Representation by Henry Franklin
- Date submitted
- 16 September 2020
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I wish to register the following concerns about the proposed Sizewell C development: I am opposed to the proposed development on the following grounds: Access The timing of the EdF public consultations has been unacceptable. The Covid 19 pandemic has disrupted the EdF public consultations as well as the document review period and should not have been allowed to proceed during times of restricted access, meeting and transport. It has also been difficult to access EdF’s documents, which have consistently been of poor quality and difficult to view, with maps too small and with descriptions almost unreadable. The application and examination process is totally unsuitable to being digitally examined. Environment The carbon reduction benefits of Sizewell C are limited, despite EdF’s claims. It will take at least 6 years before the carbon debt created by the construction of the plant to be off-set, i.e. not until 2040 if the plant is completed by 2034. Fresh water demand for Sizewell C will require 3 million litres a day in an area which is the most water-scarce in the countrySpoil heaps, over 30mtr high, will blight the countryside and be difficult to manage from dust and run offs. RSPB Minsmere will be put under intolerable pressure. This prized national asset for birds and wildlife will be compromised.Water abstraction may affect groundwater levels and represent a risk to the wider environment. The Site The proposed site is surrounded by designated sites of international and national ecological importance and sites of landscape, cultural heritage and amenity value which will all be adversely impacted. I live with my family in Suffolk and I am immensely proud of the local area. The proposed site will be ruinous as it will require the acquisition and destruction of areas which are inside the area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB). Amenities Traffic I live in the area and use the A12 daily to get to work and to get children to school, to shop, to go to the doctor, dentist etc. The proposed work will mean increased traffic – up to 1140 HGV’s per day, 700 buses and 10,000 cars/vans per day for the entire construction period of between nine and 12 years – and this will bring misery to thousands of local people. Cars and vans servicing the site will seek out rat runs to avoid traffic gridlock on the A12 - we live on the a112o and I have no doubt that accident rates will increase. There will be unacceptable impacts on local communities – severance, traffic, significant increases in noise, light, air, dust pollution and disruption. The massive increase in HGV movements, light van deliveries and workers’ car journeys will change the traffic profile in East Suffolk detrimentally for a decade at least. It will require five new roundabouts on the A12. Tourism and the local area One third of tourists to the area will decline to visit, severely harming the thriving trade on which the area largely depends. An estimated £40m a year in lost revenues is predicted. The influx of an estimated 6,000 workers will mean a reduction in quality of life, more social unrest and disturbance as well as pressure on local services such as the NHS and emergency services.The siting of worker campuses will disturb existing residents and the shifts at Sizewell will mean site traffic peaking in the morning and evening.Footpaths which are familiar to and well used by local residents will be closed.