Environment and Sustainability Committee
Inquiry into Energy Policy and Planning in Wales

EPP 88 – Victoria Morgan

The Clerk,

Environment and Sustainability

Committee

Cardiff Bay

Cardiff

CF99 1NA

 September 2011

Dear Sirs,

WAG INQUIRY INTO ENERGY POLICY AND PLANNING IN WALES:

TAN 8 & THE MID WALES CONNECTION PROJECT PETITIONS

I am writing with regard to your inquiry into energy policy and planning in Wales and particularly the 2 petitions regarding TAN8 and the Mid Wales Connection project.

TAN 8 has a number of serious flaws that were unforeseen at the time and will devastate Montgomeryshire. The large areas of landscape zoned for turbines as SSAs (Strategic Search Areas) were set up with no upper limit on the number or size of turbines for construction. The proposal for exporting this potential electricity from the area was a single wooden pole line that looped around all the SSA's, collecting the energy and running it across Shropshire on a single wooden pole line to the National Grid (no hub or 400kV mentioned!).

While I and my family recognise and support the need to move to renewable energy it is clear that TAN 8 will have dire consequences for Mid Wales that were not foreseen at the time it was drafted. For instance, during the drafting of TAN 8 there was limited engagement with National Power with just one paragraph devoted to ‘possible reinforcement of the grid.’ In fact the massive influx of turbine developers into the SSA (unforeseen) will necessitate huge new NG infrastructure – the Mid Wales Connection Project. The end result will be miles of huge pylons across our valleys. These are not empty valleys, they are full of homes and tourists – there are 3 caravan parks by our village, what will happen to the no.1 industry in Montgomeryshire (tourism) when our landscape is industrialised?

Meifod in particular is a unique place.  The ancient medieval parish cathedral church dedicated to the Saints Tysilio and Mary, is a grade one listed building and has the largest churchyard in Wales.

Saint Tysilio was an Abbot here and the village and area are of great historical significance to the Welsh Nation. St. Cynyw’s Church, Llangynyw is also an ancient church, grade two star, built on an early sixth century worship site from the pre-Christian period.  

TAN 8 policy gave traffic issues one paragraph. No study was done on how these mammoth wind turbines (600 feet) will reach their proposed sites on minor country roads. As I mentioned above - no consideration was given to the socio-economic impact these plans would have on Mid Wales. Do you know the impact on our tourism industry or on our farmers’ ability to take livestock to market (the biggest livestock market in Wales)? Do you know how many jobs will be lost by this proposal? Do you know if any jobs, even one, will be created for mid Wales?

TAN 8 makes no mention of EMF risks for those living near the power lines or hub. There is no consideration of the environmental impact this would have on our marvellous landscape.  

TAN 8 failed to consider the cumulative impact of a 400kV power line, huge numbers of wind farms and new 132kV lines. Do you have any vision for what mid Wales will look like when this is all in place? Have you any models or simulations? Will these be discussed with the people of Mid Wales or just imposed on us, with no thought to the consequences for our region? Turbines in 2003 were far smaller than they are now.

TAN 8 has tied the hands of the planning system and has taken away from the people of Mid Wales the right to determine our own future and to manage our own landscape. TAN 8 has been set up to encourage the sacrifice of large areas of landscape with no consideration whatsoever of the cumulative effect of all these developments. Is that what the WAG envisaged at the time?

Advances in technology since 2003 have left us open to facing a huge number (600) of massively taller turbines which need a hub and 400kV.  Figures show that last year wind energy in Wales produced just 19% of its stated capacity because of reducing wind pattern. Will this permanent destruction be justified? I beleve there should be a judicial review of the TAN 8 policy.

TAN 8 states that not all land within the strategic search areas may be economic or environmentally suitable. I am concerned about the massive environmental impact these farms could cause – particularly increased flooding in areas already prone to worse and worse flooding. Every single bit of concrete used to support these massive turbines will displace water which will cause increased flooding downstream affecting not only Mid Wales but Shrewsbury and towns along the whole of the river Severn. The cost of the increased need for flood defences has not been taken into consideration. This issue should be assessed and reviewed.

The wind farms and industrialisation of a large area of Mid Wales will destroy valuable bat, buzzard, curlew and red kite populations. I do not believe that appropriate Environmental Impact Assessments have been adequately carried out.

The pylons are going to destroy or affect distinctive natural and historical landscapes including Roman hill forts and archaeological sites. Every single Broad Route corridor in the National Grids proposal goes past sites of special scientific interest, scheduled ancient monuments and special areas of conservation and I would argue that all routes are through areas of outstanding natural beauty although only one route is deemed as such.

I would like to know if an assessment on the costs to local tourism and trade has been carried out as tourism is a major employer in this area. I have spoken to people who say they won’t stay in Mid Wales if the proposals to industrialise Montgomeryshire go ahead. It is already becoming more and more difficult to live in this area as services are cited far away and as public transport is limited and does not reflect peoples complex travel patterns. People have to travel by car and petrol costs are huge.

I would like to see a cost benefit analysis of tax payer expenditure on turbines versus their benefits as I understand that these turbines are less than 20% efficient. Taxpayers will be paying twice for their electricity, directly from the company and through the tax system. Everyone understands the importance of renewable energy but if individual homes were given more help to generate their own electricity and conserve energy then the energy savings can match the electricity of the turbines.

It is particularly offensive that yet once again, Wales is expected to be industrialised and destroyed in order to provide resources, this time electricity, mainly for England. At least the Victorians buried their water pipes from Lake Vyrnwy to Liverpool underground. I would like to know what are the benefits for Mid Wales of this proposal. Please enumerate them for us –what will be the benefits that outweigh our losses? New jobs, new industries…?

I am also concerned about the Health benefits of these power lines especially as children’s cancer services are being moved even further away from this area which means that people have to travel many miles (25+ miles) for cancer care.  Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust were happy to ignore the risks to the people of Mid Wales and move services further away in order to best suit themselves.

I assume with the support of both the Welsh Assembly government and the UK government. The National Grid exhibition stated that although the epidemiological evidence suggests a link that there is no overall consensus that these pylons are a risk and misrepresented the Draper research (2005) in their literature.  This is from a highly positivist paradigm and reflects the biased view of government that the need for electricity for all triumphs over the rights of the individual, however, under the Human Rights Act everyone has the right of life and respect for their property. Compulsory purchase will be used to site the pylons and the threat of illness disregards the rights of the people affected by these proposals.  

I think the Welsh Assembly Government have underestimated the strength of feeling in the community about these proposals. No one wants these Wind Farms, or Hubs or Pylons and we will fight to keep them away from our beautiful area – we have had time to look into these proposals and understand clearly what they mean for us. 

I repeat we are not anti-renewables and would really welcome the chance to be part of a fantastic energy schemes across Wales that brings real benefits to all the people of Wales not more problems. I hope you will dedicate yourself to creating such a fantastic scheme.

Yours faithfully,

Victoria Morgan   Mrs.