Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm
Background
Rampion 2 is the proposed extension to the existing Rampion Offshore Wind Farm; its stated aim is to provide enhanced green energy to the national grid.
The Planning Application states the power lines will come ashore at Climping and move across the landscape via seven discreet areas, including parts of this parish, to the proposed substation at Oakendene, Cowfold before connecting to the national grid at Bolney.
A public meeting was held in the Village Hall on Wednesday 23 November 2022, when residents had a chance to hear from, and ask questions of, members of the Rampion 2 project team first-hand.
If you were unable to attend the meeting, further information on Rampion 2 and the proposed current alterations to the cable route can be found at:
Email from Cowfold Parish Council to Rampion 2 Team Members on 11 January 2023
Cowfold Parish Council sent an email to Rampion 2 Team Members expressing concerns regarding the extent and clarity of information provided to local residents to date and requesting a further consultation period to allow their issues to be properly addressed. This is reproduced below:
Subject: Rampion 2 in Cowfold
Date: Wednesday 11 January 2023
To: Rampion 2 Team Members, Sarah Payne, County Councillor (WSCC), Jonathan Chowen and Lynn Lambert, District Councillors (HDC), Michael Elkington, WSCC
Copied to: Andrew Griffith, MP
Good Morning/Afternoon,
Following on from the Public Meeting (23 November 2022) sponsored by Cowfold Parish Council in which members of the Rampion 2 team addressed residents of the parish and a subsequent Parish Council Meeting held on 12 December 2022 the Parish Council wishes to make direct representation to the Rampion 2 project on behalf of a number of households within the parish.
Concerns have been reiterated to Rampion 2 team members in person, via letters and emails of members of the parish’s dissatisfaction with the manner in which the aims and objectives of the project will be achieved. At the Public Meeting attendees were informed that a third party communications company had been employed by Rampion 2 to engage directly with affected residents by means of letters and posters sent directly to the Parish Council, the latter were not received by the Parish Clerk or any other councillors. These communications were supported by a leaflet, which in itself some residents felt lacked clarity, alerting members of the parish at an unduly late date to the consultation period relating to the proposed alteration of the cable route path. This includes the access point to the nominated Oakendene substation site.
There is within the parish community a marked degree of scepticism as to the efficacy with which this process was expedited. Many households have stated that they did not receive either the direct communication by letter, as required by law, to those properties which will be impacted upon by the Rampion 2 project works or the information leaflets for the wider parish. Thus, many residents were unaware of the consultation period and the associated public drop-in options. The presence of Rampion 2 team members at the Parish Council’s public meeting enabled a degree of outreach to residents, albeit this took place towards the end of the public consultation period.
Whilst Cowfold Parish Council wishes to support the promotion of wider green energy initiatives for the long-term future benefit of our community, it finds itself unable to champion a project which, to date, appears to have been less than effectively open and engaged with the residents of Cowfold and their justifiable concerns. Given these stated issues voiced by a growing number of residents, Cowfold Parish Council calls upon Rampion 2 to engage intelligibly with the community. The purpose of this being to provide additional information in a comprehensive and clearly understandable format and to re-open or initiate a further consultation period focusing on the implications and impacts for the parish of Cowfold.
Yours etc.
Stephen Reading
Chairman
Cowfold Parish Council
Response from Rampion 2 0n 19 January 2023
A response to the Parish Council’s email of 11 January 2023 was received from Chris Tomlinson, Development & Stakeholder Manager, Rampion 2, on Thursday 19 January 2023 and can be accessed via the following link:
Promotion of Rampion-2 Consultations in and around Cowfold 2021-22
Rampion 2 – Bolney Substation Extension
Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm
Rampion 2 is the proposed extension to the existing Rampion Offshore Wind Farm; its stated aim is to provide enhanced green energy to the national grid.
The Planning Application states the power lines will come ashore at Climping and move across the landscape via seven discreet areas, including parts of this parish, to the proposed substation at Oakendene, Cowfold before connecting to the national grid at Bolney.
A public meeting was held in the Village Hall on Wednesday 23 November 2022, when residents had a chance to hear from, and ask questions of, members of the Rampion 2 project team first-hand.
