Representation by Dr Cathy Wardale
- Date submitted
- 27 January 2020
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I am writing to object to the Scottish Power Renewables planning application in the strongest possible terms. Although I fully support renewable energy, it seems to me that to desecrate a huge environmentally sensitive area (AONB) in order to distribute wind-powered energy makes a farce of the whole notion. There appears to have been little joined up thinking about this fragile heathland ecosystem, whose SSSI is already threatened by Sizewell C. Indeed, the area potentially affected by the onshore cabling is actually significantly larger than the proposed Sizewell development. When I first cross-referenced the two projects on my OS map by shading in the regions affected by each, I was incredulous at the immensity of the area. I could not believe that the two had not been conceived together or, more cynically, that the onshore cabling was being sneaked in while everyone was busy being up in arms about Sizewell C. But now it appears that it was more inefficiency than intention: the left hand did not know what the right hand was doing …. Well now that everything is in the public domain, action needs to be taken to halt this destruction. What does not get destroyed or degraded by nuclear power development now seems likely to be decimated by what should be a cleaner and safe alternative. This is an absurd situation. The devastating impact on local villages in terms of road and cable infrastructure; the loss of unique wildlife habitat on the fringes of Minsmere and The Meare; the severing of wildlife corridors along this heritage coast and the destruction of irreplaceable ancient woodland are all completely unacceptable. Viewed in the context of this Suffolk coastal area also being a major tourist destination, valued for its unspoilt tranquillity and bringing in major revenue for local people, it seems extremely ill-advised to bring cables in through an area such as Thorpeness Cliffs and to damage the Sandlings Heath countryside over a wide area for generations to come. Traffic congestion, and the whole area effectively becoming an industrial estate. will deter tourists from coming to the area, with a resulting negative impact on jobs and trade. Local businesses will suffer and the character of nearby villages such as Friston, Aldringham and Coldfair Green will be completely altered. I urge Scottish Renewables to reconsider the routing of onshore cables, and divert this to already compromised regions such as Great Yarmouth, where the environmental impact will be minimised.