Power lines undergrounded at Tindale Tarn

Spring/summer 2022

In January 2022, Electricity North West (ENW), the electricity company for the north west region, removed overhead power lines and electricity poles at Tindale Tarn, owned by RSPB, at a cost of £316,000.

By the time the current programme finishes in 2023, approximately 40 kilometres of electricity power lines, costing over £4 million, will have been undergrounded in Cumbria alone. This Tindale Tarn scheme has removed almost two kilometres of above ground wires and poles from the protected landscape of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

There is funding for the undergrounding of overhead lines in National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty through an allowance from the energy regulator Ofgem over eight years. In response to this, the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership (North Pennines AONB Partnership) identified several overhead lines for undergrounding and submitted these to ENW for design and construction. This included a long section of high and low voltage overhead lines near Tindale Tarn.

Friends of the Lake District Overhead Wires Officer, Amanda McCleery, said: “These poles and wires were an eyesore in the RSPB Geltsdale nature reserve which is situated in the wild and remote North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, so it is great to see them removed.”

Simon Wilson, from the North Pennines AONB Partnership, said: “The North Pennines AONB Partnership is delighted that this valuable undergrounding of cables has gone ahead, in an area of national importance to iconic bird species. The undergrounding of cables at Tindale Tarn will help protect species such as curlew, black grouse, and short eared owl from potentially fatal collisions with overhead power lines. Electricity North West’s work here contributes towards our Heritage Lottery-funded Fellfoot Forward Landscape Partnership Scheme. Fellfoot Forward is a four-year, multi-million pound project, working with local communities to conserve and celebrate this special part of Cumbria. The undergrounding at Tindale Tarn will help us and partners, including the RSPB at Geltsdale reserve, along our way to restore and protect nature in the North Pennines AONB.”

Stephen Westerberg, site manager at RSPB Geltsdale, said: “This is a place of wild and rugged beauty, much loved by birders and walkers, and an important home to an array of wildlife. The project was carried out sensitively to minimise disturbance and has successfully restored the view around Tindale Tarn.”

Media enquiries

Contact Kate Stacey at North Pennines AONB Partnership for further information: katestacey@northpenninesaonb.org.uk / 07920020648

Images of RSPB Geltsdale before and after the removal of power lines and of power lines being removed.

About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Using money raised by The National Lottery, we Inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.heritagefund.org.uk.
Since The National Lottery began in 1994, National Lottery players have raised over £43 billion for projects and more than 635,000 grants have been awarded across the UK. More than £30 million raised each week goes to good causes across the UK.

Fellfoot Forward Landscape Partnership Scheme – Led by the North Pennines AONB Partnership and funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Fellfoot Forward LPS is a major project to conserve, enhance and celebrate the natural and cultural heritage of a special part of the north west of England, which stretches from the Cumbrian fellside of the North Pennines AONB and UNESCO Global Geopark to the River Eden, and runs north from Melmerby to Hallbankgate. The Fellfoot Forward LPS brings together management and restoration of habitats with community archaeology, conservation of historic buildings, community arts and education. The Fellfoot Forward LPS is made up of the following partners: Eden Rivers Trust, Natural England, Historic England, RSPB, Cumberland Council, Cumbria County Council, Westmorland and Furness Council, Cumbria Action for Sustainability, The Farmer’s Network, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, and Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre. For more information about the Fellfoot Forward Landscape Partnership Scheme visit https://northpennines.org.uk/what_we_do/fellfoot-forward/