Galloper Wind Farm Project - National Infrastructure Planning

egion of 16.5m was appropriate on the key lengths of the west and south sides
of the landform, but that a higher level (than the current 15m) would be
preferable on the northern area. This was on the basis of the visual and
landscape impact on the north side being comparably more important than the
undesignated acid grassland habitat landtake. It was however also discussed
that the potential to lower the landform towards the western end would benefit a
more natural form and act against the potential to create a single ‘reservoir type’
flat surface (albeit concealed by planting in the longer term). In light of these
comments we have examined various revisions to the height of the landform and
have amended the plan to take into account the comments above, whilst being
conscious of earthworks balancing and the location of the 14m envelope in the
southeast quarter. The amended scheme is shown in the accompanying plan
25456/003/018B which also includes contours for the existing land adjacent to
the proposed landform, to better show how the landform will blend into the
existing landscape. We are pleased to confirm that the revised landform
achieves a slope of 1 in 10 and a very close balance on earthworks volumes,
such that any difference due to settlement or bulking could be handled within
limited import/export addressed as ‘worst case’ in the Environmental Statement.
The main changes from the plan we discussed on the 25 August are set out in
the following paragraphs.
Southern edge: The height of the landform to the south of the GWF compound
has been modified from a uniform 16.5m crest to a varying height of 15.5m at the
west, rising to 17m over the more exposed cable corridor and falling to 16.5m to
the east. This will allow a more natural undulating form while providing maximum
screening of the highest building in the southeast quarter of the compound. The
landform has also been extended to the east to allow a more gradual integration
into the existing landscape at this point and to provide further benefit to views
from the southeast on Sizewell Gap. The front, south facing, slope of the
landform has been widened to allow a more gradual slope to be introduced when
viewed from Sizewell Gap. This has resulted in the average gradient of the slope
slackening to 1 in 10 as requested. We also note your comments in relation to
the vertical depth of the landform and whether we could therefore plant deeper
rooted vegetation over the cables. Although subject to detailed design, we
believe it should be feasible to plant shallow rooted species at the top of the
embankment. This has been shown as woodland edge planting on the
accompanying landscape plan.
Western edge: The height of the landform to the west of the compound has been
reduced from a uniform 16.5m to a uniform height of 15.5m. This reduction in
height reflects the fact that the highest buildings in the compound are constrained
further away to the south eastern quarter of the GWF compound and that views
from due west are limited by existing planting. The front, west facing, slope of
this landform has been widened to allow a more gradual slope to be introduced.
This has resulted in the average gradient of the slope slackening to the
discussed gradient of 1 in 10.
Northern edge: The height of the landform to the north of the compound has
been modified from a uniform 15m to a varying height of 15.5m at the west, rising
to 16m before falling to 13.5m in the east. This will allow a more natural looking
form while providing improved integration into the landscape of the buildings in
the GWF compound. The eastern element of the north facing slope has been
modified to allow a more gradual alignment change in this area along the
landform crest. The north facing slope has been widened to allow a more