Two broad route corridor options for the new line between our substations at Bridgwater and Seabank (Avonmouth) have been identified by National Grid, taking account of our statutory duties.

Our proposals for the new overhead line are still in their early stages and the map below shows the broad route corridor options along with brief descriptions.  

The corridors shown are stretches of land in which a new overhead power line could be located, and therefore they are often much wider than the actual amount of land needed for a new overhead line.

Depending upon the final route, the overhead line would be approximately 37miles (60km) long.

The pylons would be of a standard design and height for this type of line, approximately 46.5 metres tall, although the exact height of each pylon may vary depending on the local landscape.

For more information on how National Grid arrived at these two route corridor options, please see the strategic options report.

For a more detailed map click on the area you wish to view below:

• Map 1: Hinkley Point Power Station, Bridgwater, Woolavington and Highbridge [3.0 Mb]
• Map 2: Mendip Hills AONB, Weston-super-Mare, Yatton, Congresbury and Nailsea [3.6 Mb]
• Map 3: Clevedon, Portishead, City of Bristol and Avonmouth [3.9 Mb]

Corridor 1

Two potential options have been identified in this corridor. The first would be to decommission the existing 132,000 volt overhead electricity line (owned by the distribution network operator) that runs between Bridgwater and Seabank and adopt the same route for the new 400,000 volt line. The second would be the construction of the new 400,000 volt line parallel to this 132,000 volt line.

Corridor 2

Corridor two is slightly more complicated as it contains a number of different options. The corridor follows a route which runs to the east of the existing 132,000 volt power line from Bridgwater before joining up with it at the Mendips. We have then identified two options for the corridor from this point, one that runs parallel and to the east of the M5 Motorway and a second which follows the route of the existing 132,000 volt line. This second option then has a further two possible routes identified by the junction which leads to Churchill substation – one to the east of the existing line and one to the west. All three of these possible corridors converge again north east of Weston-super-Mare and carry on to the east of Nailsea before rejoining the existing line near Portishead and on to Seabank.