Representation by Feadora Morris
- Date submitted
- 30 September 2020
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I would like to state my opposition to the proposed development for the following reasons: The area is surrounded by designated sites of international and national ecological importance and sites of landscape, cultural heritage and amenity value which will all be adversely and irrevocably impacted. These designated sites are protected by a range of national and international nature conservation designations including SSSI (a type of protected area with special or exceptional wildlife features), SPA (which recognises an areas importance for rare and vulnerable birds) and SAC (designed to protect habitats and wildlife species of European significance). and Ramsar (wetlands of international importance). • The Minsmere-Walberswick Heaths and Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) contains a complex of habitats, notably mudflats, shingle beach, reedbeds, heathland and grazing marsh and supports populations of important birds, including bearded tit, Cetti's warbler and shoveler, scarce plants such as whorled water milfoil and a number of rare wetland moths. • The Minsmere to Walberswick Special Protection Area (SPA), is designated for its breeding bird populations, including bittern, marsh harrier, avocet, little tern, nightjar, woodlark and several wildfowl species. It is also designated for its wintering birds, such as hen harrier and bittern. • The Minsmere/Walberswick Heaths and Marshes Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is designated for its coastal and dry heathland habitats. • The Minsmere/Walberswick Heaths and Marshes Ramsar site is designated for its variety of marine, freshwater, marshland and associated habitats. It also supports a number of rare plants, such as red-tipped cudweed, invertebrates including the narrow-mouthed whorl snail, and important rare breeding birds such as teal and avocet. Sizewell C will require the acquisition and destruction of areas which are inside the area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB). Ineffective and insufficient mitigation measures have been proposed that have been widely dismissed by local ecologists, environmental scientists, conservation groups and nature enthusiasts nationwide. Furthermore, climate change forecasts by the Environment Agency predict that Sizewell will be an island in a century: it will still, by then, be storing lethal spent nuclear fuel as well as operational and decommissioned nuclear reactors. There is also insufficient protection afforded by hard sea defences leading to an elevated risk of flooding. The 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 plant to be off-set, i.e. not until 2040 if the plant is completed by 2034.