It has been more than three months since the momentous day on 24th May, when we took our protest against the Mid Wales Connection Project to the steps of the Senedd in Cardiff, and I thought it would be useful to take stock from an Assembly point of view. We remain a united force with a voice that cannot be ignored. The campaign has moved on considerably so this blog is to update and provide details on the next step to push the campaign on to achieve our ultimate objective – TO COMPLETELY STOP THE MID WALES CONNECTION PROJECT!
The First Minister published a written statement on 17th June, saying that the Welsh Government was against large scale infrastructure development and the Mid Wales Connection Project. He also announced scaled down capacity targets for onshore energy generation within the seven Strategic Search Areas (SSAs) initially identified by the Government in 2005. As a brief reminder, the SSAs where devised by the Welsh Government as the most ‘appropriate’ areas to site wind farms in Wales. I have fundamentally disagreed with the designation of these zones from the outset because they have a disproportionate effect on open, rural areas such as ours. It is worth noting that they do not have this zone-led policy in England.
However, just two weeks after this statement, the Welsh Environment Minister created real confusion about the maximum capacity targets in the SSAs. In a letter issued to local authority planning officers ‘clarifying’ the Welsh Government’s position on Technical Advice Note 8 (TAN8) which is its renewable energy planning guidance to developers and local authorities, he stated that the Government had never envisaged large scale infrastructure enhancement of the transmission network nor did it anticipate the scale of development in the SSAs. He also gave a fresh set of capacity targets which were very different from the ones given by the First Minister.
These confused messages from the Welsh Government prove that there are glaring gaps in their policy. While the First Minister’s statement was welcome and certainly was due to the amount of public pressure that was exerted on his Government, the statement itself has no legal status. Moreover, the unilateral decision taken by the Government to completely change the capacity targets in TAN 8 and go back to a set of figures first mentioned in 2004 that were never consulted on, clearly shows that policy was fundamentally flawed from the outset. Only a change to the Government’s renewable energy policy will bring the change we need.
In May I was made the Shadow Minister for Environment and Sustainability. This was a real boost to the local campaign and confirmed that my own party in the Assembly where fully behind my own stand. It also allowed me to lead on this issue from the front and I did so on 22nd June, when I gave my maiden speech leading an opposition debate on renewable energy policy. In that debate, Welsh Conservatives called for a thorough public review of TAN 8, as well as a moratorium on all development until that review was completed. Despite all the previous rhetoric from the First Minister, the Welsh Government voted against a review. While it was disappointing that some parties did not stand up for Mid Wales, I remain undeterred by this one vote and I will continue to apply pressure on the Welsh Government to undertake this review.
On the 29th June, another significant step forward was taken to achieving our goal. Powys County Council met for the very first time outside of Llandrindod Wells and unanimously backed a motion calling on the Welsh Government to carry out an immediate review of TAN8. They also called for a complete moratorium on all applications until the review was completed. This was an unprecedented move taken by a local authority in Wales and the united stance by all parties on the Council, sent a clear message to both the Welsh and UK Governments that this was a fight the people were not backing down from. I have written to the Welsh Environment Minister, the UK Energy Minister and the Secretary of State for the Environment, asking them to fully support the request made.
As the Shadow Minister for the Environment, I have been appointed as a member of the National Assembly’s Environment and Sustainability Committee. The Committee will hold its first review into energy policy and planning in Wales this autumn. The inquiry will be an opportunity for the Committee to scrutinise in detail Welsh Government policy on all aspects of renewable and non-renewable energy generation and how the Government intends to meet Wales’ future energy needs. I lobbied for this to be the Committee’s first major piece of work and I also asked that the Terms of Reference for the inquiry, incorporated two key petitions submitted to the Petitions Committee, allowing us to examine the public’s concerns in relation to TAN 8 planning guidance. The Committee will start taking oral evidence for the inquiry at the end of this month. However, the process of taking written evidence has begun and I would encourage everyone to engage in this process. If you would like to contribute evidence, please send an electronic copy of your submission to E&S.comm@wales.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can submit it by post to:
Committee Clerk, Environment and Sustainability Committee, National Assembly for Wales, Cardiff Bay, CF99 1NA.
Final on 18th August, I and the Welsh Conservative Group Leader in the Assembly, Andrew R.T. Davies AM, met with senior officials from National Grid in Cardiff. As I expected, the meeting achieved very little. However, it did give me another opportunity to tell them in no uncertain terms, that I am totally against their proposals and I would do everything in my power to stop them! There were some positives from the meeting, National Grid conceded that their delivery timetable has had to be extended and now they are looking to 2015 for a final completion date. They also clarified the cost of undergrounding the cable should it be built. Previously we had been given all sorts of costs but the reality is that the cost of undergrounding would be just 3 times the cost of over-grounding the pylons. I also learnt that there were over 6,000 people who had responded to its consultation process. Given the rurality of our area, I felt that was a staggering number for a single consultation and just shows the strength of felling on the issue.
As I said previously, the speed at which this campaign has moved on has been considerable. It has done so primarily because of your lobbying – your attendance at meetings, your letters and your emails. My job is made easier having such a force of authority behind me; it allows me to confidently say that “I speak for the people.” However, we have not achieved our goal yet and there is still much to do. So please continue to be what you have been throughout this campaign – the voice that cannot and should not be ignored.
Posted by russellgeorge 
