Addlethorpe Parish Council – Ref No 10031784
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WRITTEN REPRESENTATION: PLANNING INSPECTORATE REF: EN020019 FROM: ADDLETHORPE PARISH COUNCIL – REF NO 10031784 Application by Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm Limited for an Order Granting Development Consent for the Triton Knoll Electrical System. The Topography of Addlethorpe: Addlethorpe is a large rural village accessed from the main routes into Skegness on the East Coast of Lincolnshire. It is situated close to Ingoldmells, famous for being the home of the first Butlin’s Holiday Camp, established in 1936 and which continues to attract visitors today. At one end of the village is the C15th Grade l listed Church of St Nicholas and in its Churchyard is the lower half of a C14th Churchyard Cross which is Grade ll listed and also a Scheduled Monument. Historically in Church Lane, there are documented records of a Moated Site from the Medieval times, although this is not visible on the surface today. At the other end of the village is a Grade ll listed Tower Mill built around 1830 to replace an earlier Post Mill. This has been owned by the same family for many years and is still used to run a successful Agricultural and Feed Supplies Business that was established in 1959. There is also a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, and Grade ll listed thatched cottages currently under renovation. There are other Grade ll listed buildings in the village including Addlethorpe House and two local farmhouses. The area supports two industries – namely Agriculture and Tourism. The agriculture is largely arable, the main crops being Wheat, Barley and oil-seed rape, poultry (duck and chicken) and some cattle. Several family run caravan sites and holiday cottages support the local tourism industry. These are quiet, peaceful sites catering for the older generation. They do not have shops or raz-a-mataz entertainments. One site runs a small café, one site is attached to the village public house and a very popular restaurant also provides a site for a few touring vans. The Parish Council has existed since 1896, with its first meeting held on 15th June that year and on 3rd October the same year, Standing Orders were adopted. Two ‘Overseers of the Poor’ were appointed annually, Constables were appointed as required and a local Technical Education Committee was active and arranged classes in sheep-dipping, Thatching, Under-draining and Dyke Building. Application by Triton Knoll: The following comments and observations have been raised at various times and it is hoped that these can recognised as the objections of the residents of Addlethorpe and taken into consideration at the inquiry to be held: 1. The Route Chosen: The route from Anderby Creek to Bicker Fen is a very long route which is surely going to be extremely expensive financially and in terms of the time it will take and the destruction it will cause. Further up country at Killingholme some of the required infrastructure is already in place and so would surely be a better and more logical choice. 2. The Environment: The land between the proposed landfall at Anderby Creek and down through the villages to Bicker Fen is all very beautiful farmland and countryside, that supports businesses, many of them family run for generations, and which also supports substantial flora and fauna. Much of this area is designated as an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Once this land is disturbed and species disrupted, it takes years to recover, if it ever does. 3. The Local Roads: Many of the local village roads are historically old cart tracks, which over the years have been made into roads using dyke spoil, and many are now suffering due to the bad weather over recent winters. There has been lack of investment in the road structure which will now only get worse due to the cutbacks and lack of money available for repairs. These country lanes are narrow and totally unsuitable for the size and types of vehicle which will used in this construction. This volume of traffic will disrupt normal lives of the villagers along the route, and in many places where there are no footpaths, the roads will become very dangerous indeed. 4. The Length of Construction time: Documents published by RWE estimate that the time needed to construct this electrical system is considerable. The Indicative Electrical System construction period given in one RWE document shows a possible 84 months (7 years) for the construction of the substation and 69 months (over 5 years) for the Intermediate Electrical Compound which is understood to be planned for the Addlethorpe/Orby area. These are very long lead times and it has to be assumed that the disruption caused will continue throughout at worst. There is also a question as to whether the technology being used will be outdated by the time construction is completed. 5. Agriculture: It is planned to put the electrical wiring at the edges of fields with jointing boxes placed in the corners of the fields where required. However, the amount of land needed for these structures is extensive and the question arises as to whether any of it will be productive land in the future. The estimated amount of land required between Anderby Creek and Bicker Fen is approximately 1000 acres. (40 miles at 60 metres wide). This is equivalent of an average size family farm. Along this route there are very many farmers to make arrangements with to make this volume of land available. The installation is to be 900mm below the surface, but is that substantial distance enough to take the weight of farm machinery in the future. Some settlement will occur no matter how well the ground is re-instated, and the query is whether this land will be lost permanently. It has recently been recognised by the Minister of State for DeFRA that agricultural land in this area is very valuable to the nation as a whole, for its’ contribution to food production. There is also a recognition that the land between the Skegness Stadium and the grain store at Orby which is earmarked for the Intermediate Electrical Compound is subject to subsidence, which when highlighted at a local meeting was actually unknown to the RWE team. 6. Dykes, drains and culverts: The farmers in this area have invested many thousands of pounds in these structures to keep the land drained and in food production. These structures are key to the land maintenance in the area, they are regularly maintained by the farmers and provide safety from flooding. Any disruption to their structure will lead to water back-up and water logging of the land. During the 1953 Tsunami wave and even the recent Tidal Wave in December 2013, the village remained unscathed despite only being 3-4 miles from the sea. If the integrity of these structures is compromised in any way, it leaves the village open to being affected by future disasters of this nature. 7. De-commissioning: It has been noted that RWE documents present no plans for de-commissioning of these structures once they reach the end of their useful life, apart from cable reclamation. Full de-commissioning would be costly and equally disruptive as the installation. However, large amounts of concrete left in the ground will render it unusable for the future and the removal is an almost impossible task as proven by the gun emplacement projects in Jersey, Guernsey and around the South Coast of this country. Currently there is no legislation in place covering the removal of de- commissioned ductwork, but hopefully this will be considered by the Government and plans would be made by Triton Knoll to comply should such legislation be put into place. A bond should be put in place with the relevant local authority to ensure re-instatement does not fall to the taxpayer. 8. Carbon Footprint: Vast amounts of concrete are going to be required in the construction of not only the wind turbine sites but also for the supporting infrastructure. Concrete has been proven to have a massive carbon footprint – indeed a fact that is rarely publicised is that the concrete used in a small dwelling is equivalent to the carbon emissions from a car driven 100,000 miles. The carbon footprint of the concrete required for this construction will far out-weigh the carbon saving provided by the wind energy produced. Wind energy is very inefficient. .