The Isle of Wight National Landscape (IWNL) partnership, which works to promote the conservation and enhancement of the Island’s legally protected areas of natural beauty, has said the pipeline’s visual effects will be “significant, permanent, harmful” in a letter to the American multinational corporation.

ExxonMobil is currently undertaking a public consultation on its proposed pipeline corridor routes, two of which run through the IWNL.

Though the partnership acknowledged ExxonMobil had mentioned avoiding Ancient Woodland habitats in its application documents, its letter emphasises the presence of other nature designations including coastal areas, protected species, special protection areas for birds and special areas of conservation for other wildlife.