Get you up to speed: Outraged Harry Potter fans force diversion of £430,000,000 energy project | News UK
Harry Potter fans expressed outrage over plans for a £430 million Greenlink interconnector intended to carry renewable energy from the UK to Ireland, which aimed to pass through West Beach in Pembrokeshire, the burial site of the fictional character Dobby. The backlash resulted in the project’s reroute, avoiding disruption to Dobby’s grave.
The Greenlink interconnector, which spans 190 kilometres and connects County Wexford in Ireland to Pembrokeshire in Wales, has been operational since April. Despite previous considerations for alterations, it was ultimately decided to preserve the memorial to Dobby, with the National Trust urging visitors to avoid leaving items that could harm the environment.
Simon Ludlam, former project director of the Greenlink interconnector, confirmed that the fierce backlash from Harry Potter fans led to the project’s rerouting to avoid disrupting Dobby’s grave at Freshwater West beach. Following the controversy, the National Trust reiterated its request to visitors to refrain from leaving items at the memorial, emphasising potential environmental hazards.
What remains unclear — The long-term management plan for Dobby’s memorial at Freshwater West beach has not been detailed.
Harry Potter fans campaign successfully against £430 million energy project
Harry Potter fans have proven there’s clearly power in numbers, as their joint outrage forced the diversion of a multi-million-pound energy project.
It has emerged that plans for a £430million Greenlink interconnector to carry solar and wind power to Ireland from the UK sparked fury from die-hard fans of JK Rowling’s books and their movie adaptations.
Originally, the pipeline’s site was to be West Beach in Pembrokeshire, which has famously become a mecca for Potterheads, as it’s where Dobby (voiced by Toby Jones in the films) died and was buried.
The beloved house elf’s final scenes came in the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, with fans immortalising the character by leaving illustrated pebbles and socks to mark his resting place.
So, upon learning of the pipeline plans and the apparent disruption they would cause to the beach’s dunes where Harry (played by Daniel Radcliffe on-screen) buried the creature, Potter fanatics took action.
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The result was ‘hundreds’ of phone calls to then-project director Simon Ludlam and his team following Ludlam’s interview on BBC Wales about the development, where he revealed permission had been secured from local authorities and landowners.
Speaking on the Energy Revolution podcast, Ludlam, who was at the helm from 2017 to 2019 and whose firm, Etchea Energy, advised, recalled how concerned and furious fans feared the cable going ‘straight through Dobby’s grave’.
The backlash became so intense that it led to him rerouting the interconnector away from the beach, keeping the grave intact.
‘My colleague, Tom, who works in permitting, said, “Simon, we’re going to have to respond to these calls”,’ Ludlam said.
‘And I said, “Well, Tom, I’m super busy.” And he goes, “No, no, we really have to respond to this”.’
When told of the anger, his initial reaction was: ‘Dobby? Who’s Dobby?’
His co-worker then insisted it was a ‘very, very serious matter’.
‘So we got back with the planners and discussed exactly how to reroute the cable so we wouldn’t go any more into Dobby’s grave.’
With the issue eventually resolved, the Greenlink interconnector opened last April.
At 190km (118 miles) long, the 500 MW high-voltage direct current runs a power cable between County Wexford in Ireland and Pembrokeshire in Wales.
It has the power for 380,000 homes.
This isn’t the first time that Dobby’s grave has found itself under threat.
In 2022, National Trust Cymru floated the idea of removing it after launching a survey about looking after the landscape.
Two of its questions focused on the Dobby memorial, asking respondents whether it should be removed or transferred.
It was decided eight months later that the tribute could stay, but the Trust issued a reminder to tourists visiting the popular spot, urging them not to leave socks, which are a reference to how, in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry fooled Dobby’s then-master, Lucius Malfoy, into handing one, which freed him from enslavement.
‘The memorial to Dobby will remain at Freshwater West in the immediate term for people to enjoy,’ a press release said.
‘The trust is asking visitors to only take photos when visiting the memorial to help protect the wider landscape.
‘Items like socks, trinkets, and paint chips from painted pebbles could enter the marine environment and food chain and put wildlife at risk.’
A report summary added that the shrine would need to be managed in line with a ‘leave no trace’ policy in the future, and a ‘middle ground’ should be reached to allow access but still preserve the environment.