Council has "listened" to concerns over North Devon windfarm cables

Infrastructure plan delayed by five months to address environmental impact

Campaigners are hailing a small victory for local democracy after a delay in deciding a controversial windfarm plan by five months because of environmental concerns.

A planning 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 earlier this month January, will now by made by 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 100MW windfarm 30 miles off the North Devon coast with a substation at East Yelland.

The cables would run underground from surfing beach Saunton Sands, passing under parts of Braunton Burrow dunes, a Unesco biosphere reserve, and Saunton Sands golf course.

The group, together with other local residents and Braunton Parish Council, claim 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.

Forty per cent of the Saunton Sands beach car park would become a ‘work hub’  for up to two years and as many as 90 HGV vehicles per day are expected through the village's narrow streets.

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

“This demonstrates that the community’s interest and engagement with this issue has had a positive impact,” she said. “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 another 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 1 July 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."

"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 Conservative 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 doen't justify "the significant disruption involved."

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