Project News

North Wales Connection - connecting new low carbon energy in North Wales Autumn 2018

Connection will unlock investment in Inside: Wylfa Newydd and the benefits it brings • Large map of our Hundreds of decisions and changes final proposal made in response to feedback • How we have acted on your feedback Register with the Planning Inspectorate • The planning process to take part in the next steps and how to get involved

Final plans for Wylfa Newydd connection submitted to Planning Inspectorate

We have submitted our application to While we have made many changes in the Planning Inspectorate for a second Among the key decisions based on response to what people have told us, What happens now? connection for Wylfa Newydd nuclear what people told us, we have: we also recognise that we have not been power station. able to do everything we have been Selected a route corridor in the It’s now up to the Planning asked. The most significant being to centre of Anglesey in preference Inspectorate to examine our Our proposals are for a new, second line put the new connection subsea or to route corridor options nearer the proposals and review the of pylons close to the existing line and a underground, which the Isle of Anglesey coast. This option was the most decisions we have made. tunnel at the Menai Strait. and Gwynedd Councils have also popular in feedback. This is an important step in unlocking requested during the project. During this process, public hearings Reviewed where the connection will be held in the local area. You have many millions of pounds of local We have looked carefully at both these could be routed on the approach the opportunity to take part and give investment and around 9,000 options, but they raise both technical and to the Menai Strait, avoiding areas your feedback directly to the Planning construction jobs the power station will environmental challenges. Both options such as Menai Bridge, Llanfairpwll Inspectorate to consider alongside create. The connection will also transport are also much more expensive than and Y Felinheli. our application documents. low carbon power to the homes and overhead lines so would not meet the businesses that use it. Identified a route mostly in parallel to obligations placed on us to keep costs If you want to get involved, you will Our proposals bring together eight years of the existing line, keeping any effects low for bill payers. need to register to take part. This of the two lines to one area and process is managed by the Planning detailed work. This includes consultation We think our proposals offer the best away from larger towns and villages. Inspectorate and all future comments with communities and stakeholders, and balance of all the factors we must Of those who gave a view, this was need to be submitted to them, not thousands of assessments to consider the consider – such as the landscape, local the preferred approach. National Grid. effects of the project. economy, environment, technical and Hundreds of decisions and changes have Chosen a tunnel to put the policy requirements – and mean there are There is more information on the been made based on what people have connection under the Menai Strait, no long-term effects for most areas of planning process and how you can told us and we’ve worked hard to keep changing from an original overhead Anglesey and north Gwynedd. get involved on the back page. the effects of our proposals on Anglesey line proposal, to protect the Anglesey and Gwynedd as low as we can. Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and iconic landscape of the At the same time, we have met the Menai Strait. We heard this strongly requirements placed on us, which include expressed by stakeholders and providing value for money for households members of the public. and other electricity consumers. Worked with landowners to make We would like to thank everyone who many small refinements to pylon has provided feedback, including the locations and construction access landowners, stakeholders and residents tracks to reduce effects on land and who have worked with us to develop agricultural activity. our proposals.

1 Connecting Wylfa Newydd – developing the proposals

The project has developed over many years and been influenced by what people have told us.

In addition to your feedback, we have completed thousands of assessments and All of this work has shaped our proposals and we are confident we have reduced surveys. We have considered issues like landscape, the local economy and land the effects on the local area, while meeting the national policy requirements that use. We have also looked in detail at points like ecology, going as far as DNA we have to comply with. testing for specific species that are important for us to understand and protect.

2010 2012 2013-2015 EARLY 2015

We started looking at ways we could Our first public consultation on We reviewed your feedback, and We chose a preferred route corridor connect Wylfa Newydd, assessing connection options and route re-evaluated connection technologies through the middle of Anglesey, options for direct current or corridors. We explained the work to look again at subsea and keeping it away from the coastal area alternating current technologies, we had done and why we thought underground options including a and associated tourism sites. We also including subsea, overhead and an overhead connection using ‘hybrid’ option suggested in feedback. announced that we would avoid underground cables. pylons was likely to be the most We continued to meet with the crossing the AONB and Menai Strait appropriate option. councils and technical specialists to with an overhead line and would get their input. instead put the connection underground to protect this nationally important landscape.

