15 February 2022
Vattenfall – Community Benefit Fund Update

The recent workshop held in Necton by Vattenfall (at which I opened the discussions and spoke) was a helpful step forwards in the process that is their Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone Community Benefit Fund.

From day one, I have always been clear that IF Necton and other affected villages accommodate this Nationally Significant Infrastructure, Vattenfall must provide substantial compensation to them in the form of community benefits – and I welcomed the opportunity to reaffirm that belief to them at the workshop. 

Having had time to receive feedback from many of those that attended the workshop, I am now writing to the Vattenfall team to highlight two key points again:

  1. Visual mitigation: The main reason I opposed Vattenfall’s substation proposals in Necton was due to the widespread concerns that insufficient visual mitigation was included in the plans. Those concerns persist to this date and have unsurprisingly been raised by members of the community again. I believe however that visual mitigation should not be confused with the community benefit fund. Visual mitigation should instead be addressed in its own right. It seems wrong to me that the fund could be used to address something that should rightly be covered in Vattenfall’s plans, and in the construction stage should they get there.
     
  2. A stronger voice for Necton and the most affected communities: I have repeatedly stated to Vattenfall that those parishes most affected must have the “lions-share” of any community benefit fund. However, I also believe that those affected parishes should have the strongest voice too. The views of those communities must have considerable weight in determining the benefits they receive. I was concerned to see Vattenfall’s presentation that equal weight seems to be given to the views of people who are not suffering any detrimental impact from this infrastructure like students miles away in Norwich. This benefit fund should not be looked at ‘in the round’ of the county. Those most affected must be heard loud and clear.

Please be assured that, in addition to raising this with Vattenfall, I also intend to flag these issues with the Secretary of State and Energy Minister in my role as a constituency MP. I remain committed to working with the local communities to ensure they have a strong voice as this matter progresses – and I will continue to emphasise the need for greater consideration to be given to visual mitigation.