Representation by Reinier Salverda
- Date submitted
- 26 January 2020
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
London, 26 January 2020 Prof Reinier Salverda [Redacted] Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing in support of the representations being made by SASES and Friston Parish Council, against the plans to build huge electricity substations near the beautiful village of Friston The substations are too big and too close to a small rural village, the development will swamp and kill the village. Scottish Power has not paid attention to the objections raised during previous consultations. Scottish Power plan to dig two trenches stretching for 9km from a fragile coastline, destroying acres of ancient woodland, ANOB land and prime agricultural land. Individual power companies are carving up large areas of the countryside and no one is assessing the cumulative impact of all these projects. The East Suffolk Coast is famous for its tourist attractions, beautiful walks, Snape Maltings Concert Hall, pretty villages such as Friston, etc etc. All of this will be disrupted or destroyed by years of construction. I have been coming regularly to the Friston area for a long time and have always greatly enjoyed the beautiful wide open landscape and unspoilt nature and the great walking near the sea. As a linguist I take an interest in the ancient village names of East Anglia, particularly Friston (= Frisian town) and Saxmundham (= home to the Saxons), both denoting their overseas origin from the Low Countries, the Netherlands and Frisia. And being of Frisian descent myself, I want to speak up and add my voice to that of Friston Parish Council and SASES (just as I would do too if Friston near Glasgow in Scotland would be similarly threatened). Please note I am not objecting to the construction of the wind farms. I am very much in support of green energy, but we need to find a better way to connect the power to the National Grid, and in this respect I am sure the Scottish Power can do much better than your planning now allows for. Yours sincerely, Reinier Salverda Honorary Professor of Dutch at University College London