Representation by Mark Smith
- Date submitted
- 17 September 2020
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I am a regular (monthly) long-term visitor to the Suffolk coast and a homeowner in Aldeburgh, where my wife and I intend to retire. My grandparents and my mother are [Redacted], a stones throw from Leiston and the Sizewell nuclear power station. Over the past decade, I have become increasingly concerned by the proposals of EDF regarding the Sizewell C project and more recently by ScottishPower regarding the generator site at Friston. The proposal is to build two nuclear reactors north of the existing Sizewell B over a period of at least 12 years, which will during peak times involve employing almost 8000 workers on site. EDF are planning to build temporary accommodation and other facilities including parking on site for 3000 of these workers, whilst the rest will travel directly or be bussed in from various park and rides up and down the A12 between Ipswich and Southwold. In addition, there will be new railway lines bisecting the countryside and around 1000 truck journeys a day delivering to the site via the A12 and smaller local roads leading directly to the site. It is also intended to bring in significant amounts of freight by sea to a temporary jetty at the construction site. The timescales involved in these concurrent projects (especially Sizewell C) will impact the area for almost a generation and during the construction period this area of Suffolk will largely resemble a giant commercial building site. The A12 Access road from Ipswich will be a nightmare, especially as additional depots are being built near Ipswich for the HGVs and other delivery vehicles. None of this takes into account any further development at Felixstowe docks. Several important large-scale cultural events (e.g. the Snape Prom season, various literary/food festivals and the Latitude music festival) are also likely to be impacted. There will also be social consequences as the project will largely involve shiftwork by mostly male workers who will want to enjoy their recreation time, not all of which will be spent on site. Their numbers are likely to be far greater than any of the local towns or villages, so their presence will be felt and not always in a positive way. Over the past 20 years other forms of energy have become more effective and more affordable and would provide more specifically UK based jobs for UK based companies, which has to be good for the economy. There is also the wider political context. Firstly, there is Brexit and the potential impact on EDF. Secondly, the government’s recent decision to abandon Huawei and reduce our dependency on all things Chinese and CGN is significantly involved in the Sizewell C proposals. In addition, highly credible reports have been produced recently about the potential flood risk to the Sizewell site. The inaccessibility and poor infrastructure along with the underlying natural beauty and tourism ultimately mean that the Sizewell C location is simply no longer appropriate for such large-scale energy production. Please do not let this happen.