If you were unable to attend the meeting, further information on Rampion 2 and the proposed current alterations to the cable route can be found at:
https://rampion2.com/consultation-2022/
Following on from the meeting, Cowfold Parish Council sent an email on 11 January 2023 to Rampion 2 Team Members expressing concerns regarding the extent and clarity of information provided to local residents to date and requesting a further consultation period to allow their issues to be properly addressed. This is reproduced on a separate Rampion 2 webpage:
A response to the Parish Council’s email of 11 January 2023 was received from Chris Tomlinson, Development & Stakeholder Manager, Rampion 2, on Thursday 19 January 2023 and can be accessed via the following link:
Promotion of Rampion-2 Consultations in and around Cowfold 2021-22
A follow-up email was sent by Cowfold Parish Council on Monday 24 April 2023 to Chris Tomlinson, reiterating its concern regarding the continuing lack of information being provided to residents in the village. This is reproduced below:
Subject: Rampion 2 in Cowfold
Date: Monday 24 April 2023
To: Chris Tomlinson, Sarah Payne, County Councillor (WSCC), Jonathan Chowen and Lynn Lambert, District Councillors (HDC), Michael Elkington, WSCC
Copied to: Andrew Griffith, MP
Good Morning/Afternoon Chris,
Further to our correspondence earlier in the year (Reading/Rampion 2, dated 11 January 2023 and Tomlinson/Reading, dated 18 January 2023) I wish to strongly reiterate Cowfold Parish Council’s ongoing concerns on behalf of residents as to the poor standards of Rampion 2’s community communications strategy. The Parish Council is aware of the forthcoming Rampion 2 Community (Onshore) Project Liaison Group and has indicated its wish to participate, which has been acknowledged by your Project Liaison Group Chair and Facilitator. However, certain residents in the Parish continue to feel that a paucity, or absence, of information has been disseminated within the community.
Cowfold Parish Council is aware that Rampion 2 has received a variety of communications from within the Parish dating back several years voicing dissatisfaction and distress over this perceived lack of information. However, wishing to highlight the Parish Council’s ongoing unease I include below a number of extracts from some of the many emails directed and copied to us to reinforce the considerable misgivings voiced in this email.
- 18 July 2021: “Illegibility of Rampion 2 maps, particularly the background detail fade on sheet 20”.
- 6 August 2021: “This is a major infrastructure project, much larger than Rampion I, and I do not think local residents are aware of the consequences yet for their village for years”.
- 3 November 2021: The impression was given that the Oakendene estate was outside the boundaries of the parish and that the plan to churn up land for a cable 10 kilometers more than is needed and affecting all the welcome and many walkers from Cowfold within the parish south of the village was irrelevant to the parish.
- 30 November 2022: “Despite being explicitly told at the (public) meeting in Cowfold that I could submit multiple online responses, I find this not to be the case as the system will not allow a second submission from the same email address“.
- 3 February 2023: “One of the most unsettling aspects has been the apparent lack of consultation So many residents of Cowfold, and within the surrounding 3km area, have known nothing about the proposed development”.
- 3 February 2023: “The Rampion leaflet that some residents received, (in October/November 2022) but certainly not all, was misleading. Analysis of such will reveal that it failed to disclose relevant information and did not even mention the sub-station. It lacked adequate detail and was misleading at best”.
- 10 February 2023: “There was apparently a two year consultation process and yet only a few people were aware of this massive proposal.”
- 10 February 2023: “In October 2022 we received in the post Section 42 notices from you (Rampion 2) along with two sets of maps, dated July 2021 and October 2022. So did the businesses at Oakendene Industrial estate, being also in the RH13 8AZ postcode although it is not clear exactly when they received them, possibly considerably later as they were delivered by hand rather than by Royal Mail. They were told that it was all agreed and this was just to let them know, and they were asked to sign to confirm receipt… However, neither we, nor any of the businesses in Oakendene, received any such notifications in the July 2021 consultation, nor it would seem did any of our neighbours despite being in the vicinity of one of the proposed substation sites from the outset of the consultation”.
In addition, further concerns have been voiced on behalf of residents in Moatfield Lane and Kings Lane. These householders are in receipt of a letter from the Rampion 2 Project Team, dated 4 April 2023, entitled Targeted consultation pursuant to section 42 of the Planning Act 2008. Residents are questioning the iteration of prior consultation and the clarity of the information contained within the letter.
I am sure you will agree that Cowfold Parish Council, having been in receipt of these and other emails reiterating the recurrent themes of poor standards of communications and community interaction, is fully entitled to require Rampion 2 to consider its protocols in respect of Cowfold residents and radically enhance the standards of engagement we have seen to date.
