People '˜open-minded' about Portsmouth interconnector development

Aquind will be running electricity from France to a substation in Lovedean, Waterlooville – with cables running under the sea and coming out at Eastney.

The project will cost over £1.1bn and would see the cables run right through Portsmouth to the substation.

The cables themselves are 120mm wide, with an exact site for the cables on Eastney’s shore not yet being determined

Helen Burbridge from Eastney said: ‘The project sounds quite ambitious – it’s always interesting to find out what’s going on with things like this.

‘I’m not too worried about the cables because there is plenty of beach for the developers to choose a site from.’

Jane Whitcomb, also from Eastney, said: ‘I had no idea about this development until the leaflet came through my door

‘On the face of it, something has to be done because we need a sustained supply of power and it seems like a sensible idea. I just hope we get to use the power too.’

But not everyone is completely on board with Aquind’s plans.

Shelagh Simmons said: ‘I’ve got an open mind about it so came along to get some more information.

‘Anything that improves the security of energy supply is good but I am concerned about the environmental impact.

‘Ideally the cables will be as unobtrusive as possible.’

Cllr Darren Sanders said: ‘If the cables come out by the proposed Fraser Range development then there could be a major impact, because the site is of important scientific interest.

‘To me, homes in the area affected by the work have to benefit – especially with a growing demand for housing on the eastern side of Portsmouth.’