SEN school may have to move if cable plans approved

Headteacher Julie Kelly says her school may have to move due to noise from works

A special educational needs (SEN) school may have to relocate if controversial plans for 90 miles (145km) of undersea electricity cables are approved, the headteacher says.

Julie Kelly, of Great Oaks Small School in Minster near Ramsgate, has said the noise from works will negatively impact their neurodiverse students and teachers.

National Grid's Sea Link project would see undersea cables coming ashore near Sandwich in Kent, and Thorpeness and Aldeburgh in Suffolk.

The company said it had listened to local views and had invited communities to register to comment on the planning progress by 23 June.

Great Oaks is an independent school which serves up to 60 children with SEN aged between 11 and 19 - many with sensitivities to noisy environments.

Headteacher Ms Kelly said she was "speechless" when she first heard the National Grid's plans to build a grid stability facility, sub station and converter station nearby.

She said constant noise from drilling and extra traffic would create problems for students and interrupt learning.

She said: "Sound is really important to them as it is to myself, also being neurodiverse."

Ms Kelly said she raised her concerns around noise with National Grid and was not satisfied with their offer of sound barriers.

She said relocation of the school could have huge implications for children who rely on familiarity and routine.

She said: "When they very first come to us it is a programme of work to getting them confident to actually come into school when they've had such horrendous times elsewhere."

Kent Wildlife Trust previously set up its Rethink Sea Link campaign calling for the National Grid to consider a different route for cables which would minimise the effect on Pegwell Bay, near Sandwich.

National Grid said it recognised the "sensitive habitats" in the area and had "studied the likely significant effects" of the project.

The planning application, which is near the end of the pre-examination stage, will next be scrutinised by the Planning Inspectorate ahead of an official decision.

A decision on the plans is expected in late 2026, National Grid says.

If approved, construction could begin in 2026 and be completed in 2031.