News and Events
News
27th June 2011
Letter from Dr.Liam Fox MP to Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
Hinkley Point - New Energy Transmission Lines
Letter to Dr.Liam Fox MP from Siemens Energy
Siemens letter
Respsonse to Dr.Liam Fox MP from Ofgem
Energy transmission network regulation - visual impact
Siemans - Gas-Insulated Transmission Lines
Link to Siemens GIL technology referred to in Dr. Fox's letter
Latest newsletter from Save Our Valley
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21th March 2011
PYLONS - IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM KEITH EDWARDS, CHAIRMAN OF SAVE OUR VALLEY
In the next 2-3 months NG will announce their preferred corridor route; this will be NG’s choice not the choice of the residents of North Somerset. NG’s choice will be corridor 1 or 2; it will NOT be undersea nor will it be underground. Why are the local protest groups so certain? We are certain because (although many people have forgotten it) corridors 1 or 2 are still the only choices that NG is consulting on. Although NG has agreed to re-examine the costs of undergrounding they have not opened up the consultation exercise to include this or the undersea options.
To stop NG choosing either corridor 1 or 2 (rather than undersea or underground), and to prepare for the next stage of the campaign, the various protest groups have been busy organising and attending various meeting with, for instance, the Infrastructure Planning Committee (IPC) and our local Councillors. These meetings have been very productive but they have highlighted one important, we think, flaw in the proceedings; this flaw is the fact that once NG make their application to the IPC it is the Local Authorities alone who are allowed the right of reply with regards to the adequacy of the consultation exercise. If the Local Authorities do not respond (in time) or if their response is poorly presented or ill considered then that is it, the IPC are likely to accept NG’s application and we will then be stuck with pylons for evermore.
With regards to North Somerset Council’s (NSC) right to comment on the consultation process, you should be aware of two recent meetings:
On the 16th March NSC’s Planning and Regulatory Affairs Committee hosted a presentation by NG. This meeting was open to the general public, but in accordance with Council rules, members of the public were not allowed to ask questions. We assume the minutes from this meeting will soon become available, however it was the view of many of the people in the public gallery that the questions posed by the Councillors were either poorly phrased or were allowed to be left unanswered. Several members of the public commented that the Councillors appeared to have a poor understanding of the process and appeared not to have done their homework. Of considerable concern to many was that some Councillors were heard to suggest that they were not against an overland route so long as it went underground in their local patch and one Councillor said that they were concerned that NG were being asked to spend £1 billion extra going under sea or underground.
On the 17th March the campaign groups from Nailsea met with several NSC Councillors to discuss the pylon issue. This meeting clearly showed that we have a passionate group of Councillors, however, following the meeting there was a general consensus among the protest groups that our Councillors did not realise they have a significant role in the process and they did not appear to have, as yet, had a meeting with the IPC to discuss the role of the Local Authority and to prepare for the considerable amount of work they will be required to undertake to formulate their rebuttal to NG’s consultation exercise. Following the meeting on the 17th NSC did confirm they were organising a meeting with the IPC and one or more of their planning officers, but in so far as we can tell NSC still do not feel that it is right for this meeting to include Councillors. The local campaign groups believe this is wrong and that NSC Councillors should seek to meet face to face with the IPC. Only by meeting the IPC face to face will Councillors understand their role in the process and only such a meeting will help to convince IPC that one of the major players, NSC, feels that the ongoing process remains flawed. We believe this issue and NSC’s role in the process are both far too important to leave to planning officers, no matter how expert they are in planning law; this issue is a social issue just as much as it is a planning issue.
It is very important that all residents of North Somerset understand that the consequence of NSC not being fully prepared to counter NG’s announcement of their corridor choice is that forever more North Somerset will have 150 feet pylons every few hundred metres running through its very heart. A few years of extra effort from our elected representatives is nothing compared to the ongoing blight that will follow any lack of action by NSC.
- We want you to email your local Councillor and ask them to:
- Confirm to you that they are totally opposed to the overland pylon route. If they do not reply or if they do not confirm their opposition then it is up to you as to how you interpret their response.
- Tell you what question they asked of the NG at the meeting on the 16th March and what response they received. (Of course this question is only relevant if your local Councillor is a Member of the Planning and Regulatory Affairs Committee and was present at the meeting.)
