Representation by Kelvin Smith
- Date submitted
- 30 September 2020
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I wish to register the following concerns about the proposed Sizewell C development: I am opposed to the proposed development on the following grounds. The Site for the proposed Sizewell C is too small for the size of the development and will likely lead to a wider devastation in the local countryside and designated sites of international and national ecological importance Climate change forecasts by the Environment Agency predict that Sizewell will be an island in a century, making this a very unsuitable site for the storage of lethal spent nuclear fuel and both operational and decommissioned nuclear reactors. There are no plans for sufficient protection afforded by hard sea defences and there is a high risk of flooding. Increased traffic on local and trunk roads will fundamentally change the nature of the local community, creating dangerous traffic conditions and an increase in accidents, injuries and deaths. The vibrant local tourist business will suffer greatly, harming the thriving trade on which the area largely depends. An estimated £40m a year in lost revenues is predicted. Workers on the site will predominantly come from outside the area, bringing many changes not least of which will be a reduction in quality of life, more social unrest and pressure on local services such as the NHS and emergency services. The siting of worker campuses will disturb existing residents and the shifts at Sizewell will mean site traffic peaking in the morning and evening. There will be a massive increase in HGV movements, light van deliveries and workers’ car journeys which will change the traffic profile in East Suffolk detrimentally for a decade at least. For more than a decade the construction of Sizewell C will entail an increase, not a reduction, of CO2 emissions. The site will require up to 3 million litres of water during construction and up to 2 million litres during operation, in an area which is the most water-scarce in the country. Water abstraction and drainage may affect groundwater levels and represent a risk to the wider environment. The local landscape will be damaged by enormous spoil heaps, creating dust and potentially toxic run offs. The adjoining internationally important wildlife site, RSPB Minsmere, will be put under intolerable pressure. This prized national asset for birds and wildlife will be compromised. In this coastal location, there is a potentially devastating effect on fish stocks, and the unpredictable coastal erosion may create dangers for both the proposed plant and to the local community.