Lionlink

Please copy and paste the following link to East Suffolk Councils response to Lionlink's supplementary non statutory public consultation

https://www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk/assets/Planning/Energy-Projects/Eurolink/ESC-response-to-Lionlink-supplementary-non-statutory-consultation-Sept-Nov-2023.pdf

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Dunwich Parish Meeting

31st October 2023

Response to National Grid Ventures Supplementary non statutory public consultation: LionLink
08th September – 3rd November 2023

There is general support for the aims of National Grid Ventures to link with the Netherlands
and to bring power onshore via cable. However, we can not support any of the landfall
options which have been outlined in your recent consultation.

Dunwich is a special place. Its history as a sunken city is well known. Your own Marine Envionmental Information Map 7, details the Dunwich Settlement approximate boundary with black lines.  This is protected heritage.

Additionally there is Dunwich Bank : Historic England listing 1000073 : Maritime Wreck.   

Historic England : Dunwich Bank Site Location from
 https://historicengland.org.uk/content/docs/listing/wrecks/dunwich-bank-archaeological-report-final-version-figs-pdf

Due to coastal erosion and intermittent weather events, what remains of Dunwich is situated on a dynamic and shifting coastline. Every day the pattern of shingle and sand deposits along this coast is different, as millions of tons of material is moved about by tides and wind. There exists no reliable system to predict these movements. In very recent times there has been a fine balance of materials
arriving and leaving to and from the north and south in roughly equal measure. This can be verified by East Suffolk Council’s chief coastal engineer. Anything disturbing this balance is obviously regarded with horror by Dunwich residents.

 
Recent fall at Dunwich cliffs 8/12/2022

In Dunwich we are particularly sensitive to sea level rise and coastal erosion. There is scant
mention in your document of the changing, dynamic coastline and the possible effects of
offshore and onshore excavation on coastal morphology. Sometimes at high tides the sea
already reaches the base of the unstable and eroding cliffs which National Grid are considering
as a landfall site along with trenching to a converter station. Trenchless techniques which are
mentioned as desirable but not necessarily feasible are expressed as a wish rather than a definite
commitment. With sea-level rise and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events due to
climate change Dunwich cliffs could start collapsing at any time without any other external
interference. There is an offshore sand bank in this location which at present is offering some
protection for the cliffs, however National Grid are proposing trenching through it to facilitate
cable landfall. This carries a high risk of destabilising the current delicate balance with possibly
catastrophic consequences for Dunwich and the landfall site itself. Any private land which is
required for a cable route could be subject to a compulsory purchase order if there is no
voluntary settlement regardless of its historical usage. Consequently and specifically, the
village opposes any landfall site in Dunwich cliffs or access to it for construction purposes or
trenching.

Already under threat from the sea we find ourselves with an onshore threat from these
proposals. All the landfall sites identified lie within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty, which is a national designation designed to conserve and enhance
the natural beauty of the area. AONBs and SSSIs are not designated frivolously. They
recognise unique characteristics which have partly come about and been preserved through
non-interference and that is their value. National Grid Ventures have not put a high enough
price in terms of environmental capital on the peace and tranquillity to be experienced in the
Suffolk coastal area . This is why people come here and spend their money in the local
economy which is geared to cater for the enjoyment of unspoiled countryside, seaside walks
and the undisturbed experience and observation of nature. This is not just our backyard it is the
whole nation’s backyard and thousands of tourists come from very far and wide to experience
its beauty. National Grid Ventures have put a very low value on preserving this national
resource and the loss of amenity for the public by not offering any comparative study to include
offshore connectivity options emulating other countries. Neither have they offered any
solutions which limit landfall to brownfield sites and avoid trenching across and disruption of
environmentally unique and important habitat such as the shingle, gorse, heather and woodland
mix of Dunwich Heath which sustains many rare and endangered species, including the Stone
Curlew and Dartford Warbler populations. The negative impact on Dingle Marsh, its reedbeds
and its shingle bank, of the Walberswick option has not been sufficiently considered. This is
another unique habitat and important part of the current local coastline balance affecting
Dunwich. The lack of presenting other possible less disruptive options denies the public and
locally elected bodies the opportunity of a meaningful consultation and the chance of
preserving and enhancing a nationally designated AONB which is meant to have the same
protections as a National Park.

During construction there will be very significant disruption from heavy construction traffic
with its concomitant congestion/parking problems, trenching, road building etc. There are no
details of disruption of footpaths or rights of way for visitors and residents which seem
inevitable. The negative visual impacts of the massive converter stations will be with us for the
foreseeable future. If Sizewell C goes ahead, as is seeming more likely given government
support, then any environmental value in this area will be severely threatened and the
attractiveness to visitors massively diminished along with the local economy including jobs.
The maps supplied are not realistic as they do not include the impact of proposed road building
in the area. There is no study which looks at the cumulative traffic figures of the proposed
multiple large construction projects in this area. At least six hundred lorry movements locally
per day are already predicted.

The cumulative effects of multiple energy projects along this coast have not sufficiently been
taken into account. This threatens the entire nature of the Suffolk Coastal area. This chaotic and piecemeal approach suggests that there is no cohesive national energy strategy and that National Grid Ventures are quite prepared to substantially damage a national resource, the local economy and peoples’ jobs for the sake of convenience only, because of its failure to properly coordinate with other projects at an early stage.

Please take a step back, reconsider, resist external pressures and try to do the best job that you
possibly can to balance the needs of the country. Come back to us with proposals of alternative offshore options with brownfield landfalls that we can all get behind enthusiastically.

Yours Sincerely

Helen Morris
Chair 
Dunwich Parish Meeting

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