LionLink: Proposed windfarm cabling sites in Suffolk are revealed

LionLink would connect offshore windfarms and transfer electricity between the UK and Netherlands

National Grid has revealed where it wants to build energy infrastructure for cabling between the UK and the Netherlands.

The power line, called LionLink, would connect offshore wind farms in the North Sea.

The energy company wants the cables to reach land at either Walberswick or Southwold, both in Suffolk.

A converter station would be built on the outskirts of nearby Saxmundham and could cover a six-hectare area.

That would then connect to a substation being built at the village of Friston, also in Suffolk, as part of the offshore wind plans.

'Clean and green'

Suffolk County Council has called the plans "unacceptable and unfair".

The council's Conservative deputy leader Richard Rout, who is also the cabinet member for finance and environment, said: "The high handed and process driven approach by National Grid Ventures is totally unacceptable. They are showing a complete lack of respect to Suffolk and its coastal communities."

Fiona Gilmore from campaign group Suffolk Energy Action Solutions said: "We know there are better solutions which minimise socio- economic impacts.

"Britain must use brownfield sites closer to London for LionLink, Nautilus, SeaLink and other projects not coastal tourism destinations which depend on their 60 million visitor days each year."

National Grid said LionLink could power 2.5 million homes a year and would help "meet the government's net-zero targets, and save consumers money".

Gareth Burden, construction director at National Grid, said: "LionLink has an important role to play in reducing the UK's reliance on fossil fuels and bringing more clean, green, and renewable energy into the UK's energy system."

The project will now move on to the next part of the planning process, with impact assessments, followed by a statutory public consultation in 2025.