Preferred landfall site for Suffolk power cables revealed
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 the two countries' electricity grids and an offshore windfarm. The energy company wants the cables to reach land at Walberswick, in Suffolk. A converter station, covering six hectares, would be built close to nearby Saxmundham, which would connect to a substation at the village of Friston.National Grid said landfall at Walberswick would "minimise disruption", but a county councillor described it as "simply a bad decision".
Ben Wilson, president of National Grid Ventures, which is behind the project, said: "After two rounds of community consultation and detailed technical and environmental assessments, we have selected Walberswick as our preferred landfall site for LionLink."He added: "We have carefully chosen Walberswick for its shorter cable route, which will minimise disruption and environmental impact."
National Grid are behind a similar project, Sea Link, which would see energy cables linking the power grids in Suffolk and Kent.Cables would come on shore between Aldeburgh and Thorpeness.Suffolk County Council have called for the two projects to share infrastructure. Richard Rout, Suffolk County Council's Cabinet Member for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, said: "The lack of coordination between National Grid's own projects - LionLink and Sea Link - is startling. "Landfall for LionLink at Walberswick is simply a bad decision."Rout, a Conservative councillor, added: "Given the close proximity of both the LionLink and Sea Link projects, coordination between them should be paramount, but National Grid's failure to do so means that we are now going to see irreversible damage to important landscapes in the county, and further suffering for more local people."A spokesperson for National Grid said: "The application for our Sea Link project has not yet been submitted."We have been consulting local communities in East Suffolk for the last three years, including local political representatives, all with the aim of identifying ways to keep disruption from construction to a minimum."
National Grid Ventures said it would be holding "two community drop-ins and an online webinar for local people to find out more about the landfall decision and the next steps of the project".LionLink's statutory consultation is scheduled to start later in 2025, with a Development Consent Order expected to be submitted to the government in 2026.If given the go ahead, the infrastructure could be in operation from 2032.
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