Representation by Tim Facer
- Date submitted
- 16 October 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I am opposed to the project. The cable route will go through most of the fields on my farm. I have asked RWE on numerous occasions for copies of the surveys undertaken on my farm but have never received these. RWE have yet to confirm the exact cable route through my farm. I have asked RWE about magnetic fields/heat from the cables but have had no answers. The water main to my house will be crossed by the cable. My property is the last one supplied by this main and I have, on numerous occasions both in writing and verbally, expressed my concern about Legionella developing when the cable generates heat close to the main. I have requested that a new water main be put in from the A281 to my property to avoid any contamination from the cable. Again RWE have failed to address my concerns. The majority of my farm will be disrupted by the construction. This land is permanent pasture/wild flower meadows and the hedges and trees are a haven for wildlife. Barn owls, tawny owls, numerous other bird species, deer, bats and reptiles all inhabit the land. No fertilisers have been used on the land for nearly a century. How can RWE say that they will reinstate the land - that is impossible to do. The proposed cable route will be within 75 metres of my house which RWE have failed to mention, is a Grade II listed building. RWE's proposed storage facility on my land will be 10 metres from my house. RWE's Residential Visual Amenity Assessment (Residential Property 18: [REDACTED] (GR 521805, 121063) is, quite frankly, laughable. It states that Dragons Lane is a minor road. It is NOT a minor road, it is an unadopted, unmade single track lane, totally unsuitable of any type of HGV. The RVAA states that the views towards the cable corridor will be contained by farm buildings, trees etc. This is completely false. The cable route will be seen, not only from the ground floor but from all three upstairs bedrooms. RWE have stated that Dragons Lane will not be used for construction purposes yet they are proposing a storage facility on my land off Dragons Lane, How will equipment be delivered to the storage facility if not via Dragons Lane. RWE have failed to answer this question. The noise, air pollution and day to day disruption to my life is of great concern to me. I have lived at [REDACTED] for nearly 70 years and this proposed cable route has been causing my partner and a great deal of stress and worry since we were first informed of the project in late 2020. I am also concerned about the impact of the proposed substation at Oakendene. The traffic on the A272 though Cowfold is heavy most of the time now and, should the project go ahead, will be intolerable. The village will be gridlocked. I think this project has not been properly thought through. It would appear that the whole idea was dreamt up on a computer during the worst of the Covid epidemic without any thought of the practicalities. Why can't the substation be sited at Wineham, adjacent the existing substation which would make the cable route shorter and avoid the destruction of another part of the West Sussex countryside?