There is a growing campaign to save Minster Marshes from damage that could be caused by National Grids, Sea Link project.
Sea Link construction is estimated to take around four years, and would involve laying a 145 km high voltage cable under the sea between Suffolk and Kent, which would come onshore through Pegwell Bay, and then go underground to Minster Marshes, linking up to a gigantic converter station.
Minster Marshes are directly behind Pegwell Bay, which is an internationally important wetland. The bay provides rich feeding grounds for hundreds of thousands of waders and wildfowl, which head to the Marsh when the tide comes in. They are not to be confused with Minster-On-Sea, which is located on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.
It is protected under a multitude of designations. It’s nationally protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and internationally protected as a Special Protection Area (SPA), and Ramsar site. The Kent coast is part of the East Atlantic Flyway (EAF), which extends from the Arctic to South Africa and is one of eight major global bird migration routes.
The converter station would be almost 30 metres high and would cover the equivalent of 22 football pitches, or 9 hectares. If the cables cannot be direct drilled underneath the SSSI, a 100 metre wide open trench would be excavated instead. In addition, approximately 3.5 km of new high voltage overhead power lines would be installed, and National Grid also plan to build up the level of the marsh by two metres, which would require hundreds of thousands of tonnes of aggregate. The converter station would also cause noise and light pollution 24/7, which would negatively impact the wildlife, which is highly sensitive to disturbance.
As a private company, National Grid’s only aim is to make profit for its shareholders at the expense of everything else. At the end of the first half of this financial year it posted an underlying operating profit of £2.05 billion.
Thanet is also one of Kent’s most populated regions and is currently experiencing unprecedented amounts of development, which is pushing wildlife out. Minster Marshes are precious and irreplaceable, and is the last remaining refuge for nature in the area.
The local community have very strong feelings against the project, and Kent Wildlife Trust, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, and also the local MP, Sir Roger Gale, are on board.
You can sign a petition to save Minster Marshes here.
