Representation by Stour Valley Underground (Stour Valley Underground)
- Date submitted
- 14 July 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Stour Valley Underground (SVU) is a local community group established on the Essex side of the Stour Valley in 2009 focussing on protecting and enhancing the rural landscape from industrialisation. The group’s primary focus is reviewing and assessing the potential impacts introduced on the local communities living and working along the length of National Grid’s proposed Bramford to Twinstead Reinforcement Project. The introduction of new 400kV power lines, associated works, and a new grid supply point substation at Butlers Wood, Twinstead, will unquestionably alter the sense of place and perception for the local communities for decades to come. To provide context, SVU has held public meetings, disseminated information relevant to National Grid’s proposals, and succeeded in making the case for better mitigated solutions, being integrated into the proposals. SVU has run successive public events alongside National Grid’s consultation process to enable affected communities to agree and propose better solutions to, for example, underground cable routing. The group is a long standing and positive entity that seeks to shape the Bramford to Twinstead development proposals to better mitigate the impacts introduced, helping to give local people a collective voice in safeguarding their rural communities from over development. For more detail please visit: [redacted] and the community Facebook Group: [redacted] SVU have supported local communities throughout the pre-application stage, enabling people to disseminate and consider the proposals being put before them. Our aim has always been to assist the Applicant in understanding the concerns of local people, seeking solutions and better outcomes. We provide below a synopsis of matters that we wish to raise for consideration by the Examining Authority during the Examination period: GSP Substation Disassociation - Concerns regarding the apparent disassociation of the grid supply point from the wider Bramford to Twinstead NSIP project, being determined under a separate planning regime to the DCO. The substation has already received planning consent and initial works have commenced at the site suggesting the Applicant has future plans for the substation either with or without the wider Bramford to Twinstead project. This should be explored during the examination as local people were led to believe the need case for a GSP substation was to reconnect the UKPN 132kV overhead line which is being taken down as part of the wider DCO project. Spreading directly linked projects across local and national decision makers precludes holistic assessment of the potential impacts introduced by the whole project combined. Future Connection Agreements – Concerns relating to National Grid’s connection offer listed on the public TEC Register for a 1,025MW battery storage and solar hub at the Butlers Wood GSP substation ‘Butlers Wood Green Energy Centre’ ahead of the DCO’s determination. The need case for the substation site is therefore unclear and potential cumulative impacts resulting from future connections at the GSP substation which currently forms part of this DCO proposal must inform the Secretary of States Decision for the wider Bramford to Twinstead project. Disclosure of all of the strategic objectives of the project and its future connections should be discussed. The GSP substation is already proving to be a catalyst for future development – with connection offers being made and solar developers prospecting for land. Pre-determination – Concerns regarding the failure to disclose options within other projects that could directly impact, connect to, or otherwise influence the proposed development with links between the Bramford to Twinstead Reinforcement Project, (the substation component), and the Great Grid Upgrade / Norwich to Tilbury strategic onshore options considered in their current consultation. Cumulative Impacts - Concerns relating to the wider regional assessment of cumulative impacts for the Bramford to Twinstead proposed development and its GSP substation, noting the Applicant’s intention for future connections and interactions with the substation, which have not yet been fully assessed as part of this submission. Need Case Disclosure - Concerns associated with the failure to accurately disclose the full need case and wider objectives for the GSP substation site throughout the pre-application stages. Local people were led to believe the need case for a GSP substation was to reconnect the UKPN 132kV overhead line which is being taken down as part of the wider DCO project.