Representation by Ted Edwards
- Date submitted
- 13 May 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The main issues I have with the application are two-fold. Firstly, I believe that a land-based solution (laying underground cables in cut-and-cover trenches) to connect to a large new onshore substation in the countryside is old-fashioned and that more modern and less obtrusive methods should be used - which would essentially be an offshore, underwater cabling solution taking the electricity to its ultimate destination. My second issue is that although there does now seem to be collaboration between this scheme and the separate North Falls scheme, there does not at this stage appear to be a binding commitment from both parties to share the same trenching, laying and making good activity. It is bad enough having huge swathes of the countryside dug up to lay the cables but, if this is the final solution, then we must ensure it only gets dug up once to support both schemes. I do have a follow-on issues around a commitment to keep the time any stretch of land is dug up to a minimum and to ensure that construction traffic is legally obliged to follow the prescribed routes and on-site haul roads, not country lanes that are unsuitable for heavy traffic.