LionLink - what we know so far
This article is a compilation of information gleaned by Councillors and through discussions with others following the consultation event on 23 September. This list is not meant to be definitive nor is it a perfect reflection of Lionlink’s plans. Rather it is just our current understanding of the proposal for Walberswick. It has been compiled for the benefit of residents who may not have attended the consultation or were unable to make sense of much of what was said, or who, like many of us, heard partial or conflicting information.
Importantly, we all found at the consultation that there are massive amounts of critical information that is not available. The Lionlink representatives said that these gaps are because the detailed work has not been done yet on environmental impact, access, geographical constraints, impact on communities, costs, etc. on any of the proposed landing sites. This information would become apparent at later stages of consultation and project development. Despite this, some of the contours of the proposal are a bit clearer and we hope that this summary will be helpful as an information sharing exercise.
We have also produced a second article dedicated to the next steps following the consultation day, including who to write to. This article can be seen here: http://walberswick.onesuffolk.net/news-posts/news/view/775
1) Why was Walberswick and other locations in East Suffolk chosen as potential landing sites?
National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO) reportedly determines the site where developers can connect to the grid. (This part of National Grid is reportedly separate from National Grid Ventures which is a partner in Lionlink.) It is NGESO who instructed Lionlink developers to bring their power to the Friston Sub-station site. From an engineering perspective, Lionlink's substation needs to be within 5 km of the Friston substation. In other words, the proposal to bring cables from the Netherlands ashore here is only because National Grid told them to do so based on the expectation of the giant substation at Friston which is to be built as part of Scottish Power EA1 and EA2 approvals. The electricity from the Netherlands would then travel out of East Anglia on the pylons from Sizewell. The industry norm is to bring cables ashore in brown field sites and there is nothing intrinsically special about this Heritage Coast route except that this is the only one offered to Lionlink by the UK's grid operator.
2) Has an assessment of the Walberswick site been done?
Lionlink says that they have not done any detailed assessment of any of the potential landing sites (including Walberswick) or cable routes and none are identified as preferable because they have not done the analysis. This is why they haven't removed any of the sites from consideration even though in Walberswick, for example, they have identified the new G2 site having learnt that they cannot access the original site in the Cliff Field car park and that the land there may be unsuitable. They would not do a detailed assessment until the consultation stage.
3) How long would the construction be at G2?
The large building site in Walberswick in Manor Field would possibly be for 12 months if they kept to schedule. It would be a 2 hectare fenced site where drilling and other equipment, worker welfare units, loos, parking etc would be based. It would be the site where the drilling to the sea would take place and where waste from the drilling would be placed during construction.
4) How would they reach a sea cable from Manor Field?
They would use “Horizontal Directional Drilling” – this can go up to 1.8km in a semi-circle underground, with the depth being circa 30metres. It would start at G2 then head some 800m out to sea and be connected to the cable there. A duct would then be attached and pulled through the hole created by the drill bit into G2. Finally, three cables (2 for Lionlink and a return cable) would be pulled through the duct and be connected to the offshore cable. Reportedly, this would not require any closing off or work on the beach or marshes as the cable duct would be drilled underground until it reached the cable out at sea, but that is unproven. Some 20-30 workers would be expected on site each day in addition to equipment.
5) What happens after the G2 landfall site?
When they leave the Manor Field site, all that is left behind is a postbox sized green box. Similar boxes could crop up every couple of miles along the cable length. The main box at G2 would require permanent access (ie some road access) to allow additional work and access to the landfall as needed into the future. For the cable run, they would normally drill under roads and rivers and use trenches for the cable elsewhere (trenching is cheaper than tunnel). Although the trench is only 1 metre wide, the working area is 30 metres across and perhaps more. The part from Walberswick G2 to the underwater cable would certainly have to be drilled. They would likely trench much of the rest of the way to the substation although the engineers said that decision would be made much later after fuller assessment. Lionlink says that drilling is much more expensive than trenching, so it would be less profitable for them to drill.
6) What about road access?
This is a big unknown and there is conflicting information on the haul road and access for the entire length of the cable to the substation as well as to and from the G2 landfall construction site. One engineer explained that it may be necessary to create a haulage road the length of the cable route as there is no easy road access given the potential green field cable run (as opposed to ‘normal’ practice that would run under or along a roadway.) In such a case, that could mean a haulage road from the B1125 through to G2 landfall perhaps using Lodge Road or not. Other engineers speculated that equipment and workers would come in on the B1387, to the Street and then onto the G2 site through a haul road cut through "somewhere" in the village.
The key point is, there is no definitive information on the haulage road except that it would be something that doesn't exist now and would create disruption in addition to the G2 industrialised site and the trenching for the cable as it leaves landfall in Walberswick. The route and location of the haulage road would have to be made public at the consultation stage. Except for the access to the “Green Box”, any haulage road would be removed after construction.
7) What about the impact of noise, vibration and pollution on homes and businesses particularly given that the site is in the middle of the residential area?
There will be noise, vibration, dust and other potential air and water pollutants during site preparation and drilling, so the proximity of the residential part of the village would have to be taken into consideration along with impact on archeological sites, pedestrian footpaths and the like. The Walberswick landfall is the only one of the proposed sites that is based squarely in a residential area.
These impacts are meant to be kept to a minimum. It is not well defined, but guidance is that with a house window shut, a resident should not be able to hear the construction work. However, it was not possible to confirm whether this would be promised or possible. It was also not clear whether the vibrations from drilling could cause damage to properties including listed buildings surrounding the site. How and if there would be mitigation would be considered later in the process.
8) Does Lionlink have to assess its impact?
Yes. They must assess impact on wildlife in the marshes from the trenching and from the creation of the construction site and the drilling. They have to consider the topology, the impact on the Dunwich river, the protected marshes, the beach. They are legally required to protect the stability of the land and biodiversity along with respecting the existence of protected designations (SSSI, AONB, RAMSAR).
They would have to investigate protected species (such as Marsh Harriers) and would be bound by the same appraisals, mitigation and licensing as any other application.
Lionlink is currently unaware of all the designations of G2 including that the north and east boundaries of G2 are the boundaries of the conservation area.
9) Is Lionlink Green?
No. Lionlink simply carries electricity generated from the Netherlands to the UK and vice a versa. Currently, the Netherlands energy mix is majority fossil fuels.
Councillors Bassinette and Lewis, WPC