Minster Marshes wildlife by Keith Ross
Saving The Minster marshes.
National Grid plans to build a 60,000 square metre onshore converter station at Minster marshes in the Stour Valley but wildlife and environmental campaigners say it will have a massive impact on the area’s wildlife.
The Sea Link project involves creating a subsea electricity cable between Suffolk and Kent which National Grid says will help deliver the UK’s energy security strategy and net zero targets.
National Grid’s preferred route runs from a landfall in Pegwell Bay to a proposed converter station site and high voltage pylons over the land to the south of Minster.
A statutory public consultation is scheduled to take place from October.
Grid Project Threatens Wildlife
Nik Mitchell, from Wildlife Conservation in Thanet, told Isle of Thanet News: “The Stour Valley is one of the most important places for wildlife in the whole of Kent and I cannot emphasise that enough. the area planned for the converter station is full of rare fauna, flora and fungi.
“It won’t just be the footprint of the converter station that impacts on the area it will be all the infrastructure required for it, such as roads, lighting, and overhead power lines.
“We are all well aware that our grid needs significant upgrades and will help us get to carbon neutral but what they want to build and where they want to build it would lead to a big loss and have a big impact on our environment.
“We really must protect our Stour Valley. It’s already under pressure from pollution and intensive farming. We have many extremely rare birds, mammals and reptiles there. We even have turtle dove there and they are the fastest-declining bird in the UK.
“The area is next to a site of special scientific interest and an important site for over-wintering birds which get driven off Pegwell and Sandwich bay at high tide and by bad weather. There are scores of bird species including jack snipes, skylarks, woodcock, breeding turtle doves, black stork, common crane, curlews and many more.
“A cheapskate and unnecessary approach”
The proposal has also been criticised by the Tory MP for North Thanet Sir Roger Gale.
In a letter to the Secretary of State Sir Roger says the Nemo Link – also at Richborough – “has proved an environmental disaster.” He adds: “National Grid is now proposing a Sea Link project which is anything but a sea link and reliant very heavily upon not only the installation of a massive transformer station on or adjacent to SSSI….but also then to the installation of further (rather than duplicating use) pylons across east Kent.
“This is a cheapskate and unnecessary approach.”
Necessary upgrade
National Grid says it is necessary to carry out works to upgrade the network. The firm says: “We are at the initial development stage of our Sea Link project which seeks to reinforce and strengthen the network between Friston in Suffolk and Richborough in Kent to carry renewable and low carbon power to homes and businesses.
“We developed much of the existing network in East Anglia and Kent in the 1960s and it does not have sufficient capacity to carry future renewable and low carbon power that’s forecast to connect to the network – from offshore wind, interconnectors and nuclear power.
“We need to upgrade the electricity network to carry this extra power.”
National Grid says it has “been unable to find any brownfield sites within the Converter Station Option Area that are suitable for the infrastructure proposed.
Green party Open Meeting
If you would like to discuss the issues raised by this project and the future of the marshes there is a meeting tomorrow evening, Tuesday 17th October. This will be held at Queens Road Baptist Church, Queens Road, Broadstairs CT10 1NU, between 7.30pm and 9pm.
If you would like to learn more about National Grid’s plans click HERE for their website.
And click HERE to find out more about the Save The Marshes Facebook group