EXCLUSIVE: The Classic FM presenter battling cancer is taking on a new fight – against a Sizewell C nuclear plant in local area which he says will devastate wildlife and ruin the countryside

Broadcaster Bill Turnbull is ready to do “whatever it takes” as he turns his attentions from fighting the Big C to a new enemy – Sizewell C.

The former Strictly contestant has become an unlikely eco warrior, warning a proposed new nuclear plant will devastate wildlife and ruin the countryside around his home for years to come.

At its peak, a 14-year building plan would see 1,500 lorries a day thundering down country lanes.

As his own battle with cancer continues, Bill, 64, is chairing local opposition meetings and ­drumming up support to halt the development at Sizewell, Suffolk.

Speaking from his home Bill says: “It would be a complete travesty if the new plant is built.

“Sizewell C is just too big and destructive for this special environment. It is the wrong project in the wrong place. This is an area of outstanding natural beauty.

“It is very close to a ­beautiful and important nature reserve. That would be destroyed. It just does not make any sense. I won’t back down, there is no backing down.”

EDF Energy – which runs the current plant at Sizewell – is planning two new nuclear reactors in a £14billion project.

The plant would be the size of 300 football pitches and would border RSPB Minsmere nature reserve, home to some of the UK’s rarest wildlife.

The build could start next year – but the plant won’t be able to provide electricity until 2035.

Bill, best known for 15 years on BBC Breakfast alongside the likes of Louise Minchin, moved to the area four years ago.

Over tea and biscuits with his wife Sarah – who he affectionately calls Sesi – Bill says: “People come here for dark skies, tranquillity, beautiful landscapes and an area of outstanding natural beauty.

“If this plant goes ahead, that will be cut in two. People will have roads built across their farms, there will be traffic day and night, an influx of construction workers.

“I worry about RSPB Minsmere. It is a jewel of wildlife, a natural treasure and a very precious nature reserve.

“Birds breed there that they haven’t had for decades.

“The idea you would build two nuclear reactors on its doorstep and have the largest construction site in Europe just a couple of hundred yards away is just bonkers.

“It will be 24/7, there will be light, noise, dust. It’s not just the birds, it’s otters, water voles and other animals. I worry about those populations being decimated, I worry about water contamination from the site. It will have a huge impact.”

Bill turned activist after a chance meeting in his local pub with Alison Downes, who leads local campaign group Stop Sizewell C.

He admits he was reluctant to speak up publicly because he spent his whole career as a journalist, where impartiality is a necessity.

Bill goes on: “I never meant to become an eco warrior, it just sort of happened. It feels a little bit strange, but also feels liberating.

“I think about it daily and feel very passionately about it because it overshadows the way we are going to live.”

And he jokes: “I’ll be throwing myself in front of whatever I can throw myself in front of to prevent the build.”

The energy giant plans to build 2,500 temporary multi-storey homes for construction workers – and he fears the area could be overrun with prostitution and drugs.

He explains: “The stories I hear about the 1980s and 90s, when they built Sizewell B, are not pretty.

“You hear tales of ­prostitution coming to the area and drug abuse, because there are so many workers away from home. It would take a lot of the tourism income out of the area long term and ruin it for future generations.”

The campaign is a huge undertaking for Bill, who was diagnosed with incurable prostate cancer in 2017.

Yet he says lifestyle changes – including cutting out meat and dairy and taking up yoga and meditation – have left him feeling healthier.

He says: “At the moment, we are holding steady. I’m on a treatment called Radium 223.

“It was working very well for five months, now it is working sort of okay.

“I feel very well. I’m pretty much not eating meat or dairy.

“I did a lot of research and it comes up time and time again that a wholefood, plant-based diet is good for you. It gets overwhelming, but it is great to be part of that cancer family. You get a lot of support from other people.”

Bill is also on a hormone treatment, which gives him mood swings.

He says: “Most of the time, I am absolutely fine, I get hot flushes, they pass. But occasionally, I can feel my mood dipping. Now when we go down into a dip and I howl like a baby – well, like a grown man, which is much worse – I understand it is chemically induced and it will pass the next day. And it always does.”

Bill, who was on Strictly in 2005, currently presents a weekend show on Classic FM.

He recently stepped in for Piers Morgan alongside his old breakfast TV sidekick Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain.

He says: “It was thrilling being back, I think viewers liked the novelty of having me.

“As long as people keep hiring me, I’ll keep working.”

For now, Bill is throwing all energy into halting Sizewell C.

He vows: “We have to keep going, not falter for a second.”

https://www.eadt.co.uk/business/sizewell-c-dco-delay-edf-energy-says-1-6580597

PUBLISHED: 18:14 26 March 2020, by Richard Cornwell

EDF Energy says its planning application for the twin reactor is all ready to be submitted – but it has decided to postpone the submission by a “few weeks” because of the current crisis.

It has assured people that they will still be able to take part in the planning process for Sizewell C and the time for people to register will be extended.

Campaigners would have been furious if the application for a Development Consent Order had gone ahead as planned by the end of March with the current lockdown in place because of the virus and councils and community groups unable to meet due to the restrictions on movement and gatherings.

EDF was due to submit the DCO to the Planning Inspectorate by the end of March.

The company said this would now be put on hold for a few weeks, with more time for people to register as participants for the public examination phase of the DCO process to help to ensure local communities have enough time to review the application and participate.

