Fenland District Council says no: Robert Wynn & Sons’ heavy lift barge Terra Marique blocked from carrying vital Net Zero cargo via River Nene

The sustainable delivery of crucial electricity transmission components to a site in Cambridgeshire, required as part of the UK’s transition to Net Zero, has been blocked because of a Council’s refusal to allow the oversize, heavy modules involved to be transported by water.

Despite the expertise and experience of specialist transportation company Robert Wynn & Sons and the availability of its purpose-built, Government-funded heavy lift barge, the Terra Marique, Robert Wynn & Sons’ plans to transport the components for a Synchronous Condenser along the River Nene to Wisbech have been refused permission by Fenland District Council.

The UK Government Department for Transport’s ‘Water Preferred Policy’ states that abnormal indivisible loads of this type should be moved by inland waterway whenever possible, to the closest port, to minimise the use of roads. Because of the weight and size of the items, and bridge weight limitations, the water route to Wisbech was always going to be the best option that minimised disruption. However, Government policy appears to have been dismissed and, as a result, an alternative plan is now in place to move the components all the way by road from Sutton Bridge, a far more disruptive and less sustainable solution.

The River Nene, which is entered from The Wash midway between Boston and King’s Lynn, is in regular use for shipping, notably by a fortnightly cargo shipping service from Riga, Latvia, to Wisbech.

However, Fenland District Council, which is the statutory harbour/navigation authority for the River Nene, has rejected Robert Wynn & Sons’ detailed plans for navigation to Wisbech, from where the loads would be moved by road to the final site at Walpole St Andrew.

Robert Wynn & Sons submitted its proposals more than a year ago for the 80-metre-long, 16.5-metre-wide Terra Marique to navigate the River Nene to Wisbech – a route and port officially identified as appropriate for abnormal loads. There followed prolonged discussions, passage planning and a series of surveys to identify any issues to be resolved but, after six months of delays, the Council refused permission.

“Wisbech is Cambridgeshire’s only port – you would think the Council would treat is as a jewel,” said Peter Wynn, Managing Director of Robert Wynn & Sons. “We seem to have a Council that – despite central Government policy – believes the movement of a gross load of more than 600 tonnes along the road from Sutton Bridge is safer and better for the environment than delivery to Wisbech by water. There is a lack of joined-up thinking. This should have been an example of how things should work, but this is the opposite. As a result, we have what seems like an insurmountable obstacle to a vital Net Zero project being delivered in a sustainable way.”

The project in question is the construction of a Synchronous Condenser at Walpole; this is a specialised piece of equipment that does not generate power but provides stability and voltage support to the regional power grid network. Robert Wynn & Sons’ proposal is for two shipments on the Terra Marique, each carrying one 164-tonne transformer and one 365-tonne generator.

The Terra Marique is wider than vessels that routinely go up the River Nene to Wisbech, said Peter Wynn, but the navigation would be no more challenging than a series of successful deliveries made by the barge in its 20-year history. Best known for transporting the iconic Concorde down the River Thames, the Terra Marique has safely navigated and loaded/discharged heavy cargo at sites on the Thames, Trent, Fal, Dee, Ribble and Forth – in the latter case, going beyond the established pilot area.

“The processes we have had to go through to satisfy Fenland District Council have taken a huge amount of time and money – we have organised geotechnical surveys, bathymetric surveys, flow rate surveys and other consultancy work,” said Peter Wynn. “We have a passion for this, and we are not going to give up; as a company, we always focus on what can be done rather than what can’t be done.”

This case is also important because it sets a precedent when it comes to transporting increasingly oversize, overweight loads that will be required in the UK’s journey to Net Zero, said Tim West, Company Secretary at Robert Wynn & Sons.

“The energy grid is being upgraded and redrawn as we shift from fossil fuel power stations to largescale solar and onshore/offshore wind power, plus nuclear power,” he said. “This will necessitate major upgrades and investments in our energy infrastructure, with the consequent need for the transport and delivery of large generators, transformers, etc., to sites where such large loads may not have been delivered before. We should be using every opportunity to move these units by water, not by road. If we are going to deliver Net Zero, we must change the way we are doing things.”

Peter Wynn added: “There needs to be serious thought and subsequent action to ensure that the aspirations for Net Zero can be delivered in the manner that everybody would want, which is with minimal amounts of cost and disruption to UK plc and local communities.”