Dudgeon Offshore Wind Limited (DOW), a subsidiary of Warwick Energy Limited, has appealed to the High Court the recent decision to refuse its planning appeal for a substation at Little Dunham, Norfolk.
The decision to refuse the earlier appeal was taken jointly by the Secretaries of State for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) on 20th September 2011 based on a report and recommendation of a Planning Inspector, who had held a short informal hearing on the subject in June 2011.
‘We believe that the Inspector’s report was seriously flawed in a number of areas and we hope to have the opportunity to correct these matters’ said Mark Petterson, Project Director . ‘In particular, after explicitly ruling out consideration of alternative sites at the hearing he reported that there could potentially be better locations for the substation. If he had entertained discussion on this topic he would have understood that the other possible locations are not as suitable.’
The planning application, submitted by DOW in December 2009, explained that a new substation was essential for the £1.5bn offshore wind farm to go ahead. This was accepted by both the Inspector and the Secretaries of State, who also reflected on the priority and importance afforded such projects in the planning guidelines. It is widely accepted that projects such as Dudgeon will be key for the UK’s energy security, its achievement of carbon reduction targets and for local and national economic growth over the next few years.
The Little Dunham substation site was carefully chosen from over 100 possible alternatives after a year-long selection process. It represents the location with the lowest overall environmental impact and lies on the far side of the existing main pylon system that runs 0.5km to the south of Little Dunham. Breckland Council officials expressed satisfaction with the process that identified this site as the best available.
‘Given the Inspector’s report in front of them it was not surprising that the Secretaries of State decided as they did’ added Mr Petterson ‘but they would have been unaware that a review of alternative sites was specifically excluded from consideration at the hearing by the Inspector’
The original appeal was launched by DOW after Breckland Council refused planning permission in October 2010 on landscape and visual impact grounds. That decision went against the recommendation of its own planning officers, despite the inclusion in the plans of nearly 20 acres of landscaping, including significant new tree planting, to screen the substation and the complete lack of any objections from independent expert consultees.
The Dudgeon project could generate up to 560MW and is expected to cost up to £1.5bn; save up to 40 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over its expected 50 year life; and could provide more than 0.5% of the UK’s annual electricity needs. The project could create many temporary jobs during the construction phase and at least 50 full time jobs thereafter.
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Offshore WIND staff, April 04, 2012; Image: warwickenergy