People urged to have their say at White Cross windfarm consultations this week

People have been urged to attend public consultations this week on controversial plans to install underground cabling at Saunton Sands to serve the proposed White Cross offshore wind farm.

Drop in events will be hosted by developers Cobra and Flotation Energy at Braunton Parish Hall this Tuesday (May 21) from 11am to 4pm and again at Braunton Academy’s Isaac Hall from 6pm to 8pm.

A further event will take place on Wednesday (May 22) at North Devon Cricket Club at Instow from 11am to 6.30pm.

The proposed wind farm would be a testing and demo facility with seven floating wind turbines 32 miles off the coast, providing up to 100 megawatts of energy.

The electrical cabling would come ashore at Saunton beach, then horizontal drilling would be used to lay it under parts of Braunton Burrows and other sensitive areas as far as the White House on the toll road, before going under the estuary to the sub station at Yelland.

The scheme has prompted a swell of opposition, with campaigners saying they do not object to the turbines but feel Saunton is the worst possible location to bring the cables ashore, causing huge disruption to the beach, environment and tourism.

There were also allegations on social media that many in Braunton itself had not even received leaflets to let them know about the public consultations.

Some 40 per cent of the Saunton beach car park would be used during the construction period, which White Cross is now saying will only be a year.

Traffic is a huge concern, with fears of up to 100 lorry movements a day through Braunton, already blighted by traffic jams, especially during tourist season and prompting safety concerns in areas such as the village’s narrow Caen Street.

A temporary new road will also be run through fields and Braunton Marsh.

The latest round of consultations has come about after North Devon Council formally asked the developers to withdraw the plan in December – they refused but have returned with more information they say answers concerns.

Campaign group Save Our Sands and others have asked why Saunton was chosen, with other less sensitive sites available such as routing to the sub station at Alverdiscott, which has been mooted as the location for cables from the proposed Xlinks power cable project from Morocco.

Paula Ferris, who has prepared a briefing for Save Our Sands, said: “There is anger and distrust that we know so little with any certainty.  The voluminous planning application and its complicated structure fails to make anything clear, giving Natural England and others fundamental concerns about the cable route that so many share.

“Most of us can’t understand how a unique highly protected coastline (eight designated sites in as many kilometres) can be considered suitable for the cable corridor?

“An over-riding concern is frustration at an impenetrable application made worse by virtually no public engagement with the White Cross team. Most of us in Braunton haven’t received our drop-in session information yet.”

The Gazette put the concerns to White Cross and a spokesperson said the construction work at Saunton Sands was expected to be completed within a year, with the cable landing works on the beach itself expected to be two weeks.

They claimed the project team had found ways to reduce the number of HGV movements and that the project had been designed in a way to limit environmental impact.

The statement said the project would schedule as much work as possible outside the busiest parts of the tourist season.

The spokesperson said: “Over the past few months, our team have been working hard to consider and address the response to our application by North Devon Council and other stakeholders.

“We have undertaken ecological surveys, re-visited our construction plans to further minimise the project’s impact on parking at Saunton Sands. We continue to develop our approach to reduce construction traffic and have provided additional detail on our plans to ensure wildlife and habitats are protected.

 “At our events next week, we will be presenting the updated information we have prepared, which we are confident will help to address the matters raised. Our team also want to hear from local people, answer any additional questions, and invite further feedback on the project.”

In response to claims about lack of advertising for the drop-in events, they added: “We want everyone to be aware of our events, and to have the opportunity to attend. This is why we have publicised the events widely, with radio and press advertisements and leaflets delivered to homes and venues in the area.

 “We look forward to welcoming anyone with an interest in our project to next week’s events. For anyone unable to attend, copies of relevant information are also being published on our website, whitecrossoffshorewind.com.”