- Explain what they have done to get up to speed with regards to NG’s consultation exercise.
- At the forthcoming local elections ask all the candidates what their view is with regards to the pylon threat and what they have done so far to stop this threat. Remind every candidate that if they get it wrong then by the time of the next election the pylons will be in the middle of being built and hence we the public will have a constant reminder of NSC’s inability to get its act together.
Your local Councillor’s contact details can be found at:
http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/Your+Council/The+Council/Councillors/default.htm
With your help and with the help of our local Councillors we can stop NG ruining our beautiful county. Everybody but NG recognises that logic dictates the cables are best undersea or underground, only greed and short sightedness says they should go overland 150 feet in the air.
Keith Edwards on behalf of Save Our Valley and Save Nailsea West
19th July 2010
SOV commitee members report from National Grid’s first "inception meeting".
Last night (Monday 19th July) Save Our Valley Committee Members attended National Grid’s first "inception meeting" to discuss setting up around 5 "community forums" along the route from Hinkley to Avonmouth. (You may have read in the papers about this meeting – if you want to go to the other one, it is at the Webbington Hotel from 6.30pm this Thursday).
We were very disappointed in what National Grid had to say during the evening. Firstly the only options on the table were the 2 land based route corridors; NG would not be putting undersea options up for discussion and undergrounding, although it may be discussed, is unlikely to cover a major part of the route.
Attendees (who ranged from North Somerset Councillors to people representing local schools and came from many parts of the proposed route) made it clear that these "forums" should belong to the community and not be creatures of National Grid. However NG will be handling all the paperwork to invite people to attend and drafting the terms of reference. There will however be an independent local organiser and all the groups will be Chaired by an independent former planning inspector.
After being asked several times what exactly the "forums" would be able to influence, National Grid said that they would be able to influence landscaping and mitigation issues – i.e. the exact location of pylons and perhaps planting a few trees. Apart from this the groups would have no real influence; they would be able to comment on documents such as the Environmental Impact Assessment but, should a forum disagree with NG’s position, there is no mechanism for this dissent to influence what goes into NG’s application. Indeed NG will use the opportunity to understand the obstacles they may face with the IPC (or its successor) and strengthen their arguments.
Save Our Valley does not exist to help National Grid decide where to place their pylons in our beautiful landscape so you will not be surprised to learn that we will not be participating in any of the new Community Forums. NG said "if you don’t participate then you won’t be able to influence the issues." The truth is that if we did participate we wouldn’t be able to influence the issues that matter to our community – i.e. getting real action on the undersea/underground options – and participation would be seen as agreement to NG’s highly flawed process. We will continue to fight for our countryside and thank you for your continued support.
7th July 2010
Demonstration at Nailsea National Grid drop-in
Thanks so much to all of you who went to the National Grid exhibition in Nailsea on Saturday. The turn-out was phenomenal. There were queues of people at the registration desk; National Grid ran out of feedback forms and had to get more photocopied. You have left NG in no doubt as to the continued depth of feeling and strength of numbers against their plans for our area.
So what next for the campaign? At the local level we expect all to go quiet now until the Autumn when NG announce their next steps. In the meantime we will continue lobbying with campaign groups in Somerset, Suffolk and further afield to make progress on changing the national guidelines under which NG operates.
Thank you again for all your support since November and we’ll be in touch again later in the year.
28th June 2010
BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours article broadcast Monday 28th June.
Paul Miner, CPRE's senior planning campaigner, debates with David Mercer of National Grid about the proposed expansion of power lines around the country and putting the lines underground.
listen on BBC iPlayer Starts 6 minutes 50 into the broadcast. 9 minutes duration.
21st June 2010
Extended Consultation Process - Update
Unfortunately hardly anyone turned up to the exhibition on 11 June to register their protest with National Grid. National Grid were overheard saying they were relieved that the people of Nailsea, Backwell and Wraxall are no longer concerned about their pylon plans.
WE KNOW THIS IS FAR FROM TRUE we must show our passionate opposition to National Grid
Please make a commitment to come to the final exhibition on Saturday 3 July 10am to 4pm at Scotch Horn Leisure Centre.
