This consultation response is reproduced with the kind permission of Fordham Parish Council chairman George Branagh in co-ordination with Trevor Lansdown.
Consultation response
Fordham Parish Council discussed the application at their Parish Council meeting on the 10th May and prepared the following response:
Fordham Parish Council strongly object to the consultation on the following grounds:
Public rights of way
The Essex Way public footpath runs 81 miles from Epping to Harwich; it passes through Aldham and Fordham, following the river Colne. There are six other public rights of way that branch northwards from it, into Fordham. This is a tourist area, with many walkers and rambler groups passing through and around Fordham throughout the year, the proposed Pylon route will run parallel to the Essex Way, through the river valley and pass over at least five other public rights of way.
The beauty and appeal of these ancient rights of way will be permanently degraded and blighted by the National Grid’s proposals.
Pylons or buried cables are not a “Green” solution.
Ecology
The national Grid’s preferred, proposed pylon route will pass through the River Colne valley, running over Woodland Trust land as it heads north east through the parish.
The river valley floods regularly and creates a wetland that supports many species of plants and birds, including white egrets and at least four different birds of prey.
There are also water voles, which are an endangered species.
The Woodland Trust land, woodland and meadow, has seen an enormous increase in fauna and flora in the parish, including several species of orchid and fritillaries.
The balance of nature and rare species is fine and easily tipped as climate change is proving around the world.
The disruption and damage to the local ecology will be considerable.
Pylons or buried cables are not a “Green” solution.
Geology
The geology of Fordham is a multi-layered mixture of sands, stone and clay washed down in the last Ice Age, the edge of the glacier almost reached the northern edge of Fordham parish.
The long downward slope from the north of the village to the river valley promotes a continuous flow of underground water creating numerous springs as it moves toward the river.
Fossetts Lane, which the pylon route will cross, possibly twice, is named because of all the springs, (fossett, an obsolete word for faucet).
Water often runs out of the banks and down the lane even though it might not have rained for weeks.
Sinking forty metre square, concrete pylon rafts may become something of a challenge in these conditions, leading to possible instability by the action of the underground water in the future.
Pylons or buried cables are not a “Green” solution.
Archaeology
People have been living in the Colne valley for tens of thousands of years, the number of archaeological sites through Aldham, Fordham and west Bergholt is considerable.
We have an active Roman dig, just east of Mill Lane, Fordham Local History Society and Colchester Archaeological Group have been working there for nearly seven years, there is still much more work to do as we continue to make new discoveries.
For several reasons the site is of national importance, last year we discovered a piscina (an indoor fountain/water feature), it is only the second one found in the entire UK, there are only two others in the whole of mainland Europe (excluding Italy), they are incredibly rare.
One Saxon and two Roman burials have been found on the site…….so far.
But our dig is not the only Roman site in Fordham.
Within National Grid’s pylon corridor through Fordham, is our current dig and four other confirmed Roman sites, including a Roman road with a large amount of the stone surface still intact, this in itself is very rare, particularly in East Anglia where it usually gets ploughed out.
There is also another likely, but not yet confirmed, Roman site.
In addition, along the pylon route are a number of medieval sites, one of which is likely to be the lost manor hall of Great Fordham (there were four manors in Norman times), so far the pottery and coin finds suggest the site is thirteenth century, this is an historically, very important site for Fordham and it’s early history.
Then there’s the Iron and Bronze Age periods, again, within the pylon corridor there are literally dozens of Bronze Age burial ring ditches and Iron Age features.
Finally, running along the eastern side of Fossetts Lane, there are two multi-period sites. The geophysical surveys and field walks of these sites show an extremely complicated and very long history of human habitation from medieval back to Neolithic, and quite likely to Palaeolithic periods.
These heritage sites are not only of great historical value to the country, they also provide research and practical, archaeological experience, our dig site is run by volunteers and attracts students, families and academics locally and from around the world, i.e. France, Germany, Australia and Argentina.
It’s unthinkable to destroy such a valuable and rich archaeological history.
Pylons or buried cables are not a “Green” solution.
Effect on Fordham and its people
The preferred pylon route will run almost parallel to the main road through the village at an average distance of only 435 metres from the road, starting at the school and ending at the corner of Plummers Road and Thrift Lane.
The view for the people along this route is currently farmland, meadow and woodland.
No amount of additional tree planting will disguise 50 metre pylons, Fordham’s entire eastern horizon will be a string of these monstrosities.
On the subject of Fordham’s primary school, the pylon corridor is only 85 metres away, this is unacceptable.
Just a little further up the Church Road is the medieval heart of the village with All Saint’s church (built before 1087 AD, current fabric is at least 14th century), Fordham Hall (seat of the largest and earliest manor of Fordham), the Three Horseshoes pub and a number of 15th to 17th century buildings.
This is a tourist area, the proposed pylons will loom over this frequently visited place and blight the view of Colchester across the river valley.
Pylons or buried cables are not a “Green” solution.
In addition Fordham Parish Council is in full support of the letter that has been submitted from Colchester Borough Council on behalf of all residents and councils in the Borough
National Grid’s current proposals for a new over-ground pylon route across much of its East Anglia is totally unacceptable. We fully support of the concept of North Sea wind farms to generate abundant, cheap, clean electricity. Furthermore, the recent increase in energy prices, coupled with the global insecurity of energy supplies gives added impetus to this strategy. At the recent public consultation events, National Grid confirmed that upgrades to the offshore route was a viable alternative.
Therefore, our strongly preferred approach is an upgrade to the offshore route. By doing so, the environmental damage, disruption and despoliation that would be caused to East Anglia by the installation of hundreds of over-ground pylons would be minimised
We demand that National Grid holds a full public consultation on all options, with full details and costings being made available for public scrutiny, not simply an informal consultation on their pre-selected over-ground route.
We will continue to lobby National Grid and the Government to ensure that all necessary infrastructure is delivered in a sustainable manner. For us, this means moving the proposed new pylon route to an offshore location.
Fordham Parish Council
17th May 2022
What can you do ?
We would urge all communities to have their say on National Grid’s consultation portal and sign the petition for offshore upgrades instead:
Please write to your local MP. You can find their contact details and lay out an email at WriteToThem.
