these criticisms. "These issues were all fully dealt with by the three county councils and the plans were approved by independent bodies, including An Bord Pleanála," a spokesman for ESB National Grid said.

He also rejected claims that underground lines were cheaper and said they were "five to 10 times more expensive" than the overhead option.

The scheme was supported by the Council for the West.