I know it's a bit late but, Happy New Year. I hope it's a great one for you.
The year started well for East Street, which was named Place Shaper of the Year at the Keep Britain Tidy Awards, but less well for E.ON, which had to withdraw its application for Rampion Offshore Windfarm.
Why, oh why, I hear you cry. I understand from Neil Parkin, Leader of Adur District Council, that some local authorities, like Surrey, were unfortunately omitted from the list of statutory authorities that should have been consulted on the proposal. Ouch! Hang fire on the tears or rejoicing though because it's only a temporary withdrawal. E.ON are still, "completely committed to the project.. and we are aiming to resubmit our application next month." Hence we should hear more about Rampion in February.
Encouragingly, prior to the withdrawal, E.ON had reduced the scope of its application in response to concerns raised about the visual impact of the windfarm on the Sussex Heritage Coast; the repercussions on fishermen and sea users; and the effect of the cable route through South Downs National Park. Thus when the new proposal is published it should show a 35% reduction in the size of the earlier application site and a maximum of 175, rather than 195 wind turbines.
I'll be back next week to complete my series on disabilities but as yesterday was the Golden Globes, I couldn't resist signing off with,
Coming soon. Rampion Episode 3: The next chapter in the continuing E.ON saga. February 2013.
