Issue details

To present the outcome of technical assessments in relation to the National Grid IFA2 development, and to consider whether the development should proceed to the next stage.

In December 2015, the Executive resolved to agree terms for the lease of land at Daedalus to National Grid, to enable the construction of the IFA2 Interconnector.  An update was further considered in April 2017, which identified the measures that were being put in place to provide assurance that the Interconnector development would be compatible with the wider uses at the Airport, and the Council’s Vision for Daedalus.

Over the course of 2017, a range of independent technical assessments and tests have been undertaken to provide the necessary assurance to the Council, and to help inform National Grid’s proposals as the detailed design and construction methods are developed.  These studies focussed on a wide range of potential impacts including the impact of electromagnetic fields (EMF’s) and Radio Frequency Interference (RFI’s) emanating from the building and cables, and the potential commercial impact of the IFA2 for prospective businesses wishing to locate on the Enterprise Zone.

To support the Technical Assessments, a range of detailed reviews were commissioned by National Grid, and “real world” field tests were carried out to validate to results of the assessments.

The Assessments have been completed and the key reports form Arcadis and LSH are appended to this report.  In summary, both reports provide sufficient assurance to the Council, that IFA2 would not be detrimental in technical or commercial terms to the wider Airport uses and the Council’s Vision for Daedalus, provided that certain mitigating measures are put in place, and further detailed design work is carried out.

To this end, while the Airport Condition (within the land agreement between the council and National Grid), has largely been satisfied, the Council will want to be assured that appropriate mitigations are put in place, tests are undertaken to ensure that they perform as expected and that the detailed design work does not undermine the assurance achieved to date.

To do this, it is proposed that the Airport Condition is recognised as satisfied sufficiently to allow National Grid to proceed to the next stage and be able to enter into a Construction Lease with the Council.  The lease will, however, be revised to carry the remaining obligations into the construction phase, enabling the Council to oversee progress and impose changes where they are necessary to mitigate against impacts on the Airport and the wider Daedalus site.