Under fire firm planning to bring electricity from France to Portsmouth launches consultation

Aquind is giving the community the chance to have its say when the public will have the chance to leave feedback on its plans.

The interconnector would offer a link to France so electricity can be bought and sold under the channel, and the undersea cables would come on to land at Eastney.

The company notoriously sent out around 1,500 letters that left residents scared they would lose their homes, while others thought it was a scam.

People in Eastney, Milton and Cosham were sent a questionnaire that left people fearing their houses would be acquired by a compulsory purchase order after questions over whether properties had mortgages was asked to the recipients.

Aquind subsequently apologised and explained the document was a questionnaire that was merely part of the planning application process.

The consultation documents will be available to view at public exhibitions in Portsmouth, Havant, East Hampshire and Winchester. They will also be available to view on the company’s website.

After criticism from initial proposals in January 2018 the company has since stated it has listened to the people and has refined it proposals.

A spokesperson for Aquind said: ‘Since then we’ve been working hard to refine our proposals in response to the comments received.

‘We remain committed to engaging with the community and as part of our upcoming statutory consultation we look forward to discussing our updated proposals with the local community.

‘We encourage all those with an interest in the project to take time to review the consultation materials online, at one of the deposit locations or at a public exhibition event, which provide an opportunity to discuss the proposals with members of the Aquind project team.

‘The feedback received during the consultation will assist us in further refining our plans before we submit an application for a development consent order.’

The scheme has previously caused controversy when previous council leader Donna Jones described it as ‘pie in the sky’ as it would cause congestion on Eastern Road for 18 months.