THE FIGHT TO STOP AQUIND CONTINUES

Very rarely, if ever, does an issue unite people of all political persuasions, local and national politicians, and residents of all nationalities, religious beliefs, and social standings.

Aquind Interconnector is such an issue. Objections to it bound a passionate group of people together, committed to defending their city and its environs against the destructive unnecessary proposal. MPs and Councillors were unanimous in their criticism. Residents along the route are united.

NEW

AQUIND APPEAL IN FRANCE

Earlier this year Aquind was refused Maritime Authorisation for the Aquind Interconnector by the French Authorities. According to a statement from Non A Aquind, our French counterpart grassroots movement in Normandy, Aquind has appealed against this refusal. LSA will continue to support Non A Aquind in their resistance. We are hopeful that the Aquind Interconnector will be stopped, once and for all, and that residents on both sides of the Channel can put our worries to bed.

LSA feels confident that Aquind’s appeal will fail because regulatory bodies on both sides have made clear there are 3 main problems with the project:-

It brings no benefits to consumers.
It does not meet the requirements of either the French or UK electricity grids.
It has not been given priority status by either the CRE or Ofgem.

However, we must remain vigilant. This project is still ongoing.

For the past two years there has been only minimal information from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, despite the steadfast support and best efforts of our two MPs to find out what is happening. Yet behind closed doors in Westminster the DESNZ continues to deliberate. LSA hopes this deliberation will lead to a decision in our favour.

LETTER OF UNITY SENT TO SECRETARY OF STATE
AFTER SUCCESSFUL ONLINE MEETING

The recent online meeting successfully brought together many different groups and people to unite against the Aquind Interconnector project that if approved would have a huge impact on communities in both southern England and northern France. Attendees together signed a letter that has been forwarded to the Planning Inspectorate and now to The Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Pompey Politics Podcast helped organise the online public meeting on Wednesday 26th November and included the follow:

The President of Non A Aquind – Normandy
The President of the Mayors of the villages along the route in Normandy
The deputy of the 6th circonscription France
The Member of Parliament for Fareham and Waterlooville
The Leader of Portsmouth City Council
The Leader of Winchester City Council
The Councillor for Pubrook and Havant

In this meeting all parties unanimously agreed that the Aquind Interconnector project must be refused and then the letter was signed, you can read the letter HERE.

See below the links to the online meeting:

Facebook / YouTube / LinkedIn / Apple / Spotify

STOP AQUIND, NON A AQUIND, AND LOCAL MPS
WORK TOGETHER TO STOP THE AQUIND INTERCONNECTOR

As you may know our French counterparts Non A Aquind recently visited Portsmouth and the areas along the planned route of the proposed Aquind Interconnector. We may not speak the same language but we and our French counterparts, along with our MPs and councillors, all speak with one voice on the subject of Aquind! United, we strongly oppose the Aquind Interconnector. Our two city MPs, Hampshire and PCC councillors, Mayors from Normandy, Non a Aquind and Let’s Stop Aquind benefitted from the in-person meetings.

Joint quote from Amanda Martin MP and Stephen Morgan MP:

“We have long opposed the AQUIND project and continue to do all we can to highlight the case for it to be finally put to bed. We have raised serious national security concerns about the proposed interconnector, alongside the environmental damage, murky financing, and severe disruption it would cause for people in Portsmouth.

We were pleased to meet with our French counterparts and local campaigners today, to hear about developments in France and update them on the work we are doing. We will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Portsmouth residents and campaigners in making the case for AQUIND to be refused once and for all.”

Find out more about the visit and read more statements HERE.

STOP AQUIND AND NON A AQUIND BOTH FEATURE ON POMPEY POLITICS PODCAST

This week the Pompey Politics Podcast dropped a new episode that was focused on the Aquind Interconnector project and featured representatives of both Stop Aquind and our counterparts in France NON A AQUIND. Have a watch of the episode on YouTube below or you can listen in on the Pompey Politics Podcast on your regular podcast platform such as Spotify, Apple, etc.

Pandora's Box - The Aquind Interconnector and Contaminated Land

This video is a deep dive in to the issues surrounding the proposed Aquind Interconnector project and the legacy of contaminated land in Portsmouth. The proposed route for deep trench digging will be past or through some locations that are well documented to contain heavy metals, asbestos and more contaminants.

