Major update on seismic decision over Morecambe windfarm cabling route through Fylde countryside

Shock and anger have greeted the Government’s decision today to give the go-ahead to the highly controversial Morecambe Windfarm cable route which it is feared will devastate the Fylde countryside.

Numerous stakeholders, including MPs and local councils, have previously urged ministers to reconsider plans for a major offshore wind cabling corridor through the Fylde, pointing out that the 11-year cable infrastructure scheme is inefficient and overly disruptive when compared to proposed alternatives.

But the project had been approved by the Government’s Department for Energy and Net Zero and Fylde MP Andrew Snowden said: “I am as stunned as I am angry that the Government has approved these plans.

“They say they have reviewed and considered the evidence. Are they blind? One of the two wind farm projects has lost its original developers.

“There is a more appropriate alternative route which could save hundreds of millions of pounds.

“This is one of the most heavily objected-to infrastructure projects in the country, and the current plans will cause huge and unnecessary disruption to our coastline, countryside and communities.

“So what exactly have Ministers considered? We have spent months putting the evidence in front of them. I have written repeatedly to Ministers and the Prime Minister, our councils have commissioned independent work and residents and campaigners have made their voices heard loud and clear.

“Yet the Government has chosen to railroad these plans through anyway. This is a shocking decision.

“I will now be working with Fylde Council, the residents group and others involved in the campaign to carefully consider the decision and what steps we can take next.

“ I will continue fighting for our communities, countryside and coastline.”

The Fylde Says No! campaign group said in a statement: “Today’s decision is a profound disappointment for the communities of the Fylde who have spent years trying to make making their concerns heard.

“We have never opposed the principle of renewable energy. We have opposed a flawed transmission scheme that we believe places an unacceptable burden on our communities, countryside and infrastructure when credible alternatives have been put forward.

“The Government has been presented with evidence that the proposed route will be far less expensive than the northern alternative, which could also deliver significant additional economic benefits.

“Those arguments deserved more than to be simply brushed aside.

“Today may be the end of one chapter, but it is not the end of the fight for the Fylde.

“We will scrutinise what happens next, hold the decision-makers to account, and continue to ask the question that should never have gone away: why should Fylde bear the consequences of a bad decision when better and cheaper options have been proven to exist?

“Local communities asking this question are not obstacles to be managed. They are stakeholders to be listened to and our voices will not be silenced by today’s decision.”

The plans include a 15.5-mile underground cable route coming ashore at Starr Gate beach near Blackpool Airport, crossing the Fylde countryside, and connecting to a battery storage facility in Penwortham.

The major infrastructure project has faced huge opposition, with campaigners warning the trenches required for the cables would be equivalent in width to “three motorways”.

The situation changed in January when Morgan Offshore Wind Limited withdrew from the Morgan and Morecambe windfarm project, saying it was “no longer economically viable”.

However, the Morecambe element of the development is continuing, with developers saying the windfarm could generate 1,500MW of electricity – enough to power nearly two million homes each year.

But a joint statement from Lancashire County Council, Fylde Council and Wyre Council called on ministers to consider an alternative northern connection following changes to the Morgan project.