Representation by Richard Atkinson
- 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: Inappropriate Site 1. Site is too small. 2. Site is in an AONB where strict planning laws control inappropriate development to safeguard character. This development, together with all the ancillary infrastructure, will undermine this special status. It will compromise the Minsmere Nature Reserve which is an internationally recognised centre for wildlife, heath and wetland management. 3. Site is on an eroding coastline which the environment agency predicts will render Sizewell an island in a century. The proposed sea defences will have a serious impact on those adjoining 'softer' parts of the coast which will suffer accelerated decay as a result. Consequences for the 'waste fuel' which will be stored on site. Traffic 1. Huge increase in traffic on roads which at peak times already suffer congestion. Not only will this impact local residents but deter visitors from an area which is an established tourist destination. Businesses will fail. 2. Many more lorries, vans and cars will lead to gridlocking creating a big increase in carbon emissions caused by stationary or slow moving traffic. 3. insufficient use of rail and sea transport. Environment 1. Huge quantities of seawater required to cool the reactors will lead to serious loss of marine life in an age when our oceans are in decline. 2. Carbon reduction benefits of Sizewell C are limited despite Edf's claims. It will take at least 6 years before the carbon debt created by the construction of the new plant is offset i.e. not until 2040 if construction is completed by 2034. This is 20 years away when progress in hydrogen technology means that hydrogen powered trains are being trialled on British railways today! This advance in renewables science is but one element of a fast moving sector meaning that in 20 years time the energy produced by Sizewell C will be inefficient. It is already too expensive and potentially lethal (ref. Fukushima). 3. Coronation Wood will be felled. For a country that is seriously 'under wooded' compared with the rest of Europe, the loss of an area of established woodland is inexcusable. To offset by planting elsewhere is not replacing like with like. The environmental benefits of a mature tree compared with one that is newly painted tree are very different. 4. Spoil heaps unmanaged. 5. Fresh water demand for Sizewell C will require 3 million litres a day in an area which is the driest in the country. 6. Light and Noise pollution during the 9 - 12 years of construction will seriously impact wildlife not just its immediate neighbour, Minsmere, but also the rest of the AONB. Migratory birds will be disoriented and be lost.