Representation by William Hone
- Date submitted
- 28 September 2020
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The proposed nuclear power station is a frivolous waste of taxpayers' money, and yes. it is us taxpayers who will bear the burden. The coastline is in danger of being engulfed by ocean level rise due to global warming, so putting yet another nuclear plant a la Fukushima on the coastal plain is sheer foolishness. The coast itself is an area of outstanding natural beauty and Minsmere RSPB reserve is internationally renowned. The construction site alone will turn night into day for ten years or more and the mess and destruction can never be mitigated. You cannot simply purchase "new" ancient woodland such as Coronation Wood which will become a car-park under current plans. Truck movements and personnel logistics will create long term havoc that can never be repaired. The largest building site in Europe should not be in our rural county. The promise of local jobs is a fallacy (EDF have already said that they expect to import workers from Hinckley) and the legacy is a time-bomb. Adverts have already appeared for armed security guards to patrol the site. No doubt it will be deemed a terrorist target! The nuclear waste problem has not been solved despite over half a century of nuclear power generation, and commercial companies are retreating fast from this failing industry. Only Chinese and French funding (to be paid back by us) is keeping this project alive. At a strike price that will increase energy costs at a time when alternative renewable energy costs are falling fast. The timescale to build is unrealistic and if Hinckley is the template will be many late years late and millions of pounds over-budget. Certainly, the build time-scale will do nothing to help the environment. The local environmental destruction will be so carbon-intensive that the power station operation will need to offset this before it even attempts to help to reduce it on a global scale. This whole project is a foolhardy idea and should be stopped before it becomes too late