Representation by Sea Poppies Furnished Holiday Let (Sea Poppies Furnished Holiday Let)
- Date submitted
- 30 September 2020
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
We own a furnished holiday let business in Thorpeness and oppose the development of Sizewell C for the following reasons: Our visitors come for the tranquillity, easy access (especially from London), fantastic unspoilt coastline and wildlife (Minsmere especially valued), quality local food provision, and special qualities of light and sea air. They say Suffolk is relaxing and restorative, like stepping back in time. We believe SZC will blight this area permanently, especially during construction, making our business unviable. What our visitors value cannot be mitigated for: we are appalled at the wilful destruction of such a tranquil, unique and fragile area. The character of AONB landscape and settlements will be irrevocably transformed by road construction, traffic congestion, loss of coastal access, division of the AONB and destruction of tourism businesses (already under huge pressure due to covid-19). Specific concerns: • Woefully inadequate rural road infrastructure to deal with huge increases in traffic/HGVs. Marine/rail options not fully explored. No legacy value in road improvements. • Traffic congestion making lives miserable for visitors and locals, and inflating costs for businesses. • Delayed access to emergency services and inadequate healthcare capacity. • Heightened pandemic risks (lockdown, infection, overwhelming of local healthcare provision) caused by huge influx of workers, living/working/socialising/travelling in close proximity. Devastating impact on businesses - and elderly local population. • Distortion of the housing sector (low-paid disproportionately affected), due to worker influx. Holiday lets becoming multiple occupancy housing for workers will change the nature of Thorpeness (a laidback family destination) and visitors’ experience. During SZB construction, a seaside holiday house there became a brothel. • Devastation of tourist economy and infrastructure with predicted loss of 29+% visitors. Loss of local food providers and small tourist businesses will adversely impact visitors and locals, stripping the Suffolk coast of its USP. Downward spiral in type of visitors we attract. • Existing businesses risk losing staff to short-term EDF support roles. Local businesses and householders will struggle to find affordable workers/services (cleaners/builders/plumbers/electricians/gardeners etc). • Loss of beach access at Sizewell, important to locals - and visitors, who value the uninterrupted walks north to Minsmere and Dunwich. These will be lost. • Unacceptable noise and light pollution in AONB. • Poor air quality; additionally, existing regional ozone pollution exacerbated. • Disastrous impact on landscape character (SZC’s location, design, scale, pylons); iconic views north from Aldeburgh of Thorpeness and House-in-the-Clouds blighted with soviet-style industrial monstrosities. • Catastrophic destruction of fragile protected habitats: drives local tourism; impossible to mitigate for; intolerable given wider UK biodiversity losses. • Incomplete sea defence designs submitted and under-estimate of the impact of climate change. Very concerning given storage of nuclear waste at Sizewell until 2135: safety for entire region compromised; long-term legacy of unquantifiable costs and safety issues. Thorpeness potentially uninhabitable in the event of an incident/accident. • Impact of SZC construction on erosion north and south of site - especially Minsmere and Thorpeness (already subject to erosion, cliff collapse and beach loss). Medium-term, the village itself may be threatened. We endorse the Relevant Representations submitted by Stop SZC, TASC, RSPB and Suffolk Coastal FOE.