Representation by Jeremy Warren
- Date submitted
- 9 February 2020
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Our interest is essentially from a landscape aspect. What is proposed is a massive building, some 7 stories high, within the open countryside. If approved, the landscape impact is bound to be very significant, and it would be highly visible from many vantage points, including as far away as Portsdown Hill some 9 miles away. Tree screening and bunding which would be totally out of keeping with the surrounding countryside and would make very little difference with a building of this size. Accordingly, the proposal is contrary in the strongest terms to policies in the East Hampshire District Local Plan for the protection of landscape. Further, the setting of the South Downs National Park seems likely to be adversely affected, which would also be contrary to Local Plan policies. There is concern about the amount of traffic disruption that will occur during the construction phase. Anmore Lane and Broadway Lane are restricted to HGVs and must be prohibited for use by construction vehicles throughout the project. The revised plans for the junction of Broadway Lane and Day Lane are totally inadequate and not acceptable and need to be revised. The noise and light pollution from the proposed site has to be measured in conjunction with the existing substation. This has not been done based on existing data. There are no accurate images of the appearance of the converter building or the mitigating landscaping to hide it. The only images published so far are entirely inaccurate and misleading computer images. In return for the inconvenience and disruption caused by the construction it would be expected that AQUIND would make a contribution to the local communities of Denmead, Anmore and Lovedean. There is no evidence of this to date. Given the potential for the site as a terrorist target there will be a need for 24 hour security. Provision needs to be made for this. The EU could potentially increase energy bills in the UK depending on the trade agreements after 31 December 2020. There would be an increasing number of Brexit related energy issues which would lead to higher household bills. The claim from AQUIND that their project will bring lower electricity bills is not necessarily true. Leaving the EU could result in a change to the VAT rate applied to the UK’s electricity. Equally Brexit could lead to reduction in EU investment and could push up electricity bills due to increased transport costs and leaving the EU Emissions Trading System.