Back to list The Sizewell C Project

Representation by Kate Viscardi

Date submitted
30 September 2020
Submitted by
Members of the public/businesses
  • I live in Dennington on the A1120. This is a "tourist route" between the A14 and A12 but already heavy lorries use it; a foretaste of what would come and there would also be many more cars as workers commute. - As a retired lecturer in Electrical Engineering I am aware the skills needed for the engineering and construction of Sizewell C would not come mainly from within the local economy but would be "imported" from Hinckley C. There will also be competition for skills with the renewable energy industry, which has great potential on the East Coast. - The Energy costs of the Sizewell site are front-loaded and their payback won't cut in until climate change will almost certainly have already tipped into runaway change, whereas the energy cost payback for real renewables is under a year. - The East Coast is an attractive holiday destination but surveys have shown tourists would be less willing to visit, or would visit less often, if Sizewell C is constructed. People do not want to holiday near a vast construction site. This would have an impact on local businesses and employment; businesses such as B&Bs and hotels are not mobile and their closure would cost local jobs, mainly in occupations where people are less able to be mobile. - As a member of the RSPB and the Suffolk Wildlife Trust I am deeply concerned about the impact on the wildlife environment offered by Minsmere. The noise and pollution from construction is likely to disrupt migrating birds and affect breeding, as well as putting at risk the habitat for otters, natterjack toads and many rare species. - Climate change is already leading to stronger storms and extreme weather events and sea level rise is likely as the icecaps melt further. The Sizewell site is on a coastline that is vulnerable to sea level changes and extreme weather events and hard defences could cause unpredictable changes to the coastline of East Anglia. We have recently seen Walcott almost submerged in sand which was placed on the beach as a sea defence but the wind picked it up and dropped it on the village. That's one example of the fact we simply do not know enough to be confident every risk can be mitigated.