Power lines are coming down in coastal areas of north Norfolk as part of a £2.9million scheme managed by EDF Energy Networks in the East of England.The energy firm is investing almost £600,000 in two separate projects which will see about 7km of overhead power lines and 100 supporting poles removed from the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Power lines are coming down in coastal areas of north Norfolk as part of a £2.9million scheme managed by EDF Energy Networks in the East of England.

The energy firm is investing almost £600,000 in two separate projects which will see about 7km of overhead power lines and 100 supporting poles removed from the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Cables will be buried underground.

The project in Salthouse will bring the removal of 3.9km of overhead lines.

A similar project is taking place at Holme-next-the-sea.

It is hoped the removal of power lines at these sites will add to the feeling of remoteness and wilderness which is characteristic of this area of coastline.

These projects follow a successful scheme in Burnham Thorpe, where a 600 metre stretch of overhead network was removed and replaced with underground cables in a £60,000 project managed by EDF Energy Networks.

Nigel Collier, EDF Energy Networks Protected Areas Officer, said: “We are excited that these projects in north Norfolk have been given the go-ahead by the environmental steering group. They will have a positive visual impact on such a treasured landscape, which is not only an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty but also contains Sites of Special Scientific Interest of international importance in some cases.”

Neil Featherstone, Strategy and Projects Officer for the Norfolk Coast Partnership, said: “Improvements to the views of St Nicholas's Church in Salthouse will benefit an already iconic image of the Norfolk coast.”

Work in Salthouse is due to start in 2009.