Harry Potter fans have proven there’s power in numbers, as their collective outrage forced the diversion of a multi-million-pound energy project. Plans for the £430million Greenlink interconnector, intended to carry solar and wind power from the UK to Ireland, sparked fury among devotees of J.K. Rowling’s books and their film adaptations.
The pipeline was originally slated for West Beach in Pembrokeshire, a site that has become a pilgrimage destination for Potter fans because it’s where Dobby, the beloved house elf voiced by Toby Jones in the films, died and was buried. Fans had immortalized the character by leaving painted pebbles and socks at his resting place, a tribute to his final scenes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Fan Outcry Leads to Rerouting
When plans were announced, Potter enthusiasts learned the construction would disrupt the dunes where Harry, played by Daniel Radcliffe, had buried Dobby. The backlash was immediate, resulting in ‘hundreds’ of phone calls to then-project director Simon Ludlam and his team, following Ludlam’s interview on BBC Wales about the development. In that interview, he had revealed that permission had been secured from local authorities and landowners.
Speaking on the Energy Revolution podcast, Ludlam, who led the project from 2017 to 2019 and whose firm Etchea Energy advised, recalled how fans feared the cable would go ‘straight through Dobby’s grave’. The intensity of the backlash led him to reroute the interconnector away from the beach, preserving the grave.
‘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.’
Project Completed with Grave Intact
With the issue resolved, the Greenlink interconnector opened last April. At 190km (118 miles) long, the 500 MW high-voltage direct current cable runs between County Wexford in Ireland and Pembrokeshire in Wales, with the capacity to power 380,000 homes.
This isn’t the first time Dobby’s grave has faced threats. In 2022, National Trust Cymru considered removing it after launching a survey about landscape management. Two questions focused on the memorial, asking whether it should be removed or transferred. Eight months later, it was decided the tribute could stay, but the Trust urged visitors not to leave socks, a reference to how Harry freed Dobby from enslavement in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
‘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 while preserving the environment.