A full list of sources and references are located at the end of the film. At time of publishing, all effort was made to use the most up to date and accurate public information in the writing and creation of this video, and to reference all copyrighted material used/shown as fair dealing for criticism, review or quotation and for the purpose of reporting current events.

What Is the Problem?

Aquind’s proposal is to install cables, designed to carry 2 million watts of electricity, under Eastney beach and to dig trenches and drill tunnels from the landing-place, South to North, to connect the cables to The National Grid at Lovedean. Electricity generated in Europe could flow to the UK and vice versa. The construction of this project would mean many months of disruption and untold damage to the fabric of the city and along the route. Toxic material long-buried safely in landfill sites might be unearthed, further harming the environment in a city already suffering severe congestion.

Traffic chaos, causing much pollution, would negatively affect the people who live in, and those who would want to visit, Portsmouth. Let us not forget Portsmouth is the 2nd most densely populated city outside London.

The project is being imposed upon the city and South Hampshire by the Government. It was rejected by Portsmouth City Council and the various County and Parish Councils along the route when first proposed by the developer, Aquind. Following the local rejection, Aquind took their case to the Government Department dealing with energy supply (BEIS). They wanted the project to be given NSIP(Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project) status and then to apply for a DCO( Development Consent Order) thus removing all decision-making from local to national level.

The then Secretary of State for the Department directed that their request be granted. This was no surprise as he had previously been publicly very supportive of the scheme. This direction effectively took control and any decisions out of the hands of local interests. It allowed the developer to push on with the proposal, following legislation embodied in the Planning Act of 2008. Examination of their application by the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) took place this year, its Recommendation went to BEIS in early June and in September a decision will be announced by the current SoS (Secretary of State) at BEIS Kwasi Kwarteng.

Latest News

Below are some of our latest news articles, you can read more news HERE.

Aquind Appeals in France

Read more “Aquind Appeals in France”

Let's Stop Aquind Kindness Rocks Project in Portsmouth

Some Positive News from NON A AQUIND

Jean-Luc Cornière, mayor of Bertrimont, was elected yesterday as President of the Community of 79 municipalities, communes of the Pays de Caux region. He was the first president of the mayors along the Aquind route in 2023; he initiated the “Non A Aquind” campaign and is very involved in the fight against Aquind. He was …

We Can Stop AQUIND By Uniting Across Borders – Star and Crescent

Paula Ann Savage recently wrote an article on behalf of LSA for local news website Star and Crescent. You can read the article below: For more than five years, Let’s Stop AQUIND (LSA) has campaigned tirelessly to bring an end to the proposed AQUIND Interconnector. This project, which would carve a destructive route through Portsmouth …

Stop Aquind receives update from the president of NON A AQUIND in France

France – 24 July 2025 We’ve received an update from our friends in France NON A AQUIND: A meeting with the Minister for energy took place on the 24th July. Aquind still has to go through many hurdles to get their project accepted by France. These steps will be lengthy and will not oblige the …

Press Release: Responding to the Visit of Portsmouth MP’s Stephen Morgan And Amanda Martin to Minister for The Armed Forces Luke Pollard

Portsmouth, Hampshire – 12th March 2024 Let’s Stop Aquind was pleased that both Portsmouth’s MPs discussed the case against the Aquind Interconnector at their recent meeting with Defence Minister Luke Pollard. We embrace the views expressed by both our MPs, as they highlighted the national security risks posed by the project, alongside longstanding questions over …

Let’s Stop Aquind New 2025 Submission to the Secretary of State for Energy and Net Zero

Portsmouth, Hampshire – 18th February 2025 Let’s Stop Aquind’s response to the Ministry of Defence’s objections to theAquind Interconnector and associated issues You can read the full submission PDF that was sent HERE. The same applies to the letter from Capt Lee McLocklan, Captain of the Base (Portsmouth) and Deputy Naval Base Commander of HMNB …

Join The Conversation On Facebook

Join another 4000+ people working together to stop Aquind

Facebook

THE FIGHT TO STOP AQUIND CONTINUES

Stop AQUIND