Representation by Andrew Griffith Member of Parliament for Arundel and South Downs
- Date submitted
- 2 November 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I am writing in my capacity as Member of Parliament for Arundel and South Downs to register as an Interested Party in relation to RWE’s application for the construction of the Rampion 2 Offshore Windfarm and its associated infrastructure, specifically the proposed Onshore Cable Corridor. I am registering as an Interested Party so I am able to share the views of the residents I represent in relation this application. The majority of the 40km cable route runs through parishes in my constituency, across the Arun and Horsham districts, from Lyminster in the south, through to the substation at Bolney and the proposed new substation at Cowfold. To reiterate what I have set out in my previous submission to you, it is my view, and the view of affected residents, that the cable corridor will be hugely damaging to communities and wildlife habitats within the special landscape of the South Downs during its construction phase. There is clear concern around the expectation that its construction will disrupt households and businesses in West Sussex for many years. My submissions I have been engaged with the Rampion 2 windfarm since their first indication of intention to construct the project. I responded to the initial RWE consultation on 16th September 2021 to share my views and those concerns which had been raised to me. I did so again on 29th November 2022 with a second submission which focussed purely on the Onshore Cable Corridor route (OCC). These views are based on deep local knowledge, my meetings with impacted landowners, parish councils and communities, and a high level of correspondence from concerned residents who understand the considerable impact the build phase will have on their local landscapes and roads. There is also considerable concern about the inadequacy of the consultation process and lack of proper consultation materials to respond to, with the detailed maps only being published as part of the examination process. I separately wrote to you about this on 6th September 2023 and these are points I wish to make again as part of my full written representation. There are significant and well-founded concerns regarding the impact of additional construction vehicles on existing local traffic and access, particularly at the Cowfold section, and at the Washington roundabout which is close to Sullington and Storrington. Both Cowfold and Storrington are Air Quality Management Areas, the latter with vehicle weight restrictions in place. Added to this are concerns about the proximity of the route to residential properties and areas of environmental sensitivity. Progress on across the whole project up to date has already caused blight, and has burdened landowners and parish councils with unreasonable costs as a result of the need to employ professionals to fully survey the properties and land impacted so that they can respond in full to each stage of the process. Summary of representation I wish to summarise my representation regarding the onshore cable corridor (OCC) and will provide further detail in my full written representation when requested to do so. As the Member of Parliament for Arundel and South Downs, I represent the constituency which is most impacted by the proposed OCC. Whilst I am wholly supportive of renewable energy and an expansion of offshore wind, my view remains that this is the wrong project in the wrong place. Much of the route is proposed to cut through vast swathes of the delicate chalklands in the South Downs. Area 2 and Area 4 – Lyminster to Sullington Hill, Area 5 – West and North of Washington, Area 6 – Wiston to Kings Lane, and Area 7 – Substation Approach, all fall within Arundel and South Downs. I share the view of Cowfold residents that the decision to site the new substation at Oakendene has lacked the much needed input from the communities most impacted because they were not properly consulted. There has been little consideration for the impact that RWE construction works will have on the flow of the A272 traffic – a road which is already one of the most dangerous in Sussex. Oakendene’s location - away from the existing substation at Bolney – will require additional cable routing as well as a substantial industrial development, the construction of which will bring a heavy burden of even more traffic onto an already congested road. The proposed new substation will be an industrial eyesore which is visible from Kent Street, an otherwise rural lane, and any tree planting to obscure its visual impact will realistically take many years to mature. I have heard from affected residents in several parishes who say that there has been a notable lack of information and consultation. I share the views that the documentation from RWE’s online consultation was overtly convoluted and incomprehensible for a layperson. Even the most technically literate readers struggled to properly evaluate the full ecological and environmental impacts from the information provided. I am quite sure that the lack of proper non-technical summaries will have discouraged a large number of potential respondents from engaging with the consultation. A number of residents have also voiced their concerns that they were unaware of Oakendene being an option for the substation and would like to have had an earlier opportunity to feed in local knowledge before a decision was taken. I will continue to be supportive generally to the expansion of offshore power, but I remain unmoved from my original position in pointing out the well-justified concerns that so many residents in the South Downs have regarding the cable corridor and the location of the substation project. It continues to be my long-held view that the North Sea offers far better opportunities to expand the UK’s low carbon renewable energy. You will have received a number of responses to this current stage of the Examination process, and many will have come from my constituents and parish councils. I associate myself with their submissions and ask that you consider each response carefully and respect the local knowledge they share. I look forward to being invited to make full and detailed representation in the next Stage of your examination process. Andrew Griffith MP