The company behind the proposed wind farm off the coast of Brighton and Hove has taken a key step towards winning permission to go ahead with the project.
Eon has applied to a regulator to be able to carry out tests on and under the seabed.
It wants to find out information that will help it to design effective foundations for dozens of wind turbines about 8 to 15 miles south of the shore.
It also wants to check the geology of the route of the cables from the proposed Rampion wind farm to Shoreham, where the cables will come ashore.
Core sampling is expected to involve drilling up to five metres in depth below the seabed.
Anyone wishing to comment or object – on navigation or safety grounds – has until mid January to contact the Marine Management Organisation.
The work is expected to be carried out over the coming year to 18 months, with work on building the wind farm expected to start in 2012.
A formal planning application is expected to be submitted to the Infrastructure Planning Commission on Monday 2 January 2012.
Brighton and Hove City Council is likely to be consulted about the plans and has set up a page on its website to keep people informed about the project.
I am undertaking an MSc Coastal and Marine Resource Management degree at the University of Portsmouth and currently constructing a dissertation as part of my university requirements for the course. My dissertation aims to investigate the public’s perception towards the proposed Rampion offshore wind farm development at Brighton and I would be grateful if you could spare some time to complete this questionnaire.
Your questionnaire responses will be strictly confidential and all data and information from this research will be used for academic purposes only and reported in the dissertation anonymously.
https://docs.google.com/a/myport.ac.uk/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEkzYVF1aUp1dDdqVlBnZHFtOFZKS2c6MQ