Little Horsted

Project description

At National Grid we are at the heart of Britain’s energy system, connecting people to the energy they use, safely and reliably. We keep the lights on so people can go about their daily lives. And we’re working to build a cleaner, fairer and more affordable energy system that serves everyone.

Electricity is carried from power stations, wind farms and other sources through a network of high-voltage electricity lines, owned and operated by National Grid. These electricity lines connect to hundreds of substations around the country, which then transfer electricity to local distributors, who in turn supply it at a lower voltage to local homes, schools and businesses.

This project involves the development of a new electricity supply point near Little Horsted, at the junction of Eastbourne Road with the A22. This is essential to allow UK Power Networks to connect to our network, enabling them to improve the electricity supply to the surrounding area and meet increased demand.

The new connection will involve building two new electricity substations (one for National Grid and one for UK Power Networks, which they will deliver) and two new pylons, along with the dismantling of one existing pylon.
 

Site update – May 2025

We’re continuing to build Little Horsted substation. 

What you may see/notice on site: 

• Security fencing installed around the site’s perimeter
• Mechanical and electrical structures built
• Enclosed building structures for control and protection equipment 

What you may see/notice near our site:

• Improvements to land off Palehouse Common and Sand Hill Lane to benefit protected species. This includes scrub and hedge planting, fruit tree planting, wildflower meadow creation, pond enhancements, the installation of bat and bird boxes and erection of deer fencing

We’re preparing for the overhead line works needed to connect the substation to the network. 

This requires work to neighbouring pylons and the overhead wires either side of the new substation from East Sussex National Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa (to the west) and Sand Hill Lane, Harveys Lane and Palehouse Common (to the east).

• Soon you may see workers establishing satellite compound areas where we will ‘pull’ the new wire from pylon to pylon, lay temporary trackway for access to pylon locations, erect scaffolding either side of the A22 and Eastbourne Road and net across the road for safety during reconductoring.
• From September to November our contractors will be working at height on pylons and there will be overhead line wire activity.

Towards the end of the project, around spring 2026, access roads will be stoned and tarmacked, and landscaping and tree planting will be done.

Road closures and traffic management 

There will be works nearby linked to our project which will mean short term road lane closures and traffic signals. I wanted to make you aware of them as delays are likely:  

• A22 – Fibre optic cable installation into site. Likely traffic control (two-way signals).
• Scaffolding on both sides of roads appearing as part of the OHL works
• There will be some night-time closures on the A22 for the scaffolding netting to be erected and later removed. The dates for this work are Monday 18 August 10pm to 4am, Wednesday 24 September 10pm to 4am, Tuesday 30 September 10pm to 4am and Thursday 6 November midnight to 4am. The last date is a lane closure only with 15-minute closures working around any traffic. 

Footpath closures

The following footpaths will be impacted by our overhead line works between August and November (17/8/2025 to 8/11/2025). They will be temporarily closed in the interest of user safety whilst overhead work takes place.

• Bridleway Little Horsted 10b
• Footpath Framfield 11
• Footpath Framfield 6
• Footpath Framfield 7
• Footpath East Hoathly with Halland 30

These footpaths will remain open - Framfield 9, 12, 10, 8a and 8b.

See maps for more information

There will be short term path closures on Framfield 8a and 8b for scaffolding and netting to be constructed over the paths.

If you have any queries or concerns about this work, please contact our community relations team. You can call for free on 0800 073 1047 or email [email protected]. An answering service in place outside normal working hours.  

You can also visit for details: Temporary closures | East Sussex County Council.

Community Grant Programme

Due to the very nature of what we do – connecting people to the energy we all use – we’re at the heart of communities and each year we make a significant charitable investment in the UK. Our Community Grant Programme is aimed at community organisations and charities in areas where our work is impacting local people through our operations and construction activities.

Communities impacted by the maintenance of existing infrastructure (e.g. refurbishment of overhead lines or substations resulting in road closures and other impacts) can apply for grants of up to £10,000.

Communities impacted by construction work for new infrastructure projects (e.g. the building of new underground tunnels or a new substation resulting in a significant increase in heavy goods traffic, noise and other impacts) can apply for grants of up to £20,000.
 

Find out how to apply