Advice to Dr Veronika Wagner
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- From
- Dr Veronika Wagner
- Date advice given
- 4 November 2020
- Enquiry type
as a local doctor working in mental health I wish to express my grave concerns about the planned Aquind Interconnector from France via Portsmouth to Lovedean. Portsmouth is one of the most densely populated cities in the UK, and we really need the limited green spaces we have. Our parks and other communal green areas provide outdoor spaces for families and individuals which is especially important during these times of Covid-19. Our allotments enable local residents to grow their own food and spend time in the open air. All these activities are highly beneficial for our city's physical and mental wellbeing. So much so in fact, that social prescribing recognises and recommends the benefits of exercise and socialising (keeping a safe distance currently of course). We have been sending mental health patients from a nearby hospital to the community allotments in Eastney for many years for the purposes of therapeutic activities and structure to their days in a safe environment as part of their recovery. Patients often told the staff with pride about their achievements in planting and tending to the plants. At harvest time, patients were able to bring some fruit or vegetables back to the hospital. It would be inconceivable if this invaluable community resource were destroyed as part of the Interconnector plans. We urge you to find a solution which safeguards Portsmouth's green spaces and community resources. I would like to add a couple of questions in relation to Brexit. From January 1st, 2021 the EU 's Internal Energy Market will no longer include Great Britain (with special rules for Northern Ireland). In the case of a no-deal Brexit, if there is no electricity trading arrangement between the EU and UK, government guidance headed "Trading electricity from 1 January 2021" states that "alternative trading arrangements will need to be developed, including for trade between Great Britain and the Single Electricity Market through interconnectors". The guidance further states that "trade on interconnectors may be less efficient". 1. Who are the owners of Aquind please? Who will pay for this interconnector to be installed, and for local residents to be reimbursed if the project goes ahead? 2. What contingency plans have the owners of Aquind made for Brexit, a) in case of a deal with the EU and b) in case of no-deal? 3. How are the owners of Aquind engaging with the "relevant EU national regulators"? I would be grateful if you could answer my questions in the last paragraph, please regard them as questions under Freedom of Information legislation I look forward to your reply
Advice given
With reference to your email of 5 October 2020, we note that you have asked some questions under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act. The Planning Inspectorate is the body responsible for examining Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects and providing recommendation reports to the relevant Secretaries of State. On 30 July 2018, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (SoS) made a direction under s35 of the Planning Act 2008 that the proposed UK elements of the AQUIND Interconnector project, be treated as development for which development consent is required (i.e. a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project), following a request made by the Applicant, AQUIND Limited. The Application was accepted for examination on 12 December 2019 and the examination formally began on 8 September 2020. All documents submitted during the course of an examination are publicly available as they are published to the project page of the Planning Inspectorate’s website: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/south-east/aquind-interconnector/?ipcsection=docs As such, it is suggested that the information you have requested, if held, will be within the Applicant’s application documents. For example, you may wish to view the Funding Statement, which provides a background to the Applicant’s funding for the Proposed Development. You may also wish to view the Planning Statement, which provides the Applicant’s position on planning policy and confirms that the project is considered a Project of Common Interest (‘PCI’) of the European Union, in accordance with the TransEuropean Networks for Energy (TEN-E) Regulation (347/2013). I can confirm that the Planning Inspectorate does not hold any separate information (outside of what is available on the project page) that answer your questions subject to the FoI request. If the information is not available in the published documents, you may wish to contact the Applicant directly to seek it. However, there is no explicit obligation on the Applicant to provide answers to these questions as part of the examination process. The contract details for the Applicant are: info@aquind.co.uk Tel. 01962 893869