AUTUMN-WINTER 2015 EARLY 2016 AUTUMN-WINTER 2016 2017

We developed a number of options We reviewed your feedback on route We held our formal third public We reviewed our work again based on where the new connection could be options and carried out further consultation and asked for feedback on what you had told us. We worked with routed and held a second consultation assessments including landscape, our proposed connection design, landowners to refine our proposals and to hear your views. ecology, tourism, communities and including sites for equipment, access tracks carried out consultation in specific areas technology. This helped us to develop a and construction areas. We continued about construction traffic routes proposed route alignment – where to talk in detail to landowners directly resulting from small changes and pylons could be placed. We developed affected by our proposals to understand refinements suggested in feedback. more detailed plans about how we their concerns and opinions. We Further meetings were held with the could cross the Menai Strait and proposed a tunnel under the Menai Strait councils and stakeholders to get their carried out geological surveys. and explained the infrastructure needed. ongoing comments.

EARLY 2018 SUMMER 2018 AUTUMN 2018 FIND OUT MORE

We continued to review our work Horizon submitted its application After eight years of work, we We have published a range of and completed surveys to for Wylfa Newydd to the Planning submitted our application for documents and reports, which understand more about wildlife and Inspectorate giving us information development consent. If we’re geology. We revised our transport to help finalise our application. granted consent, construction would explain our work and the plans in north Gwynedd and carried begin in the early 2020s. decisions we made in detail. out further consultation on See the back page for details. construction traffic routes.

2012 route corridor 2015 route options 2016 route alignment options within orange corridor

All maps reproduced from Ordnance Survey mapping with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office © Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100024241 (2012). © Crown copyright and database rights 2015 Ordnance Survey 0100031673. © Crown copyright Ordnance Survey. National Grid Electricity - 100024241.

2 What you’ve told us and what we’ve done

To develop our proposals, we talked with thousands of residents, Tourism Property community councils and local groups. We also had hundreds Tourism is a crucial Your proposals of meetings with the Isle of part of the local will affect people Anglesey and Gwynedd Councils, and technical stakeholders to seek economy and pylons and property their expert opinions. could affect this Members of the public sent in over 5,000 pieces of feedback and told us many things about Anglesey and Gwynedd, all of which has been considered. We consulted tourism bodies and businesses In selecting a route, we kept away from larger to get their comments. We also considered towns and villages. Where the new line is close While we have not been able to do areas important for tourism, such as the coast, to villages, we kept to the opposite side of everything people and the councils have and kept away from them wherever possible. the existing line, where possible, so that it’s asked, all of the issues raised have been Our assessments suggest any effects from further away from communities. We met with carefully taken into account. A number of the new pylon line will be in the areas closest residents and looked carefully at the position to it and that the majority of tourism sites of pylons to keep effects on views and key themes have been particularly across Anglesey and north Gwynedd will property as low as we can. important to you. be unaffected.

Landscape Traffic A third bridge

The Anglesey and Your construction You should put your north Gwynedd area is traffic will cause cables on a new special because of its congestion on local bridge across the landscape and we roads Menai Strait want this preserved

We kept pylons away from designated We plan to use A-roads as much as possible and We are carrying out a feasibility study with landscape areas, such as the coastal AONB will build temporary tracks along the length of the Welsh Government into potential options to and are also proposing a tunnel under the route to get to construction areas and help keep use a new bridge. AONB at the Menai Strait so there are no new our vehicles off local roads where we can. There’s lots to consider before we know if pylons in this valued area. Working with both the Isle of Anglesey and putting our cables on a new bridge is possible. In Gwynedd, we looked at the setting of the Gwynedd Councils we have developed an Costs, technical considerations, a route on and Snowdonia National Park and don’t think that outline construction traffic management plan off the bridge and timing are just some of the our proposals would affect this. Keeping the which looks to reduce disruption to the local things to be worked out. new line next to the existing line for much of road network, particularly during network At the same time, it’s vital we are able to deliver the route has avoided spreading the effects peak periods. a connection for Horizon by the mid-2020s, of overhead lines across a far wider area of We will continue to work with them before and when they expect Wylfa Newydd to start Anglesey and north Gwynedd. during construction, to ensure construction traffic generating. That’s why we are also continuing is well-managed, responds to any changes in with our plans for a tunnel under the Menai conditions and minimises effects on local people, Strait. When completed, the feasibility findings motorists, residents and cyclists. will be considered and next steps agreed.

Undergrounding and subsea FIND OUT MORE The connection should be put underground Our Consultation Report’ details all of the feedback we received since our or offshore on the sea bed first consultation in 2012 and how we have taken this into account.