Yours sincerely,
Steve Reading
Chairman, Cowfold Parish Council
Email from Cowfold Parish Council to Chris Tomlinson on 23 April 2023
A follow-up email was sent by Cowfold Parish Council on Monday 24 April 2023 to Chris Tomlinson, Development & Stakeholder Manager, Rampion 2, reiterating its concern regarding the continuing lack of information being provided to residents in the village. This is reproduced below:
Subject: Rampion 2 in Cowfold
Date: Monday 24 April 2023
To: Rampion 2 Team Members, Sarah Payne, County Councillor (WSCC), Jonathan Chowen and Lynn Lambert, District Councillors (HDC), Michael Elkington, WSCC
Copied to: Andrew Griffith, MP
Good Morning/Afternoon Chris,
Further to our correspondence earlier in the year (Reading/Rampion 2, dated 11 January 2023 and Tomlinson/Reading, dated 18 January 2023) I wish to strongly reiterate Cowfold Parish Council’s ongoing concerns on behalf of residents as to the poor standards of Rampion 2’s community communications strategy. The Parish Council is aware of the forthcoming Rampion 2 Community (Onshore) Project Liaison Group and has indicated its wish to participate, which has been acknowledged by your Project Liaison Group Chair and Facilitator. However, certain residents in the Parish continue to feel that a paucity, or absence, of information has been disseminated within the community.
Cowfold Parish Council is aware that Rampion 2 has received a variety of communications from within the Parish dating back several years voicing dissatisfaction and distress over this perceived lack of information. However, wishing to highlight the Parish Council’s ongoing unease I include below a number of extracts from some of the many emails directed and copied to us to reinforce the considerable misgivings voiced in this email.
- 18 July 2021: “Illegibility of Rampion 2 maps, particularly the background detail fade on sheet 20”.
- 6 August 2021: “This is a major infrastructure project, much larger than Rampion I, and I do not think local residents are aware of the consequences yet for their village for years”.
- 3 November 2021: The impression was given that the Oakendene estate was outside the boundaries of the parish and that the plan to churn up land for a cable 10 kilometers more than is needed and affecting all the welcome and many walkers from Cowfold within the parish south of the village was irrelevant to the parish.
- 30 November 2022: “Despite being explicitly told at the (public) meeting in Cowfold that I could submit multiple online responses, I find this not to be the case as the system will not allow a second submission from the same email address“.
- 3 February 2023: “One of the most unsettling aspects has been the apparent lack of consultation So many residents of Cowfold, and within the surrounding 3km area, have known nothing about the proposed development”.
- 3 February 2023: “The Rampion leaflet that some residents received, (in October/November 2022) but certainly not all, was misleading. Analysis of such will reveal that it failed to disclose relevant information and did not even mention the sub-station. It lacked adequate detail and was misleading at best”.
- 10 February 2023: “There was apparently a two year consultation process and yet only a few people were aware of this massive proposal.”
- 10 February 2023: “In October 2022 we received in the post Section 42 notices from you (Rampion 2) along with two sets of maps, dated July 2021 and October 2022. So did the businesses at Oakendene Industrial estate, being also in the RH13 8AZ postcode although it is not clear exactly when they received them, possibly considerably later as they were delivered by hand rather than by Royal Mail. They were told that it was all agreed and this was just to let them know, and they were asked to sign to confirm receipt… However, neither we, nor any of the businesses in Oakendene, received any such notifications in the July 2021 consultation, nor it would seem did any of our neighbours despite being in the vicinity of one of the proposed substation sites from the outset of the consultation”.
In addition, further concerns have been voiced on behalf of residents in Moatfield Lane and Kings Lane. These householders are in receipt of a letter from the Rampion 2 Project Team, dated 4 April 2023, entitled Targeted consultation pursuant to section 42 of the Planning Act 2008. Residents are questioning the iteration of prior consultation and the clarity of the information contained within the letter.
I am sure you will agree that Cowfold Parish Council, having been in receipt of these and other emails reiterating the recurrent themes of poor standards of communications and community interaction, is fully entitled to require Rampion 2 to consider its protocols in respect of Cowfold residents and radically enhance the standards of engagement we have seen to date.
Yours sincerely,
Steve Reading
Chairman, Cowfold Parish Council
Planning Inspectorate
EN010117: Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm Update September 2023
The Examining Authorities Rule 9 letter notifying of Procedural Decisions has been published.
The Applicants Letter to The Planning Inspectorate Regarding Advice Given has been published.
The Applicants Response to The Planning Inspectorates S51 Advice and S55 Checklist has been published.
The Additional Submission – 5.8 Design and Access Statement has been published.
The Examination Library has been updated.
See Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm for more information.
Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm Newsletter, January 2024
An online version of the latest project newsletter for the Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm development, which includes latest news, proposal details, a project timeline and information for suppliers, is available on the Rampion 2 website:
https://rampion2.com/newsletter/january-2024/
The examination of the Development Consent Order (DCO) application begins on 6 February and details of the Preliminary Meeting and Public Hearings are included in the newsletter and reproduced here:
Preliminary Meeting
6th February at 10am
To enable views about how the application should be examined and issue the examination timetable.
Open Floor Hearing
6th February at 2:30pm
To allow Interested Parties to make oral representations about the application itself.
