Members of Suffolk Coastal Friends of the Earth have been deeply saddened to learn that the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has decided to grant the Development Consent Order for Sizewell C nuclear power station, despite the fact that the Examining Authority could not themselves endorse it:
The Examining Authority recommends that unless the outstanding water supply strategy can be resolved and sufficient information provided to enable the Secretary of State to carry out his obligations under the Habitats Regulations, the case for an Order granting development consent… is not made out.
The EADT has often carried both news items and features concerning the lack of water in this very dry region and the problems posed to farmers, visitors and residents alike. Rachel Fulcher, Coordinator of the group says:
‘Sizewell C would require millions of gallons of potable water every day, yet, apart from proposals for a temporary desalination plant during construction, we have no idea what happens after that. We fear for both local farmers and our tourist industry as they compete with this vast building complex for the limited available supplies.’
We also have profound concern for the fate of our beautiful wildlife sites as they start to go under concrete or are otherwise damaged, and the many rare and protected species that inhabit them. As active participants in the project Examination, speaking at hearings and putting in no less than 42 carefully researched reports, we did everything we could to save our precious Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty from devastation and the protected sites and species within it. We put pressure on the Applicant to ensure that monitoring and mitigation proposals were improved.
The fact is, however, a site such as Sizewell Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest has taken thousands of years to evolve and can never be replicated.
We will continue to fight this destructive development and are supporting TASC (Together Against Sizewell C) in applying for Judicial Review.
