Little Dunham substation decision due

Rob GarrattThe decision on whether a controversial electricity substation will be built on the doorstep of a rural Norfolk village could be made within the next month, council planners have announced.Rob Garratt

The decision on whether a controversial electricity substation will be built on the doorstep of a rural Norfolk village could be made within the next month, council planners have announced.

Breckland Council are likely to decide whether or not to give the green light to a 40-acre substation next to Little Dunham, near Swaffham, within four weeks, a spokesman revealed yesterday.

The substation, which would act as a base to redistribute energy from a proposed windfarm off the north Norfolk coast, has been the subject of criticism with around 130 villagers turning out at a protest earlier this month.

A council spokesman denied claims a decision on the substation has been postponed in response to the forthcoming election, on May 6.

He said: 'We envisage this application will go before the council's Development Control Committee on May 10 but no final decision on this has been taken yet.

'The decision to postpone this application was taken because more time is needed to consider all the information and for no other reason.'

Members of the Little Dunham Action Group welcomed the news. Spokesman Paul Gardner said: 'We have from the outset identified that this application as fundamentally flawed and there are numerous planning issues that have been brushed aside. We maintain there are far more suitable sites and we're pleased that Breckland planners are taking longer to consider the location of this massive industrial complex.'