Representation by Mary Anne Woolf
- Date submitted
- 25 September 2020
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I wish to register as an interested party as a resident of Leiston. Apart from a few years living in Ipswich, I have lived in Leiston for forty years and here in Westward Ho for longer than anywhere else in my life. Leiston is my home and East Suffolk a place I have come to love. The main concerns about Sizewell C that I wish to address here are on two levels. Firstly, the long-term issues which will affect future generations to whom we have a responsibility. Spent fuel (3800 tonnes of uranium in the spent fuel packages -EDF’s estimate) and other high level radioactive waste would be stored on this fragile coast for at least a hundred years. There has been little consultation locally about whether we want to live near a nuclear waste store. Would such a store be safe from known and unknown threats – flooding, erosion, stability or casings, terrorist attack, loss of records of what is there and how it is managed? The adverse impact on the environment and the irreversible change in the nature and character of this beautiful area is a further long-term concern. Whilst EDF’s assessment that the actual site is safe from flooding for the duration of operation may be correct, what effect would SZC defences have on flooding and coastal processes north and south of the site? EDF identify adverse impacts of the project on many environmental issues from visual impacts to effects on rare flora and fauna. Most they claim are insignificant, temporary or mitigated by creation of new habitats. The cumulative effect of apparently minor concerns may make irreversible changes to the environment and to the character of the area. The second level of concern is personal. I live here because I enjoy the proximity to the countryside. I like to walk, to observe wild flowers this year I have counted more than 160 different plants in flower on my walks in the local area. This development would spoil or block many of these walks - up the lane from my house, across the fields on footpaths, along the beach at Sizewell, through Kenton Hills and Goose Hill to the sea .. Further afield it would spoil walks from Eastbridge to the Sluice or to Dunwich Heath and increased traffic the traffic would make driving to quieter places more difficult and less pleasant. Sizewell beach has finally recovered from the building of Sizewell B; it has looked very beautiful this year. At night I hear the owls from my bedroom. At dusk I can walk up the lane and see bats flying. By the time the construction is over and the “temporary” parts of the project restored, I will be over 80 and may no longer be able to enjoy my current pursuits. I would be very sad to move away but not as sad as if I were to stay and experience the destruction of all I love day after day in the noise and dust.