We have looked carefully at both these options. People also asked for certain sections of the route Subsea proposes a number of technical to be placed underground. We looked at these challenges in connecting a nuclear power station. areas and considered them against national Undergrounding is technically possible but raises planning policy and our duty to keep the cost of significant environmental concerns due to the the connection low for bill payers. In each case, intensive construction work it requires. Both we consider that the benefits of an underground options are also much more expensive than an connection do not outweigh the likely overhead line so would not meet the obligations environmental effects, increased technical placed on us to keep costs low for bill payers. complexity and cost of an underground solution. Our ‘Back-check of Wylfa-Pentir Design Decisions Report’ explains this further (see back page).

3 The planning process – what happens now?

The Planning Inspectorate is responsible for examining our application and providing a recommendation to the UK Government’s Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, who makes the final decision on whether to give the project consent. The process for examining our application follows several stages:

Pre-examination Submission Acceptance 1 2 3 – around four months

We have submitted our application to the Planning The Planning Inspectorate will review our During the pre-examination period, the Planning Inspectorate, which includes a detailed application to decide whether it is suitable for Inspectorate will give people an opportunity to assessment of the many environmental and examination. They will consider whether our register to take part in the later stages of the community considerations related to the proposals. consultation was adequate and whether we process. You can do this by filling in a form on You can view our application documents on the have submitted the right documents. They have the Planning Inspectorate’s website. Everyone Planning Inspectorate’s website: 28 days to do this following submission. who registers with the Planning Inspectorate https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ will be invited to attend a preliminary meeting. projects/wales/north-wales-connection/ At this meeting, a timetable for the examination will be set.

Examination Recommendation Decision 4 – around six months 5 – around three months 6 – around three months

In the examination period, the inspectors will Following the examination period, the Planning Ultimately, the UK Government’s Secretary of gather evidence about the application and Inspectorate will have three months to prepare a State will decide whether to grant consent for review the information provided by National report for the Secretary of State. This report will our project. They will consider the Planning Grid. People who have registered can provide recommend whether or not to grant a Inspectorate’s recommendation but do not their comments to the Planning Inspectorate by development consent order, taking into account have to agree with it. post or email. The Planning Inspectorate will the benefits and effects of the project and also hold a series of hearings in the local area. relevant planning policy. These give local people an opportunity to speak directly to the inspectors.

Find out more

You can read all of our technical documents and see maps and images of the final proposals at: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/wales/north-wales-connection/

Some of the documents that you History of the Project: Strategic Options Report: Back-check of Wylfa-Pentir might find particularly useful are: narrative of the project from beginning how we developed our preferred Design Decisions Report: to end. connection option and why we didn’t summarises our review of the earlier Navigation Document: choose an underground or subsea option. design decisions we made, including provides a description of all Environmental Statement – the choice of overhead line routes documents and reports contained Non-Technical Summary: Menai Strait Crossing Report: and decisions on whether the use of within the application. an overview of all the different factors we an explanation of the equipment we underground cables was more considered in developing our proposals, need and our plans to build a tunnel appropriate in areas where specific Consultation Report: including landscape, socio-economics, under the Menai Strait. concerns had been raised. an overview of all of our agriculture, ecology and others. consultations, including all the Design Report: themes raised in feedback and how Draft Development Consent Order explains the reasons for the design of we have considered them. and accompanying Explanatory the proposed connection, and the Memorandum: changes that have been made following a list of all the work we propose to do our third, statutory, consultation in and what we’d do if consent is granted. Autumn-Winter 2016.

Visit our project website at: Write to our freepost address at: Contact us: www.northwalesconnection.com FREEPOST NATIONAL GRID NW CONNECTION Send an email to: Call our freephone number: [email protected] 0800 990 3567 9am - 5pm Monday - Friday or leave a message outside these hours

4 Wylfa substation Our final proposal includes

Approximately 30km of overhead line Extended substation at Pentir A lattice pylon design, similar in height to Works to the existing substation at Wylfa the existing pylons Two tunnel head houses in new site 4km tunnel compounds

Section A: Wylfa to Rhosgoch

Your feedback Our route You were concerned about the effect of a new line We are keeping this part of the connection close on views from nearby properties and the cumulative to the existing line and are proposing to place new impact on Cemaes and Tregele with other proposals pylons next to existing ones wherever possible. The in the area. You also asked us to consider potential new line is on the far side of the existing line when effects on ecology and tourism. seen from the villages of Tregele and Llanfechell. We think that mirroring the existing line as much as we can will help reduce visual effects further. Responding to consultation feedback, we also straightened the route south of Cemaes and reduced the pylons in this section by one.

