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The siting of high voltage overhead transmission lines (HVOTLs) is often subject to public opposition where affected communities seek to protect local places. This study explores the perspectives of local citizens affected by a proposed HVOTL to connect new nuclear power at Hinkley Point in Southwest England. A two-day public workshop was held with 38 participants in an affected line-site community, using deliberative focus group methods to explore perceptions of environmental and social impacts, risks, governance arrangements and technology choices. The findings show how potential health effects from electric and magnetic fields (EMF) and visual impacts are perceived to industrialise rural places, disrupt place attachments and provoke local opposition. The findings challenge the ‘not-in-my-back-yard’ assumption that citizens are selfish place-protectionists that lack the technical sophistication necessary to …