Hinkley Connection Project Presentation to Banwell Parish Council - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Hinkley Connection Project

Presentation to Banwell Parish Council

16 March 2020 Michael Painter, National Grid Gillian Burnell, National Grid

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Agenda

01

Who we are

02

Hinkley Connection Project

03

In your area

04

Timeline

05

Questions

06

Our approach

07

Keep informed

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We are connecting people to low carbon energy. We're building an electricity connection: pylons, cables and substations between Hinkley Point and Seabank power stations. It will also mean we have more capacity on

• ur network for renewable energy from

the South West peninsular.

02 Hinkley Connection Project

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• 57 kilometres length
• 48.5 km of overhead line
• 8.5 km of underground cable through the

Mendip Hills AONB

• Mostly T-pylon
• Two substations
• Removing 67 kilometres of WPD pylons

Project overview

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Our work near Banwell includes:

• Installing underground cables across the

Mendips

• New substation near Sandford
• T-pylons from Sandford to Avonmouth
• Removing WPD’s pylons and overhead line
• Reinstatement and landscaping

Insert pics

03 In your area

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Larger/zoomable map available at: hinkleyconnection.co.uk/your-area/#sandford

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New substation

We’ve appointed Siemens to build a substation near Sandford:

• Preparations included clearing the site in autumn to

prevent animals and birds nesting in work areas

• Balfour Beatty has nearly completed the temporary haul

road from Towerhead to the site

• Construction starts end of March 2020 and expected to

be complete in early 2024

• First activities will be setting up site, installing staff

welfare and office facilities

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Installing underground cables

Balfour Beatty is our contractor and work is progressing well:

• Main construction started in March 2019 - road accesses

(A38 and A368) completed

• Tarnock site compound complete
• Haul road north of A368 to substation site nearly

complete

• Trenching started - twelve underground cables in four

trenches (three cables per trench) approximately 1.6m wide by 1.1m deep

• Using ducts to protect soil structure, minimise impacts on

wildlife and environment and protect our staff

• Significant archaeology finds at Max Mill Lane

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Building T- Pylons

Balfour Beatty has been appointed to build the

• verhead line north to Avonmouth
• Main construction starts in early 2021 and expected to be

complete in 2024

• First activities will be building road access and temporary

haul road

• Currently carrying out ground investigation surveys where

the pylons, temporary haul road and accesses will be built

• Other preparations over the coming months: ecological

mitigation and clearing some vegetation and hedgerows, as well as erecting stock fencing

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Removing overhead lines

When the new substation at Sandford is operational and supplying power to WPD’s network, we’ll remove WPD’s pylons from the AONB – leaving this area pylon free for the first time since the 1960s

• Pylons will be dismantled and removed
• Foundations will be left in place to minimise

disruption to local environment

• Expected completion by 2025
• Balfour Beatty will carry out this work
• In 2022, we will build short connections to the

existing 132,000 volt overhead line to Weston- super-Mare and to the substation at Churchill. This will take around 12 months

Pic of WPD pylon

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04 Timeline

Questions

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05 Our approach – Traffic management

• Work to build temporary road accesses and haul road off

A368 is essentially complete

• Building the haul road allows us to move traffic directly
• ff A roads – limiting use of local road network.
• Traffic will be routed directly from M5 (junction 22) along

A38 to A368

• All construction vehicles are clearly identified with project

stickers/signage

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05 Our approach - We want to be a good neighbour

Creating opportunities to talk and meet with residents and businesses.

Before construction begins in each area, we’re:

• Providing updated project briefings to parish

and town councils

• Writing to residents and businesses with

updates

• Holding drop-in events
• Promoting our 24/7 community helpline

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Our experts make sure habitats, plants and animals are protected:

• Surveying work areas for protected species and

avoiding important habitats.

• Encouraging protected species to move or

physically moving them if habitat cannot be avoided

• Creating buffer zones to avoid disturbing nesting

protected birds and installing barn owl boxes

• In the Mendips we’ve installed bat flyways to retain

linear features such as hedgerows which bats use to navigate

05 Our approach - Care for the environment

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Free STEM sessions for schools

• KS1, KS2 & KS3 practical workshops

Hinkley Connection Education Fund

• Funding to support 131,018 pupils and 538

schools (inc. Banwell and Winscombe Primary Schools)

• £354,000 awarded since 2018.

Adult skills

• 175 local unemployed people trained. 66 have

secured employment. Community Grant Fund

• Over £200,000 to 12 community projects to date
• Includes Winscombe Cricket Club, Axbridge Town

Hall and a community hall in Cheddar.

05 Our approach - Engineering positive futures

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Our dedicated community relations team is on hand to respond to queries and complaints.

• By telephone 0800 377 7347 (24 hours)
• Via the website www.hinkleyconnection.co.uk
• By email hinkleyconnection@nationalgrid.co.uk
• By post FREEPOST H POINT CONNECTION

We value your interest in the project

06 Keep informed