Section B: Rhosgoch to Llandyfrydog

Your feedback Our route You suggested several alternative routes for this section We looked carefully at the alternative routes suggested and asked us to think carefully about properties, the against all the factors we must balance. We are local economy, health and ecology. You asked us not keeping close to the existing line in this section to to use taller pylons than those already there. You said reduce effects on views from Rhosgoch and, since we should consider long distance views to Snowdonia our last consultation, we moved the line slightly further and Llyn Alaw. away from the village. We think moving the existing line south of Rhosybol so that we can put the two lines as close together as possible will help reduce visual and landscape effects. The pylon design would be a similar lattice style so that we avoid introducing contrasting shapes into the landscape.

Section C: Llandyfrydog to B5110 north of Talwrn

Your feedback Our route You asked us to consider individual properties in We looked carefully at the setting of individual this section, including potential cumulative effects properties in this section and carefully positioned of the existing and proposed new overhead lines. pylons to help reduce effects. Following feedback You suggested that we take the connection over the from landowners, we also changed some of the wetlands to be further away from Capel Coch. You access routes in this section. We couldn’t adopt asked us to consider effects on local businesses, the suggested route over Cors Erddreiniog reserve traffic in the area and health impacts. because we have a duty to protect this valued habitat. We plan to plant trees to replace any that we may need to remove in the area and in time these would help screen the connection.

Section D: B5110 north of Talwrn to Ceint

Your feedback Our route You asked us to think carefully about the setting of We worked closely with property owners in this section properties and businesses in this section. You said to carefully consider close range views. The pylons that if we had to use pylons we should use the same are to the west of the existing line to keep further design as the current line to avoid visual disharmony. away from Talwrn. We are keeping the pylons in pairs You raised concerns about the effect of the connection and using a similar pylon design so that we avoid on local wildlife. introducing contrasting shapes into the landscape. We are putting forward two slightly different route options in this area for the Planning Inspectorate to consider, which affects three pylon positions. We have looked in detail at the potential effects of the connection and are proposing additional woodland planting in this area.

Section E: Ceint to the Afon Braint

Your feedback Our route You were concerned about the route moving away The location of the overhead line in this area is linked from the existing line and asked whether we could to the technical complexities of the tunnel under the keep the route parallel all the way to the tunnel head Menai Strait and the location of the tunnel head house. house. You asked us to carefully consider views from Where practical, we moved the line further away from Star and effects on individual properties. a number of properties in response to consultation feedback. We also propose to use lower height pylons as the overhead line approaches the start of the tunnel to help protect views from Star.

Section F: Afon Braint to Pentir

Your feedback Pentir substation Overall, you welcomed our decision to put the We significantly reduced the size of the extension connection underground at the Menai Strait. You needed at Pentir substation. We plan to carry out raised concerns about the environment, views from substantial landscaping around the site to help screen Plas Newydd and the Vaynol Estate and traffic in the the substation. area. You also suggested alternative positions for the Tunnel head houses – Braint and Tŷ Fodol cable sealing end compounds (where overhead and We reviewed the designs for both tunnel head houses underground cables meet). and have been able to reduce the height of the building Our route at Braint tunnel head house on Anglesey. In response We carried out more studies to understand how best to further assessments, we moved the main access to make the connection either side of the tunnel under track for Braint, reducing the effect of construction the Menai Strait and Anglesey AONB. traffic on residential properties. We also made some The proposal is for four pylons in Gwynedd which minor amendments to the routes for construction traffic would connect to Pentir substation. The first of which at the Tŷ Fodol tunnel head house. would be a lower height and set back to help reduce views from the Vaynol Estate.

0 1 2 3 4 5 KM Distance in kilometres

Background Mapping information has been reproduced from the Ordnance Survey map by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. © Crown Copyright Ordnance Survey. National Grid Electricity - 100024241. Pentir substation

Legend

Proposed sections Proposed Existing of overhead line new pylons pylons Work in West Gwynedd Have your say Section A Existing overhead line to be retained Section B Proposed tunnel routeing area We are continuing with our work in west Gwynedd to The Planning Inspectorate will review our application. During the examination process you will have more opportunities Section C Proposed site for sealing end update parts of the network that are coming to the end to have your say on the application. To find out more or register your interest with the Planning Inspectorate visit: Section D compound and tunnel head house of their operational life. We will update communities in the https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/wales/north-wales-connection/ Section E Existing substation area when we have more detail. Call: 0303 444 5000 or email: [email protected]

Section F Proposed extension at substation