Representation by Cawston Parish Council (Cawston Parish Council)
- Date submitted
- 20 October 2022
- Submitted by
- Parish councils
Cawston PC wishes to register as an Interested Party in the Equinor SEP/DEP examination. This will be the fourth such examination that we have participated in over recent years, after Hornsea 3 (H3), Norfolk Vanguard (NV) and Norfolk Boreas (NB). Councillors are volunteers, working in their spare time with limited resources, and we simply do not have the capacity to engage with another set of detailed documentation for SEP/DEP while we are still dealing with the developers of H3, NV and NB, who will be installing a comprehensive and controversial traffic management scheme in our village over the coming months. Thus on this occasion we rely on the ExA to act as champions for Norfolk residents (and particularly those of Cawston) who are impacted by this proposed scheme. We have every confidence that the ExA will conduct a thorough and impartial examination, arriving at a disinterested conclusion. However, based on three previous experiences we have no confidence whatsoever that the Secretary of State will respect the ExA conclusions. This is another factor in our decision to approach SEP/DEP with a light touch. Our concerns include (but are not limited to):- The cumulative impacts of this application in our area, taken together with H3, NB and NV and other local developments such as Docking Farm Solar. There will be additional traffic and congestion on the local road network, including minor roads. Local businesses will also be impacted if deliveries become difficult and passing trade is diverted. We have wider concerns about the impact of this scheme across the county when three similar construction projects are already consented; the proposed East Anglia Green project will also be a factor. We suggest that insufficient consideration was given to alternative methods of delivery for this scheme, such as an offshore transmission network (OTN). We request that the ExA gives due attention to this alternative, requiring the appearance of National Grid and its associated companies at the hearings to explain themselves.