Representation by Cath Norton
- Date submitted
- 25 September 2020
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The Suffolk coast is drastically eroding. Sea levels rising and the site will be flooded by 2100. Extreme annual sea events will happen by 2050. Building on a flood risk site is utter madness. The community if Sizewell and their church are now under the North Sea, as is the town of Dunwich. The power of the North Sea has been ignored. It is dangerous to store radioactive waste on a seawater flooded site. The EPR is unproven technology and is ‘complicated with built-in risks’ (US). Only two reactors exist both in China and only recently generating. Nuclear is 20th century outdated technology. Sizewell C will be a white elephant. Renewables are the future - cheaper to build, operate, decommission, they produce less carbon and pollution, and have a cheaper electrical unit price. EDF have effectively been declared bankrupt by the French and EDF have told our government that they do not have the funds to complete the project. I do not believe that the Chinese should be allowed to invest in nuclear power stations here. The station will have to generate for many years before it is ‘low carbon’ due to its long complicated construction period. EDF are years behind on the two EPRs they are building and well over budget. They have already proved that they cannot deliver to time and cost. Hinkley has escalating costs. The electricity produced will be a high unit price due to a deal made between EDF and the government, twice the price of renewables, putting stress on consumers. If the government introduces RAB every consumer will have to pay for EDFs failings. The station will need millions of litres of fresh water daily in a county with the lowest rainfall in England. The local water company does not have it. If constructed, this would cause water shortages for residents, businesses, farmers and visitors. Jobs for local people during construction will be low, low paid and temporary, and with only 900 jobs when the station is operational. The transport plans are exceptionally bad with a reliance on roads. It is neither practical nor achievable, and sea and rail have been virtually ignored. The new roads, roundabouts, park and ride facilities and boarding campus will destroy acres of precious productive land, habitats and wildlife and will fragment the land. The construction phase creates massive amounts of pollution, including noise and light pollution, in an AONB and beside the RSPB Minsmere reserve. The AONB contains unique and precious landscapes with nationally and internationally protected wildlife. An example is the thriving population of Natterjack toads, one of the UKs rarest animals, which live and breed at the main site. Surveys of wildlife are poor, many are years old and desktop studies, and have inaccuracies, particularly for amphibians. East Suffolk is known for its walking and it is likely footpaths would have to be diverted.