EDF is liaising with the Planning Inspectorate to discuss how normal arrangements can be flexed so that communities are not disadvantaged by the current difficult circumstances.

Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson, EDF’s managing director of nuclear development, said: ‘‘We are ready to submit the application but we recognise that many people in Suffolk, including the local authorities, are adjusting to new circumstances created by the coronavirus crisis.

“We will defer the submission for a few weeks and once submitted we will extend the period for registration to make it easier for people to participate.

“During more than eight years of consultation we have worked hard to be transparent and to allow everyone who has an interest in the project to have their say. We will continue to do so in these difficult times.”

EDF says Sizewell C will help the UK stay in control of its energy transition by producing low-carbon, always-on electricity made in Britain. Replicating the Hinkley Point C design will allow for lower construction costs.

The company says the project will bring huge investment and job opportunities across Britain and especially to the Suffolk area.

It said: “It is important that the planning process moves forward so that if Sizewell C is approved it can play its part in helping the UK to recover once the coronavirus crisis is over.”

Campaigners though have a range of concerns, including the siting of a campus for workers and the routes and proposals – the latest suggestions including a potentially temporary link road from the A12 to the coast – to bring materials to the construction site.

There are also huge worries over the impact on tourism and wildlife for more than a decade while the enormous plant is built.

In a joint statement, leader of Suffolk County Council, Matthew Hicks and leader of East Suffolk Council, Steve Gallant said: “Both Suffolk County Council and East Suffolk Council absolutely agree that this is the right decision for EDF Energy to take at this moment in time. We believe there is no other choice for them to take during such a difficult time for us all as we focus on fighting the effect of Covid-19 across Suffolk.

“Given the critical need for our communities to have the ability to fully engage with the consultation and decision making process that forms a valuable part of the Government’s formal Development Consent Order, we are relieved to hear EDF Energy has given due consideration to the timescales for making their submission and will delay for a number of weeks.

“We are now keen to understand what this means as we all currently expect to be living with the effects and restrictions surrounding Covid-19 for some time to come and we would not be happy to see anything done that restricts the community in taking an active part in the decision making process.

“We are keen to keep talking to EDF Energy about when it will be appropriate for all parties to see EDF Energy make their submission.”

A spokeswoman for Stop Sizewell C said: “We welcome EDF’s decision to defer submission of its application for a Development Consent Order for Sizewell C at this difficult time, but given the seriousness of this medical crisis and the significant national and local impacts of Sizewell C it would be unacceptable if there was only a short delay. We urge EDF to pause until such time as the Planning Inspectorate, Government’s Statutory Advisers, local authorities, parish and town councils, groups and concerned individuals are fully resourced and fully able to engage in what will be a mammoth process to assess what we consider to be the wrong project in the wrong place.”

Since 2012, more than 10,000 local residents and organisations have taken part in four stages of public consultation.

Nuclear industry appeals for new funding model to support Sizewell C

PUBLISHED: 08:00 08 March 2020 | UPDATED: 14:35 08 March 2020

Andrew Hirst

Sizewell C would be built near to the existing Sizewell B Picture: GETTY IMAGES

The Theberton and Eastbridge Action Group on Sizewell C (TEAGS) said a letter from the nuclear industry urging government to support a new financing model for electricity infrastructure exposed the vulnerability of new projects.

TEAGS’ Alison Downes said the Nuclear Industry Association submissions to the Chancellor highlighted growing worries the Treasury may ditch plans for a new funding model, on which EDF Energy’s business case for Sizewell C depends.

The NIA’s letter warns it will be impossible to replace the nation’s ageing nuclear power stations and achieve carbon net zero targets without the right investment policy.

It says there is an “urgent need” for a new financing mechanism to ensure “investor confidence, reduce the cost of capital and provide very significant value to the consumer.”

The proposals have been met with significant opposition Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN

The letter goes onto say timing is “critical” – as the business case for Sizewell C depends on the timely transfer of operations from Hinkley Point C; EDF’s sister project in Somerset.

It calls on government to respond to consultation on the ‘Regulated Asset Base’ model of funding, which was opened last year.

RAB grants companies rights to charge a fixed price to consumers in exchange for providing the infrastructure.

EDF said RAB could lead to lower financing costs and “significant savings” for consumers.

However, opponents say RAB would expose bill-payers to huge costs.

Paul Dorfman, founder of the Nuclear Consulting Group, said new nuclear projects had experienced “vast cost and time over-runs”.

“Under RAB, the plan is for the burden of risk to pass to hard-press UK consumers and taxpayers,” he added.

The RAB model, which has also been termed a “Sizewell surcharge”, sparked major opposition when consultation launched last year. More than 46,000 people have signed a petition opposing the plans.

Chris Wilson of Together Against Sizewell C said at the time of the petition that without massive subsidies, nuclear projects will “crash and burn”.

Mrs Downes said the industry was right to worry that the Treasury may ditch RAB.

“Based on its other projects, it will be impossible for EDF to accurately predict how much Sizewell C will cost and how long it will take to build,” she added.

“EDF has made it clear that RAB is essential for Sizewell C to proceed, but it will be too expensive, slow to deliver and is not the answer to our climate emergency.

“Any funds spent building Sizewell C would suck vital resources away from cheaper, faster green energy, energy efficiency measures and innovation in new technologies.”