Zoo's Historic Pylon Felled

A stretch of Somerset’s pylons are coming down within Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm as part of the National Grid’s Hinkley Connection Project.

The horizon of the zoo farm has included the pylons for over 60 years. They are now being replaced with underground cables and the view of the zoo has changed now for good with the zoo’s pylon removed this week.

Pylons and overhead electricity lines passed overhead of the lion and bear enclosures providing a unique challenge for National Grid’s contractor Balfour Beatty, to create a solution that didn’t disturb animals or guests. It has been a phased process with the wires being dismantled using controlled lifting systems originally designed for the London Olympic Park that reel in the wires without needing to lower them to the ground.

Planned for after the Summer holidays, the pylon that sits on the hill overlooking Elephant Eden, was then felled with the use of a winch on the top of the pylon. It’s one of 249 pylons that will be removed between Bridgwater and Avonmouth.

Guests and staff alike have been impressed to see the electricity lines disappear one by one and witness how safe and quietly the felling happened.