The RSPB’s view

16 July 2025 · Updated: 22 July 2025

From the RSPB:

For example, in 2022 we successfully campaigned, alongside our partners and supporters, for the National Grid not to route power lines through Hintlesham Woods, an ancient woodland in Suffolk, part of which is managed by the RSPB.

We also don’t agree with plans to tunnel new electricity cables under RSPB North Warren in Suffolk, as we believe that there are other, less damaging, options for locating the new infrastructure.

On wetlands it adds:

Their impact on wildlife very much depends on where they’re built. For example, if pylons are erected in wetlands, they can pose a danger to certain birds, such as swans and geese. This is partly because they don’t have good forward-facing vision and so they may not see pylons when they’re flying.