National Grid shares updated plans for vital electricity upgrade between Grimsby and Walpole

• As demand for electricity rises, Grimsby to Walpole will help connect more home-grown British energy, boosting local economies, creating jobs, and providing cleaner, more affordable energy.  
• Part of National Grid’s The Great Grid Upgrade, the largest overhaul of the grid in a generation. 
• Eight-week public consultation runs from 11 June to 6 August 2025 

National Grid has published its refined proposals for a new 140 km overhead electricity line between a new substation at Grimsby West in north east Lincolnshire and another in the Walpole area of Norfolk. As part of its commitment to engaging with local communities, National Grid is inviting feedback on updates to proposals through an eight-week public consultation, running from Wednesday 11 June to Wednesday 6 August 2025. 

Grimsby to Walpole is one of five new electricity transmission projects being proposed in Lincolnshire. Three are mainly offshore projects and two, Grimsby to Walpole and Weston Marsh to East Leicestershire are overhead line projects. All form part of National Grid’s The Great Grid Upgrade, the biggest investment in the electricity network in Britain for a generation. These new projects are vital upgrades to meet the growing demand for electricity in the years ahead, including in Lincolnshire where demand is expected to double. Upgrading the grid now will help connect more home-grown British energy, supporting increased demand as well as boosting local economies, creating jobs, and providing cleaner, more affordable energy. 

Grimsby to Walpole is needed because the existing network does not have the capacity to carry the volume of cleaner home-grown British energy that is being generated. The new power line will allow more electricity to flow from where it is being produced along the East Coast, to where it is needed in homes and businesses across Lincolnshire and between the north and the Midlands and between the Midlands and the south.  This will reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels, which are often expensive and affected by global market pressures, helping to make Britain’s energy more secure and independent, delivering long-term benefits to bill payers. 

Ben Muncey, Project Director for Grimsby to Walpole, commented: “The way we generate electricity has changed and is continuing to change. As our demand for electricity grows, this project will connect our homes, businesses and public services to sources of home-grown British energy which will lower our electricity bills in the long-term and make us more energy independent. 

We thank everyone who commented on the initial proposals during our last round of consultation. The feedback was critical to refining the proposed route and we look forward to engaging the community around the updated plans.

National Grid held a non-statutory consultation last year, using local feedback to inform the design. Refinements to the proposals since the non-statutory consultation include:

• The introduction of low-height pylons to reduce effects on the Lincolnshire Wolds National Landscape.  
• The proposed route has been refined to avoid the wind turbines and solar farm at The Hollies renewable energy development. (East Lindsey district)
• Refined the proposed route near Hubbert’s Bridge to avoid close proximity to residential properties and maintain safe distances from Boston Aerodrome. (Boston district)
• The proposed route has been refined to increase the distance between the overhead line and Strubby Airfield to reduce potential safety and operational impacts on aviation activities. (East Lindsey district)
• Refined the proposed route near Newton-in-the-isle to avoid interactions with a high-pressure gas pipeline, reducing technical complexity and ensuring safe, efficient construction. (Fenland district)
• The proposed route at Covenham Saint Bartholemew has been refined to reduce potential impacts on users of The Thomas Centre, a holiday park for users with special educational needs and disabilities. (East Lindsey district)
• The proposed route at Weston Hills been refined to avoiding closely passing nearby properties. (South Holland district)
• The proposed route has been refined to avoid impacts to holiday cottages located on the bank of Steeping River in Little Steeping. (East Lindsey district)
• Avoids siting of pylons within Bradley Road planned solar arrays, and within associated skylark mitigation areas. (North East Lincolnshire district)