Archives: Press Release

The Inspectorate has decided that the application meets the standards required to be formally accepted for examination. This follows its consideration of, amongst other things, the consultation that has been carried out by Progress Power.

The Project now moves into a pre-examination phase. This means that members of the public will be able to register with the Planning Inspectorate and provide a summary of their views of the application in writing. Everyone who has registered and made a relevant representation will be invited to attend a preliminary meeting run and chaired by an Inspector.

The pre-examination stage of the process is expected to take approximately three months. Further updates will be posted on this website.

The Planning Inspectorate has accepted an application by Hirwaun Power Ltd for an Order Granting Development Consent for the proposed Hirwaun Power Station.

The Inspectorate has decided that the application meets the standards required to be formally accepted for examination. This follows its consideration of, amongst other things, the extensive consultation that has been carried out.

The Project now moves into a pre-examination phase. This means that members of the public will be able to register with the Planning Inspectorate and provide a summary of their views of the application in writing by the deadline, which is 29th May 2014. Everyone who has registered and made a relevant representation will be invited to attend a preliminary meeting run and chaired by an Inspector.

The pre-examination stage of the process is expected to take approximately three months. Further updates will be posted on this website.

These comments have influenced the evolution of the overall Project design that will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate, for examination on behalf of the Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change.

Yesterday (Thursday, March 6^th) was the final day for Progress Power to receive comments and address them as part of the application process for a Development Consent Order (DCO).  The comments received between May 2013 and yesterday, and Progress Power’s response to them, will be included in a comprehensive Consultation Report that will form part of Progress Power’s DCO application. The Consultation Report will be made publicly available alongside the other Project reports, such as the Environmental Statement.

After today, any comments made to Progress Power about the Project will be considered by the Project team but will not be referenced in the Consultation Report.

If the application is accepted, people can register via the Planning Inspectorate website as an “interested party” which allows them to participate in the Inspectorate’s examination process. For further information, please visit https://infrastructure.planningportal.gov.uk/application-process/participating-in-the-process/

The Planning Inspectorate will conduct a thorough scrutiny of Progress Power’s DCO application only after it has accepted the DCO application for examination.  Progress Power is aiming to submit its DCO application at the end of this month. The Planning Inspectorate will make a decision on whether or not to accept the application within 28 days of the submission.

More than 70 people attended the three drop-in sessions, including a number of local parish, district and county councillors. The Progress Power team answered a range of questions about its plans including the choice of the ECC’s location, the access to it and its visual impact.  The team also explained the need for the ECC, its rationale for choosing to bury the electrical connection underground and its intention to screen the ECC.

Information on the ECC can be downloaded from the Progress Power website and it can be viewed at local libraries.  The deadline for people to send Progress Power their comments on the ECC and its access arrangements is 6 March.  Progress Power will consider the written views and the comments made at today’s drop-in sessions as it finalises its application for a Development Consent Order for the Project; this is expected to be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate at the end of March.

Progress Power recently published an Information Update about our plan for an Electrical Connection Compound (ECC) that will connect, via underground cable, our proposed power station at Eye Airfield to the National Grid Electricity Transmission system.

Last week, members of our team hand delivered a 2-page summary of our plans to households in the vicinity of the ECC, as well as to other local interests.   In addition, the Information Update has been posted on the Progress Power website, lodged in local libraries and lodged at Mid Suffolk District Council’s main office in Needham Market.  You may have also seen advertising notices and news articles in the local media (published last week) about the ECC and the proposed access arrangements.

Since the publication of the Information Update, we have received some questions and comments (via phone and email) from people that we have either answered or registered.

Members of the Progress Power team will be available to answer questions in person on Tuesday, 25^th February.  The team will be at the following locations on the 25^th:

•   Mellis Memorial Hall – 12.00noon to 2.00pm
•   Yaxley Village Hall – 4.00pm to 6.00pm
•   Eye Town Hall – 7.00pm to 9.00pm

Please note that these sessions, agreed with Suffolk County Council and Mid Suffolk District Council, will be akin to an “MP’s Surgery” rather than the exhibitions we have previously held.   Copies of the Information Update will be available for inspection, and our team will be happy to deal with people’s questions on a one-to-one basis.  Given the various times and the three locations, we trust that anyone who wishes to meet us will be able to do so.  We are, of course, still happy to receive comments by phone, freepost or email.

We have sent details of the sessions to Parish Councils in the vicinity of the Project, district and county councillors and local MPs (as well as all those people who have registered with Progress, asking to be kept informed).   We will also post notices in the area and inform the local media.

