Last chance to have your say on Brechfa Forest Connection

There are only a few days left to have your say on Western Power Distribution’s proposal to build a new electricity connection between Brechfa Forest West Wind Farm and a connection point south of Carmarthen using wooden poles and underground cables.

Western Power Distribution (WPD) is coming to the end of its seven week public consultation on the detailed plans for the Brechfa Forest Connection Project during which it has consulted with over 8,000 households in the area.  WPD has also held six public exhibitions at various locations along the route of the connection which have been attended by landowners and local residents.

The consultation closes at midnight on Friday, 16 January 2015 and all feedback must be with WPD by then so that comments can be taken into account in the final design which will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in spring of this year.  This consultation is likely to be the last chance people will have to comment on the application for consent before it is submitted.

WPD is responsible for connecting the power that would be generated by RWE Innogy UK Ltd’s already consented Brechfa Forest West Wind Farm.  The total length of the connection is about 28.6 km (17.8 miles) of which WPD is proposing to underground around 3.4 km (2.1 miles).

Andrew Hubbold at WPD said: “We are really pleased that people have come to see us at the exhibitions and it’s been incredibly valuable to speak with landowners and concerned members of the public about the project.”

“I encourage people to tell us what they think about the plans before the close of consultation on Friday, 16 January, so that their comments can be considered when we refine the final design before submission of our application to the Planning Inspectorate.”

All the relevant comments made in the statutory consultation will be registered for consideration and summarised in a report which will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate as part of WPD’s Development Consent Order application.

This is the third round of consultation that WPD has carried out and follows a round of consultation events in summer 2013 with elected representatives and community user groups and public consultation events in early 2014.

For information about the connection project and to provide your feedback online, visit our Brechfa Forest page.