Windfarm cable plans continue despite council plea

Plans submitted include onshore cable work at Saunton Sands

The firm behind an offshore windfarm has refused a council’s request to withdraw its plans for onshore cable work at a popular north Devon beach.

The White Cross Offshore Windfarm project wants to bring a cable onshore underneath Saunton Sands car park and develop an electricity substation nearby, as part of its application.

North Devon Council said after considering the public response to the plans it wrote to White Cross " to request the formal withdrawal of the onshore cable application".

Campaigners against the onshore cable plans said the project could cause "huge amounts of damage" to the area.

The plans include the "construction of temporary facilities required during construction" and "a permanent substation access road".

Natural England, one of the public bodies consulted as part of the planning application, asked the council to put a decision on hold while more information was gathered.

In its response to the plans it said it had "a number of fundamental concerns in relation to the application as currently submitted".

North Devon Council said: "The applicant has declined to withdraw and intends to submit further information and clarification to address the objections and concerns raised through the consultation process."

The council said it would now "agree an appropriate extension of time with the applicant to allow for a further consultation period".

Saunton Sands attracts thousands of tourists every year

The 100 megawatts (MW) White Cross project is about 50km (31 miles) off the coast and will consist of eight turbines.

The rights for the White Cross development were secured from The Crown Estate in 2021 as a test and demonstration site.

A spokesperson for Flotation Energy, one of the partners behind the White Cross project, said it now had "a clear way forward to proceed with the White Cross Offshore Windfarm Planning application" and would work with North Devon Council on a revised timetable.

The spokesperson said the scheme would "play a critical role in the development of floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea".

The onshore cable plans have attracted criticism from people and businesses in the area who have come together to form the Save Our Sands (SOS) campaign group.

Helen Cooper, from SOS, said: "We welcome the council's response to the public concern over the application and the fact they have asked the developer to withdraw it.

"We're disappointed but not surprised the developer has declined this option.

"The proposed cable route offers little economic or environmental benefit to the local community but potentially huge amounts of damage."