"Happy New Year. A great start to 2023 for East Suffolk with the final approval by the government of Freeport East, a collaboration between the ports of Felixstowe and Harwich, with up to £25m investment for our area alongside generous tax reliefs and a simplified customs procedures all backed up by a package of trade and innovation support for businesses locating here. This will mean thousands of highly skilled jobs and Freeport East could become a world-leading centre for clean energy production propelling the UK’s net zero decarbonisation efforts, particularly through its role as a green hydrogen hub.
Talking of energy, thank you to the 2,400 people who have so far signed my petition to review all onshore energy connections along the Suffolk Coast. I submitted responses to the consultations on Eurolink and Sealink interconnectors, opposing all the onshore infrastructure options for these offshore wind projects.
Let me be clear that tackling climate change is one of the top priorities for the Government. The UK was the first G7 country to legislate for net zero by 2050 and the Energy White Paper establishes a permanent shift away from our dependence on fossil fuels. The same White Paper and the subsequent review of the National Policy Statements for Energy set out that a more coordinated approach to the delivery of onshore electricity transmission infrastructure is required recognising cumulative impact.
That is why I have consistently opposed the Friston sub-station for EA1 & EA2, the Nautilus proposals and why I cannot support any of the options set out in the Eurolink and Sealink consultations. I have been clear and continue to press the case that onshore connections should be placed on brownfield land. Instead of carrying out an inadequate desktop exercise that proposes unworkable landfall sites, unclear routes for cable corridors and massive converter stations that will have a devastating impact on the local environment. National Grid need to undertake a comparative study, including already suggested brownfield sites, like Bradwell in Essex. Properly assessing the environmental, social and economic impact of these connections before proceeding any further.
I welcome the fact that National Grid is now investigating a brownfield site on the Isle of Grain in Kent as a possible connection for the Nautilus project instead of here on the Suffolk coast. It is my view that this should also be done for both Eurolink and Sealink proposals. The emerging National Policy Statements are clear that applicants are expected to be able to demonstrate how the optimum onshore connection locations have been identified and how environmental, community and other impacts have been considered.
As this was a non-statutory consultation, meaning there is time before the statutory consultation period that informs the development consent order process then I would expect National Grid to get on with assessing alternatives. If they don’t, then there will be huge challenges – not least from myself – during the planning application but a potential risk as we have seen in the past of judicial review. I, therefore, urge National Grid to do the right thing for Suffolk and properly assess the alternatives before moving these projects onto the next stage."