The construction of a multimillion-dollar electricity connection project between Ireland and the U.K. was slightly diverted after “Harry Potter” fans complained the infrastructure would disturb a memorial for Dobby, the fictional elf in the popular book series.
The CEO of Etchea Energy, Simon Ludlam, told the “Energy Revolution” podcast his company had initially planned to build part of the connection through Freshwater West, a beach on the coast of Wales, and had received permission from the relevant authorities.
Ludlam said that he was unaware of the meaning of the memorial when he gave an interview to BBC Wales and explained that the high-voltage subsea and underground power cable system would make landfall, underground below the beach, through dunes and into the electrical grid.
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After the segment aired on TV, the CEO said the company received “hundreds of calls” from “Harry Potter” fans, prompting his colleagues to urge him to respond to the backlash.
“Apparently we’re going to go straight through Dobby’s grave,” Ludlam recalls being told. “I said, ‘Dobby? Who’s Dobby?'” he told the podcast host.
“I said, ‘He’s a fictitious character in a fictitious book, the whole thing is fictitious, what are you talking about?'”
After being told the complaints were “very, very serious,” Ludlam said the firm went back to the planners and discussed how to divert the cable in order to avoid Dobby’s memorial, and instead ended up going “quite close” to Bronze Age remains.
“We avoided Dobby’s grave; a lot of people were very happy about that, the project’s now going, and Dobby’s happy,” Ludlam remarked.
Discussing the need to be flexible when planning major infrastructure projects, the CEO added that “sometimes, a 10-year-old girl is right.”
In 2022, environmental officials from the National Trust Cymru, the agency which manages the beach, asked fans to stop bringing socks and other items because they said it would be harmful to local wildlife.