Further detail questions for LionLink

In addition to your own questions, WALL would be grateful for your assistance in seeking answers to some specific questions we have. To streamline the process, we have divided the questions into sections, allowing you to focus on the area’s most relevant to you.

ECOLOGY

 Why does the PEIR non-technical summary state there are unlikely to be effects at the international scale, when the habitats regulations assessment states that likely significant effects are possible?

 Are you going to avoid cable-pulling works during the winter to prevent offshore bird disturbance, as requested by Natural England? 

Why have your baseline surveys only recorded a few marsh harriers, and none on the proposed cable route, when we see them hunting over the fields every day?

 Why haven’t you conducted any reptile surveys around the landfall site and other potential habitat along the cable route, other than the single site near Middleton? And how will you mitigate for reptiles when you don’t know whether they are present?

 How will you avoid light disturbance to wildlife from the 24-hour landfall works, particularly given the important assemblage of bat species using the field boundaries?

 How will you avoid noise disturbance to wildlife from the 24-hour landfall works, particularly given the sensitivity of the bird populations in the adjacent protected site, only 50m away?

 Why have bat populations around the landfall site been assessed as being of local importance, when they are clearly of county importance, with 10 species present and very high capture rates during the LionLink advanced bat survey?

 How do you intend to install the cables through the protected east field, given previous indications that this section would also be tunneled rather than trenched?

 Will NGV provide a draft, enforceable Construction Environmental Management Plan before works start, with clear limits, monitoring, and named responsibilities?

LANDFALL CONSTRUCTION SITE

 How much land will the drilling/construction compound occupy in Manor Field (2 hectares or 3.3 hectares), and where exactly will it be located?

 Will the Manor Field compound include welfare facilities and offices as well as construction equipment?

 Given the proposed 24‑month construction period and long daily working hours, what specific noise, vibration and lighting mitigation is proposed for nearby residents?

 Why are there no proposed seasonal constraints on construction to protect breeding birds and other wildlife in the SSSI and other protected habitats below Manor Field?

 What is the assessed risk of ‘Frac‑Out’ from HDD into the salt marshes, reedbeds and River Dunwich, and why is this risk not quantified in the consultation documents?

 Why have the draft order limits been extended to include Stocks Lane and the Public Right of Way from The Street to the eastern boundary of Manor Field?

TRAFFIC/TRANSPORT

 NGV acknowledge there will be significant construction impacts on local roads (including the B1387, Lodge Road) and Public Rights of Way around Manor Field and the Marshes. Why does the PEIR contain no quantitative data on these impacts, such as traffic volumes, congestion modelling, or PROW closures?

 Will the Walberswick road be closed at any point during construction, and how will you guarantee 24/7 emergency access is maintained?

 Why has NGV not provided information on the number and frequency of construction vehicle movements and the size/weight of those vehicles?

 Can NGV give a clear guarantee that no LionLink construction or related traffic will use Lodge Road, Stocks Lane, or The Street at any stage of the project?

 NGV state that temporary ‘haul roads’ will be built along the cable route out of the village. Why have the locations of these haul roads and their connections to the existing road network not been shown in the latest proposals?

 At what point in the construction programme will the haul roads be removed, and how and when will the land be fully restored to its original use and condition?

 How will construction and traffic vibration be assessed, and what happens immediately if acceptable levels are exceeded?

SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT AND NOISE, VIBRATION AND DUST 

What exactly will NGV be doing at the landing site over the full 2‑year period, and why has this increased from the 6 months previously indicated?

 Why can’t NGV limit activities at the landing site and locate welfare units, offices and other facilities further away along the haul road and away from Manor Field?

 How many workers, worker vehicles and HGVs will be at the landing site during the 2 years, and where will these workers be accommodated?

 Given NGV’s own description of Walberswick as a high‑end tourist destination valued for beauty, wildlife, tranquility and accessibility, how will construction at the landing site avoid damaging these characteristics?

 Which specific footpaths around the landfall site do you intend to close, for what periods, and can you show this clearly on a map given how heavily villagers and visitors use these routes to the beach and marshes?

 How can NGV continue to propose Walberswick as a landing site when it acknowledges there are no effective mitigation measures for the impacts identified?

Why is NGV proposing to work 7 days a week in all seasons, and what assessment has been made of the impact on a tourism‑driven local economy?

 How will NGV avoid disrupting the arrival of large numbers of visitors during summer, school holidays and Bank Holidays?

 Why is NGV proposing four separate 10‑day periods of continuous 24‑hour drilling and lighting, and what are the predicted noise levels in decibels at nearby homes and businesses?

 Has NGV modelled the acoustic impact of 24‑hour HDD on nearby receptors, and what legal protections exist for residents’ peaceful enjoyment of their homes in this context?

 What enforceable mitigation will be in place before night working starts?

 Has NGV previously carried out 24‑hour HDD in locations with homes on three sides and businesses and the main street within 0.5 km, or is this method normally used only in more remote locations?

 Earlier consultations suggested Public Rights of Way would remain open, yet the PEIR shows all PRoWs and the beach within project boundaries. Is it now intended that these routes and the beach will be closed, and if so, for how long?

 For how long will NGV be trenching through Walberswick from the landing site to the water tower, and will this occur at the same time as landfall preparation and drilling or afterwards?

 Given that Manor Field is one of the windiest parts of Walberswick, has NGV collected wind‑speed data and assessed the effects of wind on construction dust and its impact on residents and wildlife?

 How will local wind conditions at Manor Field affect the spread and perception of construction noise?

 Will dust be monitored at nearby homes, with clear trigger levels and automatic actions, including stopping works in high winds?

 From where will water for construction and drilling be sourced, and how will NGV ensure these abstractions do not cause water shortages for homes and businesses?

 What will be the electricity supply for the landing site, and if diesel generators are used, what will be their noise impact on nearby residents and wildlife?

 What quantified assessment of light spill and glare supports night-time landfall works, and what enforceable limits and triggers will control impacts?

 Given the already limited internet connectivity in the village, what measures will NGV take to ensure its operations and workforce do not degrade existing broadband and mobile capacity for residents and businesses?

 Are you aware that vulnerable residents live immediately adjacent to the proposed landing site and will be directly affected by construction? What measures are you putting in place to assess and mitigate this?

CUMULATIVE EFFECTS AND RELATED MITIGATION  

 Given that traffic is the primary cumulative stressor interacting with Sizewell C and Sea Link, how can consultees provide informed feedback on the capacity of the A12 and local road network (B1122/B1387) when the quantitative data required to assess junction capacity and driver delay has been withheld from this consultation? 

 On what evidence has NGV concluded there are ‘no likely significant cumulative effects’ when the cumulative effects assessment is explicitly stated as incomplete?

 Why has NGV not proposed any specific mitigation for the East Suffolk project cluster (LionLink, Sea Link, Sizewell C), such as a legally capped aggregate construction traffic limit or a consolidated community compensation fund, instead of relying only on generic ‘best practice’ measures?

ACCOUNTABILITY 

 Who is responsible for day-to-day compliance, and how will controls be strengthened where multiple projects overlap or agreed measures don’t work for residents?

After the meeting, it would be incredibly helpful if you could email any answers, thoughts, or additional questions you may have to our dedicated email address: info@wall-update.org.