Aviation manufacturer says interconnector plans are not '˜robust' enough

Britten-Norman, which has continuously objected to National Grid’s plans, is the only one of the current businesses at Daedalus to question the proposals and a representative for the company made a deputation during yesterday’s meeting.

Mike Murray said: ‘We have been involved at Daedalus for seven years.

‘We back the idea of the project but it’s not in a form that we can currently support.

‘The proposal is unprecedented and highly unusual.

‘We need to be sure that any adverse affect does not impact on safety.’

Britten-Norman has been in opposition to the proposals due to the fact that one of the high-voltage cables will be running under the airfield’s runway.

A report by independent consultant Arcadis determined that there would be no adverse effect on the airfield.

Yet the report by Fareham Borough Council officer Mark Wyatt ahead of yesterday’s meeting determined that there ‘may be some effects’ such as the deviation of aircraft when coming in to close proximity with the airfield.

In response to the decision of approval, a spokesperson for National Grid said: ‘IFA2 will make a significant contribution to the government’s target of increasing interconnector capacity to 10 per cent by 2020.’

The spokesperson added: ‘It will play an important role helping the reduce the cost of electricity for homes and businesses, provide opportunities for shared use of more diverse sources of generation and help to improve electricity supplies in the UK.’