Milford Mercury | Local News, Sport & Entertainment

Town council oppose pipe plan

From the archive, first published Thursday 2nd Feb 2006.

MILFORD Haven Town Council has come out in opposition to the planned route of a gas pipeline running from Pennar to Waterston.

RWE nPower is proposing that the pipeline runs the ten miles from the new power station at Pennar under the Haven and through the Blackbridge mine depot, emerging above ground in a field west of Waterston. It will then connect to a new stretch of the national gas transmission system linking up the Dragon and South Hook LNG facilities.

At Monday's meeting, members took heed of Cllr Mark Hawkins, who has studied the application and concluded that the plan "is wrong in every sense of the word."

Chief among Cllr Hawkins's concerns is that the north Above Ground Installation (AGI) would be vulnerable to terrorist attack, and should be sited within the boundary of the Petroplus site. He also sees no reason why the pipe should go through Blackbridge, with the possible effect that it could stifle other use of the site.

"I've spent a lot of time on this," he told members. "I'm not one to scream and shout over petty little things and certainly not one to stop a big project like this coming off in our town over the next five to ten years.

"As a rule I don't listen and don't read what Safe Haven are about but I understand where these people are coming from now. Twelve months ago, I didn't want to know them. I thought they were so and sos. Now I'm having second thoughts. We're allowing developers into our county and we're being rolled over."

Cllr Colin Robbins thought the proposals highlighted a continuing lack of consultation between the LNG companies and the people for Milford.

"They say they consult. Consultation is not a one-off exercise. It's an ongoing process and I've seen very little consultation with this town.

"I see very little benefits to the town at the moment. The recent county council report highlighted the stress on social housing and other resources we rely on. I accompanied you [the mayor] on both visits to the LNG facilities and on both occasions the LNG people told us it was not putting a strain on resources, but the county council report says it does.

"Even we as a town council know very little or plans for safety and terrorism. Is Milford becoming a bullseye for terrorists?"

Members agreed to oppose the pipeline application and seek a meeting with RWE nPower.

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