Representation by John Duncan Irvine Bennett
- Date submitted
- 14 July 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The consultation has been fundamentally flawed. The engagement with landowners has been piecemeal. NG took advantage of Covid, using it as an excuse. Questions on Teams Calls were not read out and NG picked and chose what they wanted to answer leaving landowners frustrated. Wildlife surveys have been fixed. The surveyors have admitted that they are not allowed to choose where to carry out surveys. A case in point is an occupied barn owl box less than 100 yards from a proposed pylon on our land. The surveyor told me he was not allowed to register in his survey; this is one of many examples I have of likely rare wildlife habitat being avoided for survey by NG. The options for the pylons going through the wood have not been looked at properly. NG have failed to properly assess and review the methodology for constructing the line through the wood which could have mitigated the impact of the line. NG are putting 1.6km of new pylons through the countryside when they do not need to do so. They are also spending and unneccessary extra £5.0m ++ on doing so. The undergrounding option should be considered for the whole line. And finally the whole process has taken a huge toll on my and my family’s mental and physical health. I haven’t slept properly for years through the stress and worry. In meetings NG ensure that they outnumber landowners by at least two to one, making us feel outnumbered and bullied.They smile when mental and physical health are mentioned. There is much correspondence on this which I want to ensure is included in the consultation process.