Portsmouth, Hampshire and Havant councils say Aquind did not properly consider alternative route
COUNCILS have accused planners involved in the £1.2bn Aquind interconnector project of failing to properly consider an alternative route for underground cables.
Leading officers from Portsmouth City Council, Hampshire County Council and Havant Borough Council said there had been an ‘absence of consideration’ of a cross-country route.
In a joint letter submitted to the Planning Inspectorate ahead of today’s continued preliminary hearing into the scheme, the councils said a route running through open countryside west of the A3 from Portsdown Hill up to Hambledon Road was not considered.
Aquind hopes to bring undersea cables ashore at Eastney before then running them along Eastern Road and up to Lovedean.
The joint submission said: ‘The key issue set out in this response is the absence of the consideration of the “cross-country” route as an alternative.
‘It is considered that this alternative should be considered during the examination and accordingly that the question of alternatives should be clearly identified as a principal issue.
‘For the avoidance of any doubt, the cross-country route is a corridor running through the open countryside (west of the A3) from Portsdown Hill up to the Hambledon Road (B2150).’
The letter added: ‘The optioneering process is silent about any consideration of the cross-country route prior to this section.’
It comes after Portsmouth City Council’s assistant director of planning, Ian Maguire, in a letter said Aquind’s seeking of rights over land was ‘draconian’.
Ministers will decide if the development consent order (DCO) for the national infrastructure project will be granted.
An Aquind spokesman said: ‘As detailed in the DCO application documents, consideration was given to the possibility of a “cross-country” route for the onshore cables associated with the project.
‘The DCO application is to be examined by the examining authority, appointed by the Planning Inspectorate.
‘It is for the examining authority to determine how they will examine the DCO application, including the matters in relation to which further consideration may be required and how those matters are best dealt with throughout the examination process, to allow for them to make their recommendation on the DCO application in due course.
‘Aquind is committed to a continued engagement with the stakeholders over the course of the examination.’
Aquind has also written to former councillor Alistair Thompson who criticised an earlier consultation process.
In correspondence published online, Aquind told Mr Thompson it sent two-page newsletters to 10,000 households paid for adverts online and in newspapers and held nine exhibition events, among other measures.