White Cross cable plan is ‘delayed for five months’

Controversial proposals to site cables for the White Cross wind farm at Saunton Sands have been delayed for five months.

Campaigners have welcomed the small victory and said it is ‘local democracy in action’ after it emerged the planning application would not now be determined until July.

The application for the onshore electrical infrastructure part of the White Cross offshore windfarm has been given an extension by North Devon Council to address ‘deficiencies’ identified during a public consultation last October that received more than 500 responses.

A decision on the plan, originally set for January, will now happen in July after people have their say on new information expected from developers Flotation Energy.

Campaign group Save Our Sands attracted national media coverage for its stand against the proposal, which would connect the 100 megawatt windfarm 30 miles off the North Devon coast with a substation at East Yelland.

It is proposed the cables would run underground from Saunton Sands, passing under parts of Braunton Burrows, a Unesco biosphere reserve and Saunton Golf Course.

The group, together with many other residents and Braunton Parish Council, claimed the cabling would damage important wildlife habitats for rare bats and birds in an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) and several sites of special scientific interest (SSSI), and destroy the tourism industry the area relies on.

Some 40 per cent of the Saunton beach car park would become a ‘work hub’ for up to two years and as many as 90 HGV vehicles per day were expected through the village’s narrow streets, though the developer had argued it would often be less than this.

Helen Cooper from Save Our Sands said the group welcomed the announcement of the extended timeline.

She said: “This demonstrates that the community’s interest and engagement with this issue has had a positive impact.

“We have made the council listen to our concerns and they in turn have required the developer to provide more details about their plans. This is how local democracy is meant to function.

“To that end we also look forward to knowing what role the public will continue to play in this ongoing process.”

Flotation Energy, which has joined with windfarm developer Cobra on the venture, refused North Devon Council’s request to withdraw the application in December.

The council said this week: “An extension of time has been permitted with the developer until July 1 to enable them to submit further information… to address deficiencies in the application identified by statutory consultees and through the public consultation process. This additional information is expected by the end of February 2024.

“Following this, a full consultation period will be re-run, allowing members of the public to comment on the new documentation.”

A spokesperson for the windfarm project said following a meeting with North Devon Council they now had “a clear way forward to proceed.”

They added: “The windfarm is intended to play a critical role in the development of floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea. This technology has the potential to provide a source of affordable and secure energy to people and businesses while supporting the UK’s progress towards net zero.”

The site is expected to provide enough energy to power 135,000 households.

North Devon MP Selaine Saxby has shown support for floating offshore wind (FLOW) and the expected jobs for North Devon, but said this is a test site and the amount of energy being proposed did not justify “the significant disruption involved.”

She has previously asked that the government look at FLOW projects as a whole so infrastructure can be shared.