Representation by Alan Bullard
- Date submitted
- 8 January 2020
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I wish to register my support of all representations made by SASES (Substation Action Save East Suffolk) and by Friston Parish Council, regarding these proposals. I live in the village of Friston, and I relish the beauty of its surrounding countryside, its peace and quiet, and its proximity to the Suffolk Coasts and Heaths AONB. These proposals do not just entail the building of three substations on the site, but also the potential damage to the AONB by the 9km, 64 metre-wide (32m x 2) cabling from the landfall site at Thorpeness, which, despite the best efforts of the contractors, will leave a permanent scar on the landscape and will cause much disruption during the long period of construction. • Landscape: the substations site is next to the Grade 2* listed Friston Parish Church and near other listed buildings, and will cover 83 acres of Grade 2/3 agricultural land (not a ‘brownfield’ site). It is high enough (18m) to be seen from all over the village and the surrounding countryside. No amount of ‘mitigation’ could compensate this. (Some other substations, such as Rampion, East Sussex, are approximately half that height). • Habitat: the proposal will have a permanent effect on wildlife in the area, destroying badger-setts, hedgerows, and bat-roosts. • Transport and communications: during construction haul roads will be constructed and some will remain: traffic re-routing (for HGVs only) is planned, but several narrow roads will inevitably become unsafe ‘rat-runs’ for other vehicles. • Recreation: One popular footpath would be permanently diverted, and many others, including parts of the long-distance ‘Sandlings Walk’ will be completely changed in character. The unique character of the village, with beautiful footpaths radiating in all directions, would be destroyed. • Noise and light pollution, air quality, and increased flood risk; all these issues would have a great effect on the day-to-day life of residents. • Tourism: this is extremely important to the coastal and inland villages and towns here, and the changed landscape and traffic issues have the potential to destroy this. Additionally, in Friston itself a number of houses are holiday lets, providing employment to many local people. • Employment: After construction, the substation proposals will provide no permanent employment onshore. • The Process: Although SPR have kept the public informed about their proposals, the information can be misleading and lacking clarity; there has been no public consultation on the part of National Grid. I am completely in favour of wind-power and renewable energy, but would demand that the method by which the power is connected to the National Grid be re-considered, as this proposal will cause irreparable damage to the landscape and community. Finally, if this project succeeds, it will become an ‘open door’ for other projects such as Nautilus and Eurolink and could effectively ‘maroon’ our village by additional cabling on the south, and more substations. Please consider the cumulative effective of these proposals (together with those for Sizewell C) on the legacy they would leave for us, our children and grandchildren, and reject these substation plans. Thank you.