Beach goers urged to have their say on cable ‘threat’ to Saunton Sands

Beach users have been urged to have their say on a new consultation for laying seabed cables at Saunton Sands to serve the proposed White Cross windfarm project, amid fears it could ruin the beach for surfers and harm the delicate marine environment.

The MMO (Marine Management Organisation) is running the consultation before deciding whether to grant a license for the proposal to lay cables under the seabed and bring them ashore at Saunton.

The offshore license application for the marine works is separate to the planning application currently lodged with North Devon Council for the onshore works to lay cable between Saunton and the sub station at Yelland, going under parts of Braunton Burrows and other sensitive areas.

The cable would serve the proposed wind farm, a testing and demo facility, with seven floating wind turbines 32 miles off the coast, which developers Cobra and Flotation Energy say would provide up to 100 megawatts of energy.

Campaign group Save Our Sands (SOS) is calling on anyone who values Saunton for surfing, fishing, tourism or fears for the future of the marine and coastal ecology to have their say on the MMO consultation before the September 4 deadline.

The group fears the cabling work would forever alter and damage the ‘surfing break’ at Saunton, which is now part of a World Surfing Reserve, one of only 12 on the planet.

Dr Finola O’Neill of SOS said there was particular concern because she had learned the MMO license would also grant permission for the cable to be protected with rocks or placed on ‘concrete mattresses’, which could badly affect the beach waves.

She said while the developer had stated a preference not to use these measures, if the license was granted they could and would be used if needed.

Above: Those who use or value Saunton Sands have been urged to complete the MMO license consultation on proposals to lay cable for the White Cross windfarm under the seabed. Credit: Ruby Cooper

Dr O’Neill said: “The White Cross windfarm planned to land at the north end of Saunton beach poses risks to our community, ecology and tourism industry through both its offshore cable and onshore cable development process and ongoing maintenance.

“The wave at the north end of the beach at Saunton is described on Surfline, a major international surf forecasting site as ‘something of a Mecca for loggers (longboarders)’.

“Anyone that has spent years, decades or a lifetime studying the movement of sand around coastlines, be that surfers, fishermen, kayakers and so on, knows that if the cable is encased or covered in rock or concrete it will affect the wave breaking on it.

“If it were not enough this development will affect Saunton, the biosphere reserve, protected nature systems behind the beach including a 1,000 acre sand dune ecosystem and salt marshes and associated wildlife, the utter inappropriateness of the location of this development and cable route (both onshore and offshore) cannot be strongly stated enough.”

Other issues surrounding the application include the fact that some 40 per cent of the Saunton beach car park would be used during the construction period, which White Cross has said will only be a year.

Traffic is a big 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 would also be run through fields and Braunton Marsh.

A White Cross spokesperson previously told the Gazette 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 said 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.

People who wish to comment on the MMO offshore works application can do so by CLICKING HERE.

To comment on the MMO offshore works license application for White Cross, go to https://marinelicensing.marinemanagement.org.uk and select ‘public register’, then find case number MLA/2023/00113, entitled White Cross Offshore Windfarm.

Alternatively CLICK HERE