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Response to articles in The Blackpool Gazette

Statement from Halite Energy

26 February 2013

Halite Energy has produced the following statement in relation to two articles that have appeared in The Blackpool Gazette on 23 and 25 February 2013.

Response to: ‘Gas Firm’s Green Light in Huge Pipeline Bid’

The article that appeared in the 23 February 2013 edition of The Blackpool Gazette, under the headline ‘Gas firm’s green light in huge pipeline bid’, contained errors that should be corrected.

The article reported that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has now issued a certificate in relation to some land interests that would be needed for the Halite project if it is approved. That is correct. But it is not correct to say that this certificate relates to all land covered by the compulsory purchase order applied for, nor that it gives the “green light” for the project, nor that it even implies the project will be approved when a decision on it is made within the next couple of months.

The certificate in question relates only to the small parts of the CPO land that are areas of open space. Both Government and Planning Inspectorate guidance notes advise that such a certificate should be applied for before the application for the rest of the project is made. That is what happened in this case. Throughout the public examination, the Inspectors were asking about progress with the certificate application. It is therefore not correct that (as the article concludes) “Halite should have waited for the Planning Inspectorate’s decision before applying…”, nor that Halite are “trying to give the impression they’ve already got it [approval for the scheme]”.

Halite recognises that its proposals for an underground gas storage at Preesall continue to attract a lot of public interest and that the views of the community remain polarised. However, in this instance Halite has simply endeavoured to follow guidelines laid down by the Planning Inspectorate. A Development Consent Order (DCO) cannot be made by the Secretary of State without this certificate, and the planning guidance requires developers to apply for it before they make the DCO application.

Response to : ‘I’ll Not Let Gas Firm Knock My House Down’

This article appeared in The Blackpool Gazette on 25 February 2013 and contains a series of inaccuracies.

Halite is not, and never has been, applying to compulsorily purchase any homes or gardens to accommodate the brine pipeline at Fleetwood.

The proposed brine pipeline will run along the back of the properties on South Strand, Fleetwood, but the work will not encroach on their land. These residents were part of a wider consultation exercise that took place as part of the statutory consultation process in 2011. At no time in this consultation was compulsory purchase raised.

The second paragraph of the article states: “American firm Halite sent shockwaves through South Strand when they were granted a Development Consent Order (DCO) by the Secretary of State to build a pipeline running from Over Wyre to Rossall”. This statement is wholly incorrect. Halite has not been granted a DCO to build a brine pipeline or any other part of its scheme. The decision on the DCO is not expected until April 2013. The open space certificate (referred to in the article of 23 February 2013) does not grant Halite permission to build anything. It would simply allow for the confirmation of compulsory purchase powers for the laying of the brine discharge pipeline and electricity cable over the small number of locations that constitute open space, principally the foreshore at Rossall, if the Secretary of State makes the DCO.

In relation to the letters referred to in the third paragraph of the article, Halite has not issued letters to residents of South Strand since the consultation of 2011. Halite has never issued letters that inform these residents that they will purchase their land to allow building work to take place. The article also refers to a Mr Mawdsley receiving notice of a compulsory purchase order. Whatever notice Mr Mawdsley may have received did not come from Halite or its consultants and is nothing to do with our project.

In response to the comment from Anton Maree of Rossall School, the proposed pipeline will carry brine, not gas.

Halite has worked closely with statutory bodies to ensure its proposals, including the construction of the brine pipeline, have minimum environmental impact.

Halite wishes to reassure the residents of Fleetwood that there are not, and never will be, plans to compulsorily purchase their homes or gardens in order to build its project. The brine pipeline referred to in the article is a standard 36” pipe that would run underground. Once the construction of the pipeline, which will take seven months to complete, has been undertaken, there will be no disturbance to local residents.

ENDS

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