“As the Member of Parliament for Ynys Môn I wish to register as an interested party.
I welcome the opportunity to make this submission and further representation as part of the National Grid’s application for its North Wales connection, including the connection for Wylfa Newydd in my constituency.

I have since 2012 been engaged with the local community and with local stakeholders and in each of the consultation stages I have articulated the views of the locality. In addition, I have met and facilitated meetings with National Grid on concerns and issues raised. The Planning Inquiry allows me to consolidate these concerns to an independent body prior to development consent.

A Flawed Consultation Process:
Originally the North Wales Connection was a comprehensive package in three sectors: Wylfa and Pentir, as well as West Gwynedd and the Glasfryn Estuary. There was great emphasis on giving careful consideration to reducing any effects on the environment including visual impact.

A wide range of options were put forward. I will concentrate my remarks on the connection from Wylfa.
Different Options Proposed:
Originally the connection between Wylfa was to accommodate Offshore Wind (2GW) and Horizon Nuclear Power (3.2GW). Subsea / Overhead (Pylons) and underground were proposed with connections to Pentir (Subsea / Overground) as well as subsea to Pembroke and Deeside.

Deeside was seen as a major hub for Irish Sea subsea connections.
It was clear from the opening consultations that no meaningful consultation or consideration was given to the Deeside or Pembroke connection. These were misleading ‘red herrings’. If these were serious why was no consultation done beyond approaches to local authorities?

Quickly the preferred National Grid option was to have an overhead / pylons connection across Anglesey to Pentir. The Menai Straits is an AONB and on the instruction of the regulator, an alternative arrangement had to be sought. This was never a concession as Grid claim.

An alternative Wylfa to Pentir hybrid was immediately dismissed but no full costings were provided despite cost being the reason sighted for refusal.
In short Grid wanted to pursue its preferred option. It cited the developer Horizon as the main reason for not pursuing subsea. Undergrounding became a consensual option, the developer was not opposed, but again Grid resisted on cost. Undergrounding would have the least impact on the sensitive environment / tourism.

Menai Crossing:
This element of the connection was done much later and an expensive tunnel was required according to Grid. A 3rd Menai Bridge crossing by the Government offers an alternative.

Conclusions:
I am unable to advance full arguments but I am convinced Grid have conducted flawed consultations and despite reasonable attempts to suggest alternatives that fit the UK Government’s criteria, Grid feel the need to follow its outdated pylon connection against the wishes of the local community, stakeholders and both the County Council and Welsh Government policies. This is not in the interest of anyone and sets a poor precedent. I hope to develop these issues at the hearings.
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