£130,000 plan to bury Gower power line wins local backing

A £130,000 proposal to remove 12 electricity poles at Broughton in north-west Gower has won the backing of the Gower National Landscape Advisory Group. The scheme would replace 800 metres of overhead power line with 570 metres of underground cable.

Endorsement is not the final go-ahead

The group endorsed the proposal on 21 September, with the decision published the following day. The officer’s report says it still requires submission to, and approval by, National Grid Electricity Distribution’s undergrounding steering group. Further stakeholders, including the community council, would then be consulted.

The landowner has already been consulted and supports the scheme, according to the report. The documents give no construction start date or completion timetable.

National Grid would fund the work

The report puts the cost at £130,000, fully funded by National Grid Electricity Distribution. It identifies no additional financial implications for Swansea Council and says the council would not carry out the works.

What would change on the coast

The existing line is an 11kV connection. Plans in the report show its route near Broughton Farm, with photographs illustrating the poles’ visibility from the caravan park and Wales Coast Path. The proposed underground route follows a different alignment, explaining why its stated length is shorter.

Officers say removing the overhead infrastructure would reduce its visual impact on the protected landscape and its exposure to adverse weather. Those are the stated aims of the proposal, rather than measured improvements from completed works.