Power firm may rethink church substation plan after protests

The scheme, by energy company CE Electric UK, to build the substation in the grounds of Grade-I listed St Wilfrid's Church, Duchy Road, Harrogate, has been heavily criticised by residents and community groups in the town.

The company says it has spent the past eight years investigating more than 20 other sites but had settled on St Wilfrid's as nothing else was suitable.

But following a packed public meeting at the Cairn Hotel, Harrogate, last week, the company now says it will look at suggestions of new sites put forward by angry residents before pushing ahead with the scheme.

Henry Pankhurst, planning spokesman for the Harrogate Civic Society which is vehemently opposed to the proposals and submitted protest letters to the energy company and the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds, said: "We are urging them to re-think the decision.

"The meeting has strengthened all of our resolve to keep fighting this.

"It is a serious thing to put such a large substation in the grounds of St Wilfrid's on what could be a dangerous area.

"At the meeting they said this is the only site they have found even though they have been looking for so long but a lot of us didn't believe that.

"The CE Electric experts didn't really seem to know Harrogate very well and their search for alternative sites for the substation was very weak.

"That they will be considering the new sites put forward is a boost and we hope it will put an end to these plans."

Gareth Gibbs, 51, a member of a steering group made up of the Harrogate Civic Society, Duchy Residents Association, and concerned residents to protest against the plans, said: "We are very happy that they have gone away now to think about it.

"There were about 100 residents at the meeting and it was a very heated atmosphere.

"There was a clear consensus from everybody that Harrogate does need to enlarge its power supply and we would be very supportive of that coming.

"But to put it next to a Grade-I listed church is just ridiculous and there were a lot of church parishioners there that are very worried about it.

"There were some alternative sites suggested, now we hope they put a halt to the original plans."

CE Electric UK says the substation is part of a 10m upgrade scheme which is desperately needed to cope with increasing demand in the town and could go before a Harrogate Borough Council planning committee as early as May.

The company also says the current proposal is sympathetic to the site's sensitive location.

A spokesman said: "The public meeting was arranged in response to requests from local residents so that all those with an interest in the project could have an opportunity to ask questions about different aspects of it with company experts.

"Residents appreciated that there is a need for a new substation in order to continue to provide a secure and reliable power supply for the residents and businesses in Harrogate as local demand for electricity grows.

"However, residents raised their concerns about the suitability of the site and the selection process for choosing it.

"Suggestions were put forward by residents for potential alternative sites and CE Electric UK has agreed to take these suggestions away and investigate their suitability further."