The information relates to the electrical connection that will export electricity from the proposed power station on Eye Airfield to the existing overhead National Grid transmission lines that run parallel to the A140 Norwich road, and near to the villages of Yaxley, Mellis and Thrandeston.

Local parish councils, people living in these villages as well as other local interests, such as the Suffolk Preservation Society and Common Concern, are being notified of this new information.

After widespread consultation and extensive technical and environmental studies, Progress Power is proposing a new underground cable connection to a new sub-station (that is part of an Electrical Connection Compound) on land situated close to the National Grid transmission lines and located north of Yaxley and Mellis.  Progress Power has also today published proposals on how the Electrical Connection Compound will be accessed by construction vehicles to avoid traffic and disturbance in local villages.  A new junction off the A140 is being proposed.

Chris McKerrow, Project Director for Progress Power said: “Our proposals for the electrical connection avoid the need for more overhead pylons across the countryside, something that both Suffolk County Council and Mid Suffolk District Council, and members of the public, wanted us to avoid.  Our plans will include extensive landscaping, including the planting of trees, in order to minimise the visual impact of the Electrical Connection Compound.  We have also heeded people’s concerns about traffic to and from the site of the compound, expressed at our public exhibitions in October and since, by proposing a new junction off the A140.”

Detailed information about the Electrical Connection Compound and the proposed access arrangements can be accessed by the public via these different ways:

•   Website:  www.progresspower.co.uk
•   Local libraries: Diss, Eye, Ipswich, Ixworth and Stradbroke
•   Mid Suffolk District Council: at its Needham Market office

Local parish councils, local MPs, Common Concern and the Suffolk Preservation Society have received the Information Update from Progress Power, and so people can also obtain the Update from them as well as from the county and district councils.

Furthermore, notices about the new information have been posted in the local press and noticeboards in the area.  Progress Power will also host drop-in sessions in the area within the next 2-3 weeks to give people the opportunity to ask questions about the latest plans: the dates and locations will be published shortly.

Progress Power welcomes feedback and comment on this Information Update from local communities and organisations. This non-statutory update period runs until 6^th March 2014.

Comments and feedback can be sent via [email protected] or by letter Freepost RTEY-JYYB-ERSR, Progress Power Ltd, 49 York Place, Edinburgh EH1 3JD.

The meeting took place in Scole, and was chaired by Derek Haley, Leader of Mid Suffolk District Council.

The main purpose of the meeting was to provide information on the Planning Inspectorate’s procedures to examine Progress Power’s Project and how the local community and their representatives can feed into that process.  In addition, Progress Power outlined to the meeting the various initiatives that it has undertaken over the past nine months to share its plans with people in the vicinity of the proposed site.  These have included a series of public exhibitions, adverts and articles in local newspapers, a leaflet, posters and a series of meetings with local council representatives.  The Planning Inspectorate, Progress Power as well as representatives of Mid Suffolk District Council and Suffolk County Council answered questions at the meeting.

Progress Power will shortly be publishing further information on the Project, with particular regard to the proposed electrical connection compound, including the substation, and the traffic/access arrangements relating to its construction. These access changes are a direct result of the concerns raised by the local people during the statutory consultation process in October and November last year.  This information will be made available for comment at local libraries, at Mid Suffolk District Council’s office in Needham Market and via the Progress Power website: www.progresspower.co.uk.

Although the statutory period of consultation ended last November, Progress Power is happy to continue to receive feedback on the overall Project via email at [email protected]or via Freepost RTEY-JYYB-ERSR, Progress Power Ltd, 49 York Place, Edinburgh EH1 3JD.

For further information:

Progress Power: 01603 417722 or [email protected]

Public exhibitions in five locations
Leaflet to all households, businesses and civic groups

Statutory consultation on a proposed gas-fired power plant on the Hirwaun Industrial Estate in Rhondda Cynon Taf begins this month (October 2013).

Hirwaun Power Ltd (HPL), a UK power plant development company, will hold its consultation on the £200m proposal between 17th October and 28th November 2013.

HPL has produced a Statement of Community Consultation, detailing the pre-application consultation programme. It includes a number of exhibition events, which will be an opportunity for local people and interested organisations to see the plans and give their views on the proposals. Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council (RCT) has been consulted on the programme.

An informal and non-statutory round of consultation was held in June this year, when the outline proposal was presented to communities during several public exhibition events that were attended by 98 people.

The statutory consultation will show how the project has developed since then in the light of community feedback, engagement with RCT and authorities such as Natural Resource Wales, and the company’s own technical and environmental studies.

