Sea Link cables consultation enters final week
Kent residents now have a week left to have their say on plans for 90 miles (145km) of undersea electricity cables between the county and Suffolk.
National Grid’s Sea Link project would see undersea cables coming ashore near Sandwich in Kent, and Thorpeness and Aldeburgh in Suffolk.
The company says the project is a “vital investment in Great Britain’s energy future” but opponents say it would be damaging to the environment.
A consultation on the project is due to close at 23:59 BST on Monday 23 June.
The planning application, which is currently near the end of the pre-examination stage, will next be scrutinised by the Planning Inspectorate ahead of an official decision.
The examination will last six months before the inspectorate will send a report to the government recommending whether to approve or reject the plans.
A decision is expected in late 2026, National Grid says.
It added that, if the project is approved, construction could also begin in 2026 and be finished in 2031.
‘Sensitive habitats’
The proposed cable would carry renewable power from offshore wind, interconnectors and nuclear power to where it is needed.
A sub-station and converter station has also been planned for Minster, near Ramsgate, Kent, and near Saxmundham in Suffolk.
The cables would transport renewable energy from generators such as the Sizewell nuclear power stations
Kent Wildlife Trust previously set up its “Rethink Sea Link” campaign calling for the National Grid to consider a different route for cables which minimises the effect on Pegwell Bay, near Sandwich.
National Grid said it recognised the “sensitive habitats” in the area and has “studied the likely significant effects” of the project.
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