00:00So plans have been approved for this 138km offshore electricity link running from Kent to Suffolk
00:08and this comes as part of the Great Grid upgrade which is the largest overhaul of electricity
00:13of the electricity grid in generations and this C-Link has been in plan since 2022
00:18with pre-application consultations and there have been many consultations since public ones and
00:24other ones to ensure that these plans are feasible and that they help the local environment and the
00:30local people as well but now in November in late 2026 these plans have been approved and work is
00:36due to begin in 2027 lasting for four years that is until 2031. And you're in Pegwell Bay at the
00:44moment
00:44what could the impact be there and for the environment surrounding it?
00:51Well Chloe I didn't know if you know but Pegwell Bay is one of the UK's most internationally
00:55protected stretches of coastline here based in the UK and it's home to so much wildlife and
01:02biodiversity it's protected for so many species of birds as well but the C-Link project will bring
01:08ashore so many cables as part of that project. MP Sir Roger Gale said this is an environmental act of
01:16vandalism and since the pre-consultation in 2022 so many groups have been campaigning opposing
01:23the plans particularly save Minster Marshes because it's not just Pegwell Bay but Minster
01:28Marshes will also be converted also have an energy converter built there as well but Kent Wildlife
01:34Trust have also opposed these plans because of the impact it's going to have on wildlife and
01:39biodiversity here and we can hear from Kent Wildlife Trust now. The decision means the habitats at
01:44Pegwell Bay and Minster Marshes will be directly damaged including irreplaceable salt marsh habitat.
01:51There is a real risk that the salt marsh will have direct habitat loss
01:56via the trenchant to install the cables. We saw this with National Grid's previous
02:02installation called Nemo Link which the salt marsh has not recovered and if you stand on the shoreline you
02:08can still see the scar across the salt marsh today so there's a real risk that this irreplaceable habitat
02:15will have direct habitat loss. National Grid have committed to avoiding Goodwin Sands Marine Conservation
02:22Zone which originally the cables were going to cross through however we have been asking for kind of
02:29more than the bare minimum which is currently what we feel National Grid are doing. But the National Grid say
02:35it's a necessity for energy security is that right? Absolutely correct there Chloe so the National Grid say
02:42that demand for electricity is expected to increase by 50% by 2035 and then it's going to double again
02:49by 2050.
02:51Because the demand is just so high they say there's such a need for this new infrastructure and since then
02:57they've actually sent a statement saying that the ceiling will help carry more secure homegrown power to where
03:03it's needed in Kent and beyond while reducing costly network bottlenecks. They will work closely with
03:08councils and communities to deliver environmental improvements, plan construction carefully and keep
03:13residents updated. So even though these plans have been approved, Minster Marshes and Kent Wildlife Trust
03:20say they'll continue opposing these plans to protect the wildlife. Thank you so much for bringing us both sides there.
