ESSO Petroleum Company Limited has launched a final statutory public consultation into the preferred route for its replacement underground aviation fuel pipeline from Southampton to London.
The pipeline will help maintain around 1,000 highly-skilled engineering jobs at the UK’s largest refinery at Fawley and, once installed, will be buried underground and unnoticeable to most people.
Pipelines are said by Esso to be “a safe, secure and low-impact method of moving fuel over long distances to meet customer needs” and this particular project will keep around 100 fuel delivery tankers off the road each day.
Esso has been consulting widely with the public to determine the preferred route for the pipeline and associated project proposals. It held a non-statutory consultation in March and April on pipeline corridors, with the selected corridor announced in June.
The consultation launched last Thursday will provide additional opportunities for anyone to comment on the project and to learn more about its plans.
In the Alton area, it includes:
* Section B - a largely rural route, around nine miles long, that lies mainly within the South Downs National Park – re-entering the park near Four Marks. Having crossed the A272, it avoids Woodcote Copse and Bramdean Common before running north of West Tisted. It then runs through the Four Marks golf course followed by a trenchless crossing of the A32, before running outside the southern boundary of Chawton House park and gardens. The section ends at the national park boundary after the B3006 Selborne road crossing.
* Section C - largely rural, and round nine miles long, with long stretches passing through agricultural land. After the B3006 crossing it deviates slightly from the existing pipeline route to avoid local businesses before running east of Alton, skirting Worldham golf course before a trenchless crossing of the River Wey and the Alton to Waterloo railway line into Alton Pumping Station.
From there, a trenchless crossing passes under the A31 and runs to the south east of Upper and Lower Froyle, avoiding Locks Grove and Lee Wood Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation. The section ends at Dippenhall Street.
Public consultation events will run from 2pm-8pm, the first on Thursday, September 27, at Alton Community Centre, followed by a second at Bramdean and Hinton Ampner village hall on Tuesday, October 2, and a third at Ropley sports pavilion on Friday, October 5, to enable people to meet the project team and ask questions.
Esso has also produced a series of detailed and easy-to-read consultation materials that provide an overview of the pipeline proposals. These include maps and information about the pipeline route, and how people can take part in the consultation.
These are available on the project website, at slpproject.co.uk, and will be available at the events.
Printed copies will also be placed at information points around the district.