You may remember hearing about or reading the below blog outlining our campaign to protect Hintlesham Woods in Suffolk from a new overhead cable line proposed by National Grid. These ancient woodlands are a Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI) and part of the RSPB’s Wolves Wood reserve and the proposals would have involved cutting down a swath up to 70m wide through the middle of the woods to allow cables to be strung through. (See our Hintlesham Woods casework webpage for the full background).
We objected as there was an alternative – a route around the woods, which would cause much less environmental damage. We worked with Suffolk Wildlife Trust and the Woodland Trust to ask you to tell National Grid to avoid the woods and the fantastic news is – they listened! We heard this week that the option for the route through the woods has been dropped and the cables will now go around the woods.
The journey doesn’t end here though. The route around the woods is much less damaging to nature than the route through them, but National Grid will still need to work out how to avoid impacts on the edge of the woods, particularly during construction. We will continue to talk to them about this and about how they can enhance the local environment though their ‘biodiversity net gain’ ambitions. We also understand the concerns of some of our neighbours living near the route around the woods and encourage National Grid to work with them to minimise negative effects on the community.
As you can see, the chosen route will still need careful planning and thought, but avoiding the woods is great news for wildlife and the protection of a really special and important place! Huge thanks are due to everyone who took the time to respond to the consultation or share the message via social media – your voices made all the difference.
National Grid are proposing to construct an additional line of electricity pylons from Bramford to Twinstead as part of a power network upgrade. The RSPB’s key concern is that one of the proposed route options passes directly through Hintlesham Woods Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Suffolk, an ancient woodland which is part of the RSPB’s Wolves Wood reserves.
RSPB England Campaigner Pooja Kishinani explains the threats posed by National Grid’s proposed power line to habitats in Hintlesham Woods, and how you can get involved to speak up for nature.
Hintlesham Woods are ancient woodlands that have existed since the 12th century and are recognised as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a nationally important wildlife site supporting a diversity of bird species such as the garden warbler, great spotted woodpecker and marsh tit. Many rare species and uncommon species are also found here, including dormice, barbastelle bats and white admiral and white letter hairstreak butterflies.
The Hintlesham Woods SSSI consists of Wolves Wood, Hintlesham Wood and Ramsey Wood, comprising 118 hectares of ancient woodland developed over such long periods of time, that their habitats and features are considered irreplaceable.
Above image: Marsh tit can be seen at Hintlesham Woods (c) Ben Hall
At present, there are two options on the table for the section of National Grid’s cable route affecting these woods:
Option 1 routes a line of pylons and overhead cables to the north of Ramsey Wood, albeit only by about 50m.
Option 2, distressingly, routes the overhead cables through the nationally protected ancient woodland. While the cable route is constructed, a swathe of irreplaceable ancient woodland up to 70 metres wide will be cut down to make way for the cables, then once construction is complete trees in that area will indefinitely be kept under control to prevent them interfering with cables.
We are extremely concerned and disappointed that the additional option for an overhead line through Hintlesham Woods (Option 2) has not been removed from National Grid’s proposals.
Option 2 was originally proposed by National Grid during their 2008-2013 work on the project before a successful RSPB campaign was followed by its withdrawal in favour of a route around the woods, however, the whole project was put on hold in 2013 due to delays to related projects. Unfortunately, since the project was revived in 2020, National Grid have put the route through the woods back on the table and we need to fight this again to avoid major damage to a precious wildlife site.
National Grid’s argument for potentially choosing this route involves cost (it is a shorter route), and some concerns around visual impact. However, national policies are in place to ensure that SSSIs are only damaged where there are no alternative locations and where the benefits of the development clearly outweigh the impacts on the SSSI itself and any broader impacts on the national network of SSSIs. In this case, we consider that alternatives to the route through the woods exist and that benefits of the route do not outweigh the impacts on the SSSI.
Whilst we understand there are various concerns around this project, we must speak up for our important wildlife sites. We consider it irresponsible to destroy irreplaceable and legally protected ancient woodland due to visual impact on a non-designated landscape, and a difference in cost, which must be relatively insignificant in the context of National Grid’s wider project.
Aside from the destruction caused to the proposed footprint of work, opening up Hintlesham Woods for an additional overhead line will increase fragmentation, widely considered one of the greatest threats to habitats, potentially reducing the movement of wildlife and plants between the remaining woodland blocks.
Above image: Wildflowers at Hintlesham Woods (c) Shirley Sampson
The project is currently undergoing its last round of public consultation and an application to the Planning Inspectorate is expected this Winter 2022/23. We have responded to public consultations, expressing our objection to Option 2. We are asking National Grid to stand up for our precious wildlife and remove the damaging and short-sighted route through Hintlesham Woods from their proposals. Together with Suffolk Wildlife Trust and the Woodland Trust, we are working to ensure that Hintlesham Woods is protected from damaging development, and the importance of protecting SSSIs is recognised by developers and decision makers.
National Grid has opened consultations to the public until 19th October 2022. You can help by telling National Grid that a cable route passing through Hintlesham Woods is unacceptable and this option (Option 2) should be removed from their proposals. You can do this by emailing your comments to contact@bramford-twinstead.nationalgrid.com
If you are able to do this by 19th October, this would really help as your views would be counted as part of their current public consultation.
Read more about our work in Hintlesham Woods.