1st June 2010
Drop-in sessions for the next round of National Grid Consultation
You should now have had your glossy magazine from National Grid outlining the extended consultation process on the Hinkley to Avonmouth pylon plans. In it you’ll see the dates for the new "drop-in" sessions.
Many people have been asking SOV how they should react to this latest attempt at consultation. We know there is very little new in what NG are saying but we urge you to keep the pressure on them by:
- Attending one or more of the June/July drop-in sessions.
- If you’ve emailed or written to National Grid and not had your questions answered then take a copy of your email/letter to the drop-in session and ask for answers. Don’t leave until the National Grid representative has given you answers that you are happy with.
- If you want another question to ask say: "Are you considering options other than pylons over Corridors 1 and 2? If you are, where’s the proof that you are?" or "What are you telling me now that you didn’t tell me last October/November?"
- Most importantly, please email/write again to National Grid with all your unanswered concerns and copy this to Dr Liam Fox MP so he knows that this issue is not quietly going away. (His PA’s email address is douglasi@parliament.uk)
In case the issue comes up you might like to know that SOV is working very closely with Nailsea Town Council and Save Nailsea West for a solution that’s right for all our community. The SOV Committee thanks you for your continued support and efforts to keep the pressure on National Grid.
Some of local National Grid Drop-in dates are:| Time | Venue | |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 7 June | 2pm–8pm | Tickenham Village Hall, 205 Clevedon Road, Tickenham, BS21 6RX |
| Tuesday 8 June | 2pm–7.30pm | Portbury Village Hall, 25 High Street, Portbury, Bristol, BS20 7TW |
| Thursday 10 June | 2pm–7.30pm | Horsecastle Chapel, Horsecastle Farm Road, Yatton, North Somerset, BS49 4QQ |
| Friday 11 June | 2pm–8pm | Scotch Horn Leisure Centre, Brockway, Nailsea, North Somerset, BS48 1BZ |
| Monday 14 June | 1pm–6.30pm | Portbury Village Hall, 25 High Street, Portbury, Bristol, BS20 7TW |
| Friday 18 June | 2pm–8pm | Avonway Hall, Avonway, Portishead, Bristol, BS20 6LT |
| Saturday 19 June | 10am–4pm | Yatton RFC, The Park, North End Road, Yatton, North Somerset, BS49 4HH |
| Friday 25 June | 2pm–8pm | Avonway Hall, Avonway, Portishead, Bristol, BS20 6LT |
| Saturday 26 June | 10am–4pm | Backwell School, Backwell, Bristol, BS48 3BX |
| Monday 28 June | 2pm–8pm | Tickenham Village Hall, 205 Clevedon Road, Tickenham, BS21 6RX |
| Thursday 1 July | 2pm–8pm | Backwell WI, 4 Station Road, Backwell, BS48 3QW |
| Saturday 3 July | 10am–4pm | Scotch Horn Leisure Centre, Brockway, Nailsea, North Somerset, BS48 1BZ |
The full list of Drop-in events calendar
26th May 2010
Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) is going to be abolished
You may have heard in the Queen’s Speech that the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) is going to be abolished and replaced with a Major Infrastructure Unit (MIU) which will report directly to the Government.
So how does this affect National Grid’s plans for pylons through our area which the IPC were going to preside over? It’s not clear yet but it looks like there could be further delay in National Grid announcing what they want to do if they wait to see what rules the new MIU will impose. Uncertainty is not what we want but it may result in a better, more democratic system. We have contacted Liam Fox and asked him to do whatever he can to ensure that the delays are not excessive and he has promised to take this up with Eric Pickles, the new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
Meanwhile the IPC continues to operate and we are waiting for them to publish the minutes of the meeting they organised on 18 May where National Grid met with Councillors and protest groups.
National Grid still say they are about to send out letters to everyone (i.e. those who responded to the original consultation and all the homes they leafleted back in October) giving more information about why they rejected undersea and announcing dates for a further round of exhibitions. Do let us know if you get one of these letters.
6th January 2010
Beauly to Denny power line given go ahead
A sad day for anti-pylon protest. This is just what we are up against, so join in the SOV campaign.
BBC News article