CONCERNS have been raised that a £500 million to lay a power cable beneath Channel between Britain and France will damage a Hampshire town.

National Grid is planning a major new energy infrastructure project, known as IFA2, which links the UK national grid to France.

Today members of Fareham Borough Council’s planning committee will deliberate on proposals to build a new electricity interconnector at Daedalus in Stubbington, and a replacement substation building at Chilling in Warsash.

Cllr Graham Burgess, who represents Lee East on neighbouring Gosport Borough Council, said the project would be a “blot” on the landscape and “harm” its public image.

“Personally I think it should be in Fawley on the site of the old power station,” Cllr Burgess said. “It should be linked with the old cables, fed through the existing tunnel to Chilling Substation in Warsash.

“If this does go ahead as planned I fear the impact it will have on the people and commerce of Lee.”

A consultant report published by the National Grid last weekend said that the proposals “would not have any impact on the airfield” and recommended that the project be given the all clear.

The report added: “Third-party comments suggest that the presence of the converter station will detract from the town as one of the main gateways to Gosport with the resultant impacts for coastal businesses reliant on tourism trade.’’ “Officers do not consider that the converter station will unacceptably harm the approach into Lee nor impact upon tourism in the area.’’ Rick Barter, former head of the Lee Business Association, said the proposed interconnector is going in the “wrong place”.

‘’The plans in question put the height of the interconnector at three double-decker buses which will ruin this stretch of coastline with something as huge as this.”

Aircraft manufacturer Britten-Norman, which rents hangars at Daedalus, has objected to the proposals due to concerns that the airfield would be effected.

A spokesperson from the business said: “The studies undertaken by National Grid are helpful in highlighting some of the potential risks but at present do not in themselves propose solutions to deliver full mitigation of the risks.”

The IAF2 Project will see Britain’s and France’s national grids linked up by 150-miles of subsea cables.

By connecting the two grids, both countries would have the option of buying each other’s energy.

The proposed converter site in Fareham would receive electricity from the French grid, as direct current and would convert it into alternating current which is used domestically in the UK and France.

This energy would be transferred to the proposed replacement substation at Chilling which would connected to the national grid.

A decision will be made on the plans by Fareham Borough Council in a planning meeting today (Monday).