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The Rampion 2 proposal has been approved
On 4th April 2025 the Secretary of State for Energy and Net Zero, gave consent to the Rampion 2 windfarm. The Examining Authority also recommended it for approval seeming to conclude that all other considerations must give way to the ‘overriding public interest’ of the urgent need for green energy.
We joined forces with the Protect Coastal Sussex group and with the support of many generous donations explored the possibility of obtaining a Judicial Review. After careful and thorough consideration our barrister concluded there were insufficient arguable grounds for a case to be brought. So, with heavy heart we have reached the end and there is nothing more that we can directly do. The barrister noted that we had argued strongly during the Examination and that Rampion had made very poor choices, with a lot of retrofitting of reasons of why they had made those choices. But at the end of the day, all was set aside ‘in the National Interest’. You can read more on the legal opinion in the this document.
We will continue to campaign against the injustices of the system which has led to this decision, and economic and political considerations may yet affect its viability. Whilst we support the drive for green energy we also want our wildlife and habitats protected, these also form a crucial part of the fight against climate change. This decision does not do this:
- Many of Rampion’s surveys were incorrect; for instance, fields they presented as ‘of low ecological value’ were later classified by Nature England on the basis of our evidence as Priority Habitat Lowland Meadow. This error was acknowledged by the Secretary of State.
- The Oakendene substation site chosen by Rampion is the most ecologically harmful of all the sites they considered. It requires the destruction of the Meadows, around 114 mature oak trees and over 647m metres of ancient hedge, all of which are home to a wide variety of critically endangered species and would be a massive loss of carbon storage.
The best outcome for Nature would be to locate the onshore substation at Rampion's alternative site which is adjacent to the main substation at Wineham. This would be far less ecologically harmful and does not flood.
The Planning Inspectorate have given West Sussex County Council the challenging task of managing the inevitable traffic chaos in Cowfold, along the A272 and Kent Street, a minor single-track lane.
Protect Coastal Sussex continue to highlight the damage which will be caused to the South Downs, the heritage coast and to precious marine wildlife. You can read more on their campaign here https://www.protectcoastalsussex.org/ . They like us are not against green energy. They have produced good evidence to show that the turbines and planned cable route through the downs are in the wrong place and that viable alternatives exist.
If you have any question or so that we can keep you updated please sign up to receive our emails, by contacting us on cowfoldvrampion@gmail.com or click on the link at the top of the front page.
Thank you
If you live, work or are just passing through Cowfold you are going to be affected by the added congestion and traffic control measures resulting from the construction of a 3 storey sub- station and it's associated infrastructure.
Rampion's Proposals for Cowfold
We are a group of Cowfold residents who only found out about the Rampion 2 proposals, to build a new substation to connect to the main one at Wineham, at the very end of what has supposed to have been a two-year public consultation, which closed in November 2022. The consultation was to focus particularly on the communities most likely to be affected i.e., those close to the offshore windfarm, the cable route, and especially the substation sites under consideration.
We discovered that most Cowfold residents were unaware of what is about to happen; almost nobody feels that they were consulted. Rampion were supposed to have ‘fully engaged’ with all residents within a 1km distance of the cable routes and 3km of the possible substation sites. Much of Cowfold is actually within 3km of all the substation sites they considered, yet we heard nothing, or not before it was too late to alter their choices or make our concerns about these choices understood. As a result we have been actively campaigning to raise awareness and represent the views of local residents and businesses.
What is planned?
In order to help meet the green energy demands of this country, Rampion want to build another offshore windfarm and connect it to the main substation at Wineham via a cable. This will come via a smaller substation where the voltage will be increased to the 400 kv required to connect to the main substation. There is already a Rampion 1 substation adjacent to the bigger Wineham substation. The substation is the only onshore part of the project which will remain above ground when it is finished. It is projected that the work will take up to 6 years to complete.
This is a National Infrastructure project, like HS2, and as such is dealt with by a national planning body, the Planning Inspectorate (PI). The Planning Inspectorate's explanation of the process can be found here in their letter to a Cowfold resident together with their links to further information.
The examination stage focused on what effect this proposal may have on the local communities and whether this is acceptable, or whether these effects can be sufficiently mitigated to allow the plan to go ahead. Obviously, it would have been better to get these issues out during the initial consultation phase, when they were choosing locations, but as Cowfold was unaware of the plans that was not possible!
Rampion’s substation proposal will have a considerable long-term impact on all of us in Cowfold.
A 3-storey substation covering 14.5 acres. This is 1.5 times bigger than the village playing fields and nearly twice the size of the substation on Wineham Lane.
Temporary traffic lights for 6-8 years on the A272 by the Oakendene Industrial Estate
Over 8,000 HGVs – one every 5 minutes! (108 return journeys every day).
Thousands of extra ancillary vehicles.
Local lanes are likely to be cut-throughs to avoid traffic jams on the A272. This will be incredibly dangerous for all involved. Kent Street is proposed to be an access route, however being a single-track lane with mud verges and a narrow bridge, it is totally unsuitable.
Rampion's plans do not take account of: the existing traffic situation, the environmental impact, the high level of accidents along the A272 (over 50 in the past 5 years), and worsening pollution due to the stationary traffic.
Read More here
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