Brentwood Council is among the local authorities to oppose plans to build a 180km power line through parts of Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.
National Grid unveiled proposals to build the line earlier this year, including pylons up to 50 metres tall installed right through land set aside for the 4,000-home Dunton Garden Village.
To be developed by CEG, the village is included in the newly-adopted Brentwood Local Plan and would account for around a third of the borough’s total housing needs between 2016 and 2033.
It will also accommodate schools, healthcare, community and sports facilities and shops, plus other amenities, with roughly half of the site to be green space.
A spokesperson for National Grid said it has consulted communities for the last eight weeks and it feels “these proposals best meet our obligations” towards connecting power generated by offshore wind into the national transmission system.
Brentwood Council’s opposition is currently represented by a motion to be seconded by council leader Cllr Chris Hossack at next week’s ordinary council meeting.
It says: “This council objects to the East Anglia Green proposals to run high-voltage cable across east Anglia and subsequently through Essex and the borough of Brentwood, to deliver offshore wind-generated power from Norfolk through to Tilbury.
“We are fortunate to have natural assets in the form of a coastline and the Thames Estuary, by which offshore power can be delivered to a location on the Thames, with minimal disturbance to land.”
The motion alleges National Grid has “discounted” the option of offshore cabling, instead coming up with a solution that “cuts a scar right across east Anglia”.
“The green energy agenda should not be delivered at the expense of our landscapes and the project itself should seek to be delivered with the minimal emission of carbon possible,” it adds.
On the next steps, the National Grid spokesperson said: “There will be another opportunity to comment on the proposals before National Grid submits a planning application to the planning inspectorate in late 2024, who will hold hearings to examine the proposals and make a recommendation to the secretary of state.
“The minister will decide on whether development consent should be granted.”
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