As part of my ongoing efforts to support the communities that would be most affected by Vattenfall’s Norfolk Vanguard and Norfolk Boreas Offshore Windfarm proposals, I wish to draw my constituents’ attention to a workshop that is being held in the village by Vattenfall on Friday 21st January at 6pm.
Vattenfall’s Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone Community Benefit Fund
Friday 21 January, 2022 6-8pm
Interested parties can participate in-person or virtually
When news broke that Vattenfall may be looking at their community benefit fund ‘in the round’ of Norfolk, many were rightly angry and concerned that those communities that could bear the brunt of any construction would miss out on the community benefits they deserved. 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 the village and surrounding villages in the form of community benefits.
That’s why I responded to these local fears and teamed up with Jerome Mayhew MP and Duncan Baker MP to write to Vattenfall and make exactly that case.
Unlike before, the Vattenfall team were much more amiable about the conversation and we welcomed their agreement that community benefits in the communities that would likely be most affected should be investigated more thoroughly. At the suggestion of Necton Parish Council and I, Vattenfall agreed to host a series of workshops as part of a much larger package of engagement with Necton and the surrounding villages in Mid Norfolk. They also confirmed they’d do the same in other parts of Norfolk and are working with parliamentary colleagues to deliver that.
This workshop is the first such event and I will be opening proceedings with the Necton Parish Chair to frame the conversation and spark this vitally important discussion. This very much will be the first step in a long process.
If YOU are local resident, please do take the time to either come along or dial in virtually. Full details can be found on the poster below.
Any community benefits will of course be contingent on Vattenfall’s plans being granted, and then maintaining, permission – and, as we know, there are no guarantees after the successful judicial review against Norfolk Vanguard previously. I very much understand why so many are opposed to the proposals and continue to share their belief that Vattenfall are looking to construct their substations in the incorrect place.
IF the windfarms do go ahead however, it is vital that the communities affected keep up the pressure and to try and make sure they get as much community benefit as possible in return. I am firmly committed to supporting that effort.
For further information about the wider offshore wind campaign that I have been actively part of for the past five years (which is driving forward the efforts to construct an Offshore Transmission Network that would avoid individual cable corridors to several Wembley Stadium-sized substations), please visit my campaign page here.
