PUTTING Fawley Power Station in the New Forest National Park would damage its ability to supply the National Grid, a public inquiry was told.

Power station bosses said the move would hamper operations at the site and reduce the speed with which it could respond to changes in market conditions.

They also claimed that the government and the Countryside Agency would look "foolish" if the huge industrial site was included within the National Park.

The site is owned by RWEnpower, which is objecting to proposals to alter the National Park boundary following a previous inquiry in 2002-3.

Witnesses at yesterday's hearing included landscape design expert Julian Cooper, who said the site was too ugly to be included in the scheme.

He added: "A power station constructed during the 1960s needs periodic alteration to satisfy the energy market and to comply with changing environmental legislation.

"National Park protection policies would deter the normal ongoing operating and management works at the site because of the very strict controls that would be applied."

Other witnesses included Matthew Trigg, a planning manager employed by RWEnpower's sister company, Thames Water Property Services.

He said new facilities often had to be built at short notice to maintain the site's operational capability.

"It has undergone many changes over the past 30 years, but continues to fulfil a vital role as a source of power and voltage control during periods of high demand.

"Its inclusion in the Nation-

al Park could inhibit its

commercial operation."

Representatives from the Department for environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it would be impractical to exclude the power station.

They also stressed that its inclusion would help prevent any harmful development taking place on the 175-acre site.

Defra witnesses said the department's proposal stemmed partly from the need to look ahead to the day when the power station was decommissioned.