PLANS to move overhead power cables underground at a beauty spot in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park have been given the backing of the park’s authority.

The proposal to remove overhead power cables at Great Castle Head, near St Ishmaels, and replace them with an underground supply were discussed at the national park authority’s full meeting on Wednesday, November 29.

Members agreed that moving the cables underground could improve the visual appeal of that area of the national park.

They voted to authorise the park’s officers to work towards the undergrounding scheme as soon as possible.

Land and property owners living near to Great Castle Head have been contacted about the plans and have given their support to the scheme in principle.

A report presented to the park authority identified a 1.2km stretch of overhead cables running between St Ishmaels and the former lighthouse at the end of Great Castle Head which could be buried.

Money and manpower for burying the cables would come from Western Power Distribution, who began running a “power line undergrounding initiative” in 2010, and have extended it into their eight-year business plan which commenced in April 2015.

The power company has allocated £1.3m towards the scheme across the Wales and West region, with a focus on spending the money in the Brecon Beacons and Pembrokeshire Coast national parks, and the Gower and Wye Valley areas of outstanding natural beauty.

The report to the park authority finds no issues with financial risk, human rights, of the Welsh language, but recommends WPD employs an ecologist to survey the fields alongside where the current power lines run.

The report says it would be preferable to bury the cables on the landward side of the road on Great Castle Head, within the verge of a field, and says an ecologist may be needed to see if this field contains rare wildflowers.