As the Sizewell C Examination draws to a close, Suffolk County Council has set out in its final response.
The council has raised a number of important concerns that it now feels must be taken up directly with the Government’s Secretary of State on behalf of the communities of Suffolk.
Throughout the many rounds of consultation and examination of EDF Energy’s plans and proposals for a new nuclear plant on the Suffolk coast under the name SZC Co, the county council has used every opportunity to promote the community’s response, influencing and moving many aspects of the initial proposal into a much more considered proposition.
The latest proposals include a promise of a great deal of new investment from the energy supplier into local infrastructure, upskilling local people and compensating the local economy and environmental impacts that the project would pose if it went ahead.
In its final response, submitted to the Examining Authority on Tuesday 12 October 2021, Suffolk County Council has made its position clear that while much has been achieved during the last 12 months, the additional pylons around the site continue to pose significant blight to the natural landscape and character of the area. This comes after alternative options were rejected by EDF Energy. There remains concern that EDF Energy’s current surface water drainage strategy is not fit for purpose which is very important given the scale of the development. The county council is therefore saying there is still more work to be done.
The council wants to see the removal of the planned Sizewell Link Road after the power station is built to avoid a lasting impact on the environment.
At present, an auxiliary car park used during station maintenance outages is planned for land which is classed as part of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty at Goose Hill, this would damage natural habitats unnecessarily.
The other area of concern is the design of the planned road crossing through the local Site of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI). Although the design has moved in the right direction through positive stakeholder discussion, it does not represent the desired ‘Three-Span’ Bridge which the council has pushed for to provide greater protection to local wildlife and natural habitat.
Suffolk County Council’s Deputy Leader, Councillor Richard Rout said:
“As the examination into the proposed Sizewell C development closes, the County Council still has a number of concerns that we feel we must raise at the highest level with the Secretary of State on behalf of the communities we represent. We need to ensure that the mitigation put in place for such a huge development offers the maximum protection of Suffolk’s unique natural environment and our communities. We will continue to put forward a voice for Suffolk.
“Over the last 12 months we have made great progress seeking maximum value for Suffolk. We have secured pledges for investment in the region of £175m, covering environmental protection, highways development, and increasingly delivery in local housing, skills and tourism. We have also secured concessions which would ensure far more of the construction materials required for the development will be delivered by rail and sea, reducing the number of lorries on our rural county’s roads.
“However, there remain a number of issues outstanding that we want to see addressed, most notably the blight of the additional pylons at the main site, the unnecessary and damaging outage car park at Goose Hill, and our firm view that the Sizewell Link Road should be removed after construction to prevent lasting damage to the environment. These issues are of such importance to us and to Suffolk that we feel the Secretary of State should consider them when reaching a final decision.
“The County Council and the Suffolk community, in giving such effective evidence as part of the examination, has significantly improved EDF Energy’s proposals but we still believe there are areas that should be improved further to make the project the very best it can be, should the Secretary of State approve it.”
Read the county council's response in full on the Sizewell C nuclear power plant page.
