Eneco Organizes Public Exhibitions to Provide Feedback on Navitus Bay (UK)

Eight public exhibitions where the public can formally provide their feedback on the Navitus Bay offshore Wind Park are to be held across Dorset, Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight.

The public exhibitions are part of the statutory consultation process, which is set to continue until late 2013 when Eneco will submit its Development Consent Order (the planning application) to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), the independent body that examines applications for nationally significant infrastructure projects. If granted planning consent, Navitus Bay will have a capacity of up to 1200MW, generating power for between 615,000 and 820,000 homes each year.

Statutory consultation with the public started last November with two public exhibitions in West Moors, Dorset, about the onshore aspects of the project and potential locations for the substation. The statutory consultation now continues with the public exhibitions, which will focus on the offshore aspects of Navitus Bay for the first time. Eneco will be asking for specific feedback on important viewpoints from the coastline and the impacts associated with different parts of the development area, which includes fishing, diving, recreational activity and commercial shipping, among others.

Since Eneco was awarded the rights to seek development consent for an area of seabed to the west of the Isle of Wight by The Crown Estate in 2010, the company has held information days for the public and attended a number of meetings with stakeholder groups and organisations as part of a voluntary non-statutory consultation period. During this period, the company also conducted appraisal studies into the area awarded and concluded that the wind park could be located in the Development Area covering 76 square miles.

Chris Sherrington, Project Director for Navitus Bay, says “We are now formally consulting with the public about Navitus Bay Wind Park. Our work with the public in the past has involved us presenting early information about the plans which they could then comment on. However, we are now seeking formal feedback on the proposals from the public which will help us inform the final design of Navitus Bay. The statutory consultation period lasts for the next 18 months, so even if people are unable to attend the exhibitions, there will still be plenty of time to provide feedback on the proposals.”

The public exhibitions will be held at the following venues and times from Tuesday 21st February to Saturday 3rd March 2012:

Tuesday 21st February 2012, 2pm to 8pm

Swanage: Mowlem Theatre

 Wednesday 22nd February 2012, 2pm to 8pm

Poole: RNLI Lifeboat College

 Thursday 23rd February 2012, 2pm to 8pm

Christchurch: Christchurch Borough Council Chambers

 Saturday 25th February 2012, 10am to 4pm

Bournemouth: Pavilion Theatre

Tuesday 28th February 2012, 2pm to 8pm

West Moors: West Moors Memorial Hall

 Wednesday 29th February 2012, 2pm to 8pm

New Milton: New Milton Memorial Centre

 Friday 2nd March 2012, 2pm to 8pm

Lymington: Lymington Community Centre

 Saturday 3rd March 2012, 10am to 4pm

Newport, Isle of Wight: Riverside Centre

After these events in February and March, there will be further rounds of public exhibitions (one for the onshore and another for the offshore proposals) towards the end of the year. The final design of Navitus Bay Wind Park, both onshore and offshore, will be determined only after comprehensive consultation with the public and stakeholder groups and organisations throughout the statutory consultation period.

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Offshore Wind Staff , February 17, 2012;  Image: navitusbaywindpark