Worldham Network Investment (Alton to Fernhurst connection)

We are investing over £35M to boost the electricity network in the local area.

We’ve been granted planning permission, as of April 2026, to build a new substation, to which we’ll connect 4.6km of new underground cables. You can access all related project documents and public comments via the East Hampshire Planning Portal. This planning consent includes a new permanent access road to our substation off Blanket Street in East Worldham. The project is expected to complete by September 2029.

A second planning application is currently in process which would see access provided direct from Selbourne Road to the new substation for use during the construction phase. After construction and during normal operations the access will remain via Blanket Street, however this will be for periodic maintenance and low levels of operational traffic only. A planning decision on the Selbourne Road access route is expected later this year.

Our new underground cables will replace some existing overhead lines. This cable work is considered permitted development, which means it is not part of this planning application. Download our design of the substation to see what we will be building.

Please see our FAQs below for details on the cable routes.

The project would provide visual improvement to the local landscape

This project will not only enhance network resilience, ensuring reliable electricity supply for years to come, but also support local economic growth by meeting the energy demands of homes and businesses in the region. The project will also enhance the landscape by removing approximately 4.6km of overhead lines and 14 pylons.

Download our map below to see where the overhead lines would be removed. Removing this section of overhead lines will also reduce the number of access requests made to landowners, for future maintenance works.

Why are these works being proposed?

We need to upgrade our network to meet increased demand from new homes around Alton. Our new substation will provide an energy “buffer” for Fernhurst – reducing the impact of any outages in our wider network and mean we can connect new low-carbon energy technologies – like solar panels and battery storage – to our network.

Our project will:

• provide a more resilient power supply during adverse weather
• remove approximately 4.6 kilometres of overhead lines and 14 pylons from view
• create additional capacity so we can connect solar generation, electric vehicle chargers, and heat pumps to our network
• reduce access requests to landowners for maintenance of overhead lines

We have the environment in mind

The works are futureproofing and strengthening your area’s power supply to cope with severe weather events. It will also help support greater uptake of low carbon technologies.

Discover more on our Smarter Electricity page (external link).

Ecology and Biodiversity

We are committed to protecting and improving our natural environment. This includes biodiversity net gain (BNG) in line with planning requirements.

We have carried out extensive surveys along our cabling route and substation site to understand the impact we might have and identify the work we need to do to deliver our BNG commitments.

We will make sure all our teams are aware of any protected habitats and species and the mitigations we’ve put in place. For example, we’ll avoid removing vegetation used by nesting birds between March and August.

We will also work with ecologists to carry out fingertip searches for dormice before we clear any vegetation and only use hand tools to minimise disturbance.