The proposed Hirwaun Power Project would produce up to 299 megawatts (MW) of electricity – the equivalent of supplying 400,000 homes – would represent a significant multi million pound investment into the local economy. The project would support up to 250 jobs during the 2-3 year construction and commissioning period, and up to 15 full-time jobs when operational.

Hirwaun Power’s Project director Norman Campbell said, “Consultation with local communities and organisations is vitally important to us. It provides us with an opportunity to explain our project in detail and get feedback to help with the development of our proposals. Our initial phase of consultation in June gave us the chance to communicate directly with local people and we were pleased with the interest shown.

“We will now explain how the project has moved forward in recent months and provide more detailed information. For example, we have further developed our proposals relating to the siting and design of the power plant. In doing so, we have also taken steps to minimise the environmental and visual impact of the project.

“If the proposals are realised, the power plant would be ultra-modern and a very significant investment in the local economy. The project would directly create new jobs and provide opportunities for a variety of other local companies to supply and support the operation and maintenance of the power station in the future.

“We hope that as many people as possible will attend our public exhibition days, or see the information we have made available on the project website and at certain local libraries. We will advertise the formal consultation in local media and also distribute more than 4,000 leaflets in the area surrounding the site.”

At the end of the consultation period HPL plans to submit an application for a Development Consent Order to the UK’s Planning Inspectorate, with a final decision taken by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. Subject to the consultation and planning process and financing, the power station could enter commercial operation in 2018.

Public exhibition events will be held as follows:

PUBLIC EXHIBITIONS
Thursday 24 October 13:00 – 19:00
Rhigos Community Centre, Heol Esgyn, Rhigos, Aberdare, CF44 9BX
Friday 25 October 13:00 – 19:00
Hirwaun Community Centre, Village Hall, High Street, Hirwaun, CF44 9SL
Thursday, 7 November 13:00 – 19:00
Penderyn Community Centre, Pontpren, Penderyn, CF44 9JN
Friday 8 November 13:00 – 19:00
Penywaun Community Centre, Gwladys Street, Penywaun, CF44 9DE
Saturday 9 November, 10:00 – 15:00
Aberdare Community Parish Hall, Monk Street, Aberdare, CF44 7PA

For further information on the project visit: www.hirwaunpower.co.uk.

Ends

For further information contact the Hirwaun Power press office on 0800 9589015or alternatively email [email protected]

Notes to editors:
Hirwaun Power Ltd (HPL) (www.hirwaunpower.co.uk) has been established by Watt Power Ltd. (WPL). WPL based in Edinburgh has been established to develop a portfolio of flexible gas fired generation assets to support the UK Government drive to a low carbon economy.
WPL are committed to the development of well sited, sustainable energy projects that are designed to meet the specific needs of the evolving UK energy market. They recognise the need to balance commercial issues with the environmental benefits and concerns of energy projects and believe this can be responsibly delivered at a local level.
HPL and Watt are committed to acting in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. As part of this policy, we will ensure that the views and concerns of the local community are addressed, and that the Power Project and supporting infrastructure is designed and developed to the highest quality, safety and environmental standards.
For further details please visit: www.wattpowerltd.co.uk.

Two main parts of the consultation programme are a leaflet to be distributed to more than 19,000 homes and businesses in the local area, and a series of exhibitions that will be held in the area between 11^th October and 19^th October.

Notices about the SoCC have been or will be published in the local press, and copies of the SoCC have been lodged at local libraries and Mid Suffolk District Council’s (MSDC’s) office in Needham Market, as well as on our website.

Consultation with local people, businesses, and organisations is an essential part of the Development Control Order process laid out by the Planning Inspectorate for a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project.  Progress Power is fully committed to proper and extensive consultation, thus ensuring that the local communities can comment and give feedback on our proposals.

In May of this year, at the Eye Community Centre, we shared our initial plans with the local community and invited their comments. Since then, we have undertaken various studies and developed our plans further and we are now ready to begin a period of public consultation next month. This statutory period of consultation runs from 3October to 7 November.

A leaflet about the project will be distributed within the next 3 weeks to homes, businesses and civic groups in the vicinity of Eye Airfield. Then in mid-October, we will hold exhibitions in five locations within 3kms of Eye Airfield. We will use these as an opportunity to ask people’s views about all aspects of the project as well as the results of our preliminary environmental assessments.

We can confirm that the electrical connection to the National Grid via a new proposed substation will be underground rather than overground.

MSDC and Suffolk County Council were formally consulted about the draft SoCC and gave their response on 14 August, and councillors of both councils were briefed on the project’s status and the local area consultation programme at the end of August.

The SOCC notice is to be published in the following local papers: Eastern Daily Press, East Anglian Daily Times, Diss Mercury and Diss Express.