Representation by Mr Andrew Checkley
- Date submitted
- 30 September 2020
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I live in South Africa but have spent most of my life in England. I have visited Minsmere regularly all my life, and latterly with my wife and our daughter. Minsmere is as wonderful as some of the best reserves in Africa. It is a haven for Londoners and those from the Midlands and it is a model to the world both in conservation and in providing children with hands on experience of engaging with nature (bird ringing, owl pellet dissection, pond dipping and for older children the experience of helping with conservation projects). I have seen nothing like that in Africa. The threats that Minsmere faces from the proposal to build Sizewell C are enormous. The RSPB speaks with a measured voice, but if they say that the construction of Sizewell C “could be catastrophic” for the wildlife at Minsmere then I urge you to listen to that voice. I find it quite shocking the EDF has not done so. If you look at the successive submissions form RSPB to EDF you will see that in each submission there is a statement that the concerns raised in previous submissions have not been addressed. The success of Minsmere depends on the water levels and the quality of water in the Minsmere and Sizewell Marshes. Migrant birds depend on the mud flats, rare plants, birds and dragonflies thrive in the marshes while the Minsmere River itself is fished by Otters. EDF will extract vast quantities of water from these marshes and the sluice that drain them, in order to make concrete for one of the largest building projects in the country. More water must be pumped out to keep dry a trench that will be 30 metres deep, and will surround an area the size of a football pitch, in order to provide foundations for the reactors. The construction of a causeway between the Sizewell and Minsmere Marshes is likely to raise water levels in the former and lower it in the latter. EDF has given no information on the dimensions of the sea defences. There are some sketches of provisional plans but no engineering drawings of what they plan to do. And as sea levels rise the Sizewell site is likely to become an island at some point in the next 140 years, during which time radioactive waste from the reactors will be stored on the site. Shockingly, there is no plan for the long term safety of the site. EDF has predicted that 750 HGVs ,10,000 cars, 700 vans and 700 buses will drive down the A12 each day and that two thirds of these will cross the Orwell Bridge. This means that traffic congestion will block access to the many nature reserves from Ipswich to Lowestoft. Minsmere will be the most affected, because the traffic will be going to and from Sizewell. Has there been an independent assessment of the costs to tourism of the proposed construction of Sizewell C? I support Stop Sizewell C’s statement. I also believe this enquiry process is too complex to be dealt with digitally.