Issue Specific Hearings
7th – 9th February at 9:30am
To allow the Examining Authority to consider environmental matters and Interested Parties to make representations on these.
Venue
The Planning Inspectorate has decided these meetings will be held at the DoubleTree by Hiton Brighton Metropole, Kings Road, Brighton BN1 2FU. Subsequent Hearings may be held elsewhere in the local area.
You must register in advance if you wish to participate, but anyone can observe the events either in person or livestream online, and a recording will be published on the project webpage shortly after the event.
For further information, please visit:
www.infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/rampion-2
Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm Application
Letter of Representation by Cowfold Parish Council (20045197)
23 April 2024
EN010117: Application by Rampion Extension Limited for the Rampion 2 Offshore Windfarm – Letter of Representation by Cowfold Parish Council (20045197)
While not a statutory authority Cowfold Parish Council’s role, to quote from the National Association of Local Councils guidance, is “to represent the local area and people who live in it… being an advocate for local residents”. This is a responsibility which councillors take extremely seriously and endeavour to support, as far as their remit permits, the representative views of the parish.
The Parish Council remains dissatisfied with the evidence provided by the applicant demonstrating that sufficient traffic management planning and associated projected vehicular movement data has been identified and addressed effectively. Also the pronounced lack of consultation with wider parish residents relating to this particular aspect of the planning application.
Whilst appreciating that West Sussex County Council and the Highways Authority will provide technical evidence relating to these matters to the Examining Authority the voices of residents and local businesses also need to be heard. Many of these have been expressed independently to the Examining Authority. However, the Parish Council believes that on behalf of the wider parish the impact of potential increases in traffic movements both during the construction phase and throughout the life of the site, needs to be forcefully reiterated. For example Cowfold Parish Council seeks clarification from the applicant in respect of ongoing concerns among residents to suggestions of water bowser trucks travelling through Cowfold village to supply the construction site, thus amplifying traffic congestion issues. The proposed development is predicated on taking an already heavily utilised road network (specifically but not exclusively the A272, Bolney Road) to even more unacceptable levels of use. It is also noteworthy that Horsham District Council has undertaken a Horsham Transport Study (Santec December 2022) as part of its Local Plan Review. This found that when the local plan scenario outputs were modelled, the junction capacity analysis showed at least one arm of the A272/A281 roundabout north of Cowfold junction AM Peak and one arm of the A272/A281 roundabout south of Cowfold junction PM Peak would be over capacity (meaning increases in delays experienced by travellers as flows increase), even with the embedded highway mitigation to be provided elsewhere on the district’s highway network in the draft local plan.
As the Examining Authority is already aware there are two Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) within Horsham District, one of which is Cowfold (A272, Bolney Road). Horsham District Council’s Infrastructure Delivery Plan 2023 (Draft), Part 2, Infrastructure Provisions Within Horsham District, p.23 clearly states that “These two AQMAs are of particular relevance to any development which is close to, or is assessed as impacting on traffic levels through, Storrington or Cowfold”. The Parish Council does not believe that the applicant has given sufficient thought or dedicated an appropriate level of consultation and planning to their documentation in respect of (major or minor) roads or haul routes usage. The risks of traffic over-saturation of the roads in and around the village of Cowfold, incorporating the wider parish, represents enhanced dangers to multiple elements of the community. Including those who travel through the village, i.e. road users in transit, as well as cyclists, motorcyclists and local pedestrians. Many of the latter, given the demographics of the community, are either parents with young children or residents of more mature years who may have degrees of impaired mobility. Currently, despite application to West Sussex County Council, Cowfold has no pedestrian crossing signalling system on the A272,Bolney Road to protect pedestrians’ right of way. Traffic over congestion also brings to the fore the likely impact on the ease with which the emergency services will be able to traverse these additionally clogged routes.
Therefore, Cowfold Parish Council reiterates its objection to this planning application on multiple levels, as outlined in its previous letters of representation. This includes acknowledgement of written submissions by Interested Parties which testifies there has been continued difficulties in engagement. The focus of this document is to restate the belief that to subject this parish to a perceived significant level of increased vehicular traffic of all sizes, which undoubtedly is going to lead to a greater usage of minor, single track roads as ‘cut throughs’, will be of conspicuous detriment to the quality of life, levels of business prosperity and exacerbate the degree of environmental damage within this community.
Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm Application
Notice of Open Floor Hearing 2, Issue Specific Hearing 2 and Compulsory Acquisition Hearing 1
The above hearings will be held by the Planning Inspectorate between Monday 13 May and Tuesday 21 May 2024 in Brighton. (The hearings will also be held as virtual events using Microsoft Teams.)
Here is the full text of the Hearing Notice.
Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm
Project information