We are writing to all concerned regarding the proposed location for Vattenfalls Substation which they hope to site close to Necton Village.
We are deeply concerned that Vattenfall are still hell bent on siting this monstrosity so close to a rural village. It is a quiet village consisting of a large percentage of retired and elderly residents who are distressed that their way of life will be ruined by siting this substation close to residential properties.
There is also a primary school which will also be affected - who knows what impact this will have on young lives.
We feel our complaint is justified especially as two other sites have been put forward for consideration that would have little or no impact on peoples lives and way of living.
One site - 185 acres at Top Farm is available for purchase by the owner who contacted Vattenfall . Joe Hill had thought they were definitely buying it, but had then heard no more until VF announced their preferred site on the land that is NOT for sale on Necton Farm (close to Ivy Todd). Necton Farm is not for sale and would therefore have to be subject to a compulsory purchase. This seems madness !
Top farm would be an appropriate site because it has no flooding issues, it is closer to the pylon than Necton Farm would be. It also has natural landscaping and topography . The structures would not been seen from Necton, Holme Hale, West End or Ivy Todd.
Other alternative sites would be near Scarning as proposed by Tony Smedley. One site would be close to the cable corridor at a crossing point on the A47.
The other site being beyond this one down Watery Lane where there is land on either side of the road. This total lot being 165 acres which is for sale on the open market.
Both sites at Scarning are sparsely populated and would have little or no impact on peoples lives. So why does Vattenfall refuse to consider these sites?
Why also is Necton Parish Council only able to speak against the proposals once the planning applications have gone in. By that time it is too late for them to make any objections as the chosen site would by then be impossible to change. This to us seems extremely unfair and biased. This means that Vattenfall have no consideration for the lives of the people who live in Necton and the impact on them.
Why are our human rights not being considered ???
We have sent various emails to Vattenfall in the past but have never had any reply from them. Only an automatic reply saying they will get back to us.
It shows their contempt for the people of Necton. !!

As the project has not yet been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate (the Inspectorate), we have no formal powers to intervene on consultees behalf. I note you have contacted the developer directly and we would encourage you to do this to make your concerns heard as the Applicant has a statutory duty to take your views, as well as any Parish Council’s views, into account. However, if you feel your comments are not being taken into account, I would advise you to write to your local authority and set out why you think the Applicant is failing to conduct its consultation properly. Your comments should be taken into account when the local authority sends the Inspectorate its comments on whether the Applicant has fulfilled its consultation duties. The local authority’s comments on the Applicant’s consultation will be taken into account when the Acceptance Inspector makes their decision whether to accept the application for Examination.
A copy of your correspondence has been placed on our records and will be presented to the Inspector at Acceptance, together with the application documents and local authorities’ comments on the Applicant’s consultation.
After the decision has been made regarding whether to accept the application for Examination all documents used to inform the decision will be published on our website. If the application for development consent is formally accepted you will be able to submit your views in relation to the project which will be considered by the Examining Authority during the Examination. The Inspectorate has published a series of advice notes which explain the Examination process, including information on how to get involved; of particular interest are advice notes 8.1 to 8.5. These are available here: attachment 1.
You may also wish to see our compilation of advice about the Pre-application procedure and community consultation: attachment 2