Stour Valley Underground’s Initial Outline Response
to National Grid’s Undergrounding Decision
and Connection Options Report
Page 5 of 11
Stour Valley Underground therefore propose:
•That the Leavenheath / Assington Study Area (F) that links the AONB (Area E) and the Stour Valley (Area G) also be undergrounded.
The detailed logic for undergrounding Area F is as follows:
‣The proposed Sealing End Compound (SEC) location at the eastern end of the Stour Valley undergrounding would blight the views from the valley (a potential AONB) and should be moved east.
‣The location for this SEC should more sensibly be moved to the edge of the landscape area under the same designation as that in the valley which is proposed for undergrounding. This moves the SEC site east, almost half way across Area F.
‣The proposed location for an SEC west of the AONB would blight the views out of the AONB. This SEC should sensibly be moved west, out of sight from the AONB.
‣This brings the two SECs to within a few kilometres of one another on high ground in valuable landscape. It therefore makes sense to underground the whole of Area F, thus undergrounding the whole of the proposed connection in what SVU term the painter's landscapes.
•SVU also argue that in order to avoid blighting the views out of the Dedham Vale AONB east, the SEC east of the AONB should be moved ENE to a point beyond the woodland east of Polstead Heath.
The above proposals are all supported by evidence presented by National Grid in their Connection Options Report.
This level of undergrounding represents a total of around half of the overall distance of the NG proposed Bramford to Twinstead route.
