Cambois power station campaigners stage cycle protest

May 5 2009 by Joanne Butcher, The Journal

Bosses at RWE npower have been trying to win support for the new power station, which they say will bring 3,000 construction and 200 permanent jobs to the village.

It would be on the site of the former Blyth Power Station – but would have up to six times the old capacity.

But people in the village have turned their backs on the £2bn plan.

Malcolm Reid, coordinator for PANiC Stations (People Against New Coal-fired Power Stations) said: “The majority of people here remember the filth of the old power station – the noise from the transport and the dust from the ash, as well as how hideous it was.

“The new station would only bring a handful of jobs.

“Most of the construction work would be specialist, and a lot of computers will be used for day-to-day running.

“The Government should instead be investing in renewable energy.

“Blyth already has the majority of Northumberland’s wind turbines, and it is an ideal location for a large scale offshore wind farm which could provide more energy than all the proposed coal-fired power stations.

“Cambois is also a prime location for developing and manufacturing turbines.”

Dorothy O’Connor, who lives in Cambois, said people in the village did not object to wind farms being built.

“People say they don’t want a wind turbine near their home,” she said, “but if they had the choice between that or a power station, I know what they would chose.

“I was shocked when I saw the scale of the proposal, it is enormous. It would be right behind the school,” added the 59-year-old.

“The village is a prime location for other developments. Coal power is not the way to bring jobs back.”

Dr David Golding CBE, development coordinator for Make Poverty History North East and chair of PANiC Stations said: “There are both local concerns and global ones surrounding new coal power stations - and both are entirely legitimate.

“Climate change scientists have already predicted that 400 million people will become refugees because of climate change this century.

“That is the equivalent of the population of Europe.”