Harry Potter fans actually helped move a £430 million power cable… because of Dobby

[Dumbledore]

Okay, this might be one of the strangest Harry Potter stories I've seen in a while. Apparently, a major electricity project between the UK and Ireland has changed its route partly because people were worried about disturbing the area around Dobby's memorial in Wales.

Yes… Dobby. The house elf.

The proposed Greenlink Interconnector is a huge undersea power cable linking the electricity networks of Ireland and Great Britain. The project is worth around £430 million, so we're not exactly talking about someone putting up a garden fence here.

Part of the route runs near Freshwater West beach in Pembrokeshire, which Harry Potter fans will recognise as the location used for Shell Cottage in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

It's also where fans created a memorial for Dobby after the films were released. And apparently that little piece of Potter history became a rather serious consideration. The cable route has now been altered so that it passes near Bronze Age burial remains instead of going through the area around Dobby's memorial.

Which is one of those sentences I never expected to write.

I mean, imagine being in a planning meeting…

“Okay, we've got a £430 million infrastructure project.”

“Fine.”

“There's also a small memorial to a fictional house elf nearby.”

“Right… move the cable.”

Well, maybe it wasn't quite that simple.

The project team had been looking at environmental, archaeological and community concerns around the route, and the Dobby memorial became part of the discussion because so many Harry Potter fans visit the site.

And honestly, I think this says something interesting about how much Harry Potter has become part of the real world.

Dobby isn't real.

Hogwarts isn't real.

There wasn't actually a house elf buried at Freshwater West.

But the emotional connection people have with the character is very real, and thousands of fans have visited the location over the years to leave socks, stones and other tributes.

There's even been concern about the environmental impact of all those visitors, because Freshwater West is a protected coastal area.

So now we've got this bizarre situation where a fictional character from a children's book has helped influence the planning of a major piece of British and Irish energy infrastructure.

Honestly… I love it.

Although I suspect Dobby would probably have preferred they spent the money on socks.

What do you think?

Should fictional landmarks and fan created memorials be taken into account when planning major developments, or should real archaeological and environmental concerns always come first?

And let's be honest…

If a developer threatened Hogwarts, we'd all be out there with signs by lunchtime.

[ProfessorMcGonagall]

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Well, you must be a Muggle... And, you've found our magical community!

In that case, I think you should join us.
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[Hana Sakura]

Who is that hiding under the invisibility cloak? Harry... Is that you? No?
Well, you must be a Muggle... And, you've found our magical community!

In that case, I think you should join us.
Enrol | Sign in

Once signed in you’ll be ‘sorted’ into your Hogwarts house; where you can start creating your own personalised ‘topics’ straight away, or you can also join existing conversations with fellow fans by replying to ‘threads’ and discussions that pique your interest.