Campaigners are celebrating the news that the Lake District looks set to be spared new "giant" electricity pylons.

National Grid revealed yesterday that underground cables – rather than 50m-high pylons – are its preferred option in the western Lake District to connect the planned new Moorside nuclear power station to the electricity network.

If the 14.5-mile underground cable plan gets the go-ahead, the Grid would remove the existing pylons and lines running from Holmrook to Silecroft, leaving that area of the national park free from pylons for the first time in 50 years.

The latest version of the £2.8 billion plan – subject to a consultation launching on Friday – has been welcomed by the Friends of the Lake District, and the Parish Councils Coordination Group (PCCG) which was formed to fight the pylons plan. Douglas Chalmers, chief executive of Friends of the Lake District, said the group is "delighted" at the proposals to "spare the area from the pylons".

The Grid's North West Coast Connections project proposes 348 new 400kV pylons, stretching from Moorside north to Harker, near Carlisle, and south to Heysham, in Lancashire, via a tunnel under Morecambe bay.

At around 50m-high, the pylons would be almost double the height of many existing pylons that would be replaced to make way for the new network. The route will largely follow that of the existing pylons.

Mr Chalmers added: "We have fought a long and well-supported campaign to stop these giant pylons being built within the Lake District and and we're delighted that the stunning landscape within the park has been spared from a line of 50m-tall pylons.

"National Grid should be congratulated for listening to public opinion and respecting the designation of national park status, which affords the Lake District landscape the highest level of protection in the UK."

David Savage, chair of the PCCG, also welcomed the underground cable plan for the western Lake District, however raised concern that the large pylons are still planned for the Duddon Estuary area.

He said: "The Lake District switch show that National Grid can change their plans, so I'd urge everyone to make their voices heard to ensure the significant challenges we face in the Duddon Valley can be overcome too."

And Cumbria county councillor Norman Clarkson, who represents the council on the on the Lake District National Park Authority, said: "I very much welcome the plans; it's been long fought for and I'm pleased National Grid has conceded that 50m pylons are unsuitable for the Lake District."

Seascale councillor David Moore had mixed reactions. He said: "Underground cables rather than tall pylons will delight a lot of local people, however we need to understand what the land will look like – in terms of services roads and access to the cables – that will be left once the cables have been buried.

"Some think it'll just return to a green and pleasant land, but it might not necessarily be the case."

Mr Moore also raised concern about the impact on the more expensive underground option on future electricity prices.

Robert Powell, Grid's project manager, said: "We’ve undertaken significant engagement during the six years we have spent developing our plans. We’ve listened very carefully to groups like the Lake District National Park Authority, The National Trust and members of the public on the importance of the national park and other treasured landscapes in Cumbria and Lancashire.

“Balancing the impact of the project on the landscape against its cost has involved making some difficult choices, as the cost of building a connection is ultimately passed through to energy bill payers.

"We believe the proposal we are going to consult on over the coming months strikes the best balance. Our consultation will now give people a chance to have their say on the fine detail of the project.”

National Grid is proposing a 102-mile connection to link Moorside into the electricity network.

Broadly following the path of the existing Electricity North West (ENW) pylons, the £2.8billion proposed connection runs along the west coast of Cumbria between Carlisle and the Furness peninsula.

Heading north from Moorside, the pylons would run up the coast to feed into an electricity substation at Harker, near Carlisle. In the opposite direction, they would be taken into Lancashire by following the coast south before travelling under Morecambe Bay to Heysham.

Key features include:

- 348 new pylons and power lines, stretching 74 miles, with a voltage of 400kV. Existing ENW pylons, stretching 95 miles and with a voltage of 132kV, would be removed;

- the pylons would be in the region of 50m-high; the current ones owned by ENW are around 27m-high. Because they are taller, there would be fewer pylons with a greater space in between;

- underground cables measuring 14.5 miles from Holmrook to Whicham, on the western section of the Lake District, replacing the existing overhead lines;

- cables through a 13-mile £1.2billion tunnel from Rampside, under Morecambe Bay, coming up at an existing substation near Heysham in Lancashire;

- removing one existing 132kV line in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall, Carlisle, and putting the other existing 132kV line underground;

- the height of the overhead lines themselves would be largely standard, apart from a handful of 'lower' height sections at Foxfield (Broughton-in-Furness), Moresby Parks (near Whitehaven) and Lessonhall (near Wigton);

- some short stretches of the existing overheard lines would be retained;

- new 400kV substations are proposed for Braystones and Winscales, near Workington;