Back to list The Sizewell C Project

Representation by Richard Gray

Date submitted
28 September 2020
Submitted by
Members of the public/businesses
  1. Site selection a. The site on the East Anglian coast is at severe risk from flooding due to climate change, sea level rising and more extreme weather events. b. There are 8 other energy projects in the area, often linked to renewable developments that should take priority and are enough that the area can absorb. c. The absence of detailed plans for hard sea defences makes it impossible to assess how safe the new site will be. d. To site this additional nuclear facility in the middle of an AONB in a community so dependent on tourism is economic madness. e. The location of the worker campus remote from Leiston and imposed on the hamlet of Eastbridge is both unfair on the workers and the local community. 2. Environment a. The essential environmental assessment is incomplete and the proposed mitigation plans are ineffective. b. The hydrological assessments are incomplete and the mitigation actions described are incomplete eg impact on Minsmere sluice, water abstraction during building etc. c. The impact on the surrounding SSSI’s and ANOB more widely will be catastrophic – noise, light, dust, traffic d. The impact of the development on the wider coastal environment cannot be assessed because of the lack of detailed hard sea defence plans. 3. Economic and safety a. Most of the jobs created during the build phase will be taken by workers from outside the area, often moving on from Hinkley, with little positive net impact on the community. b. The EDF pressurised water reactors at Flammenville in France and Olkiluoto 3 in Finland, are not yet operational after some 15 years of construction, and are billions of Euros over budget. c. The economic case for the reactors is no longer sustainable given the ever-decreasing cost of renewables and the increasing technological capability for effective power storage. d. The carbon footprint of the build will have an adverse impact on carbon targets until 2040 at the earliest. e. There is still no long-term plan for the disposal of nuclear waste from the site. f. The long-term economic success of the community depends not on a few jobs at the new nuclear site but on tourism and this will be devastated by the impact of the 10 year plus build cycle. 4. Transport a. The abandonment of both the sea and rail options will create complete chaos on the A12 for ten years plus. b. The proposed Sizewell Link Rd does not adequately resolve the challenges. 5. Application a. The Sizewell C application and the huge number of interested parties makes this completely impractical to conduct digitally. It must be postponed until normal processes can apply. b. No application should be considered further until three fresh and satisfactory documents are provided: i. Detailed hard coastal defence plans ii. Detailed hydrological impact assessment and detailed mitigation plans iii. Full and comprehensive environmental assessment and fully detailed mitigation plans I wish to endorse the Relevant Representations submitted by Stop Sizewell C, RSPB, SWT.