16 September 2016 by Richard Cornwell

Read online – http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/communities_on_alert_for_start_of_sizewell_consultation_1_4698782. This article also appeared in the Ipswich Star.

Communities across east Suffolk are today waiting eagerly and anxiously to find out more details about Sizewell C.

EDF Energy officials in Suffolk said the HPC decision was “good news for Sizewell C”, but could not yet give a date when the next consultation will start.

It is understood officials from the company are talking with Suffolk Coastal District Council and Suffolk County Council over the format of the consultation, length and start date.

A spokeswoman said: “As we have said previously EDF will continue to be the lead partner in the Sizewell C Project. We look forward to consulting stakeholders and local communities in Suffolk on our developing proposals for Sizewell C.”

Chinese company CGN has agreed to fund 20% of the development costs of Sizewell C, but its further involvement in the project has not yet been made public.

CGN is due to take a 66.5% share of the new power station at Bradwell, due to be the flagship for Chinese investment, design and technology. It is not yet known how the Government’s new financial and ownership controls could affect the project.

Theberton and Eastbridge Action Group on Sizewell (TEAGS) is hoping there will be as long as possible to consider the proposals for Sizewell C.

Alison Downes of TEAGS said: “Nearly four years after the first consultation stage here in Suffolk on Sizewell C, all evidence suggests that EDF is doggedly sticking to unacceptable plans that will have a devastating impact on our tiny parish – including a multi-storey campus for 3,000 construction workers beside a hamlet of 100 people, along one of the main routes into RSPB Minsmere, and a wildly unrealistic expectation that the B1122, a country road through Theberton, can cope with all construction and emergency traffic.”

TEAGS has expressed support for local Somerset residents.

“We can imagine how residents next to Hinkley C must be feeling, where local campaigners fought valiantly to change aspects of EDF’s construction proposals but to little avail,” said Su Swallow of TEAGS.

“Having visited Hinkley, we know that their experience of negotiating with EDF matches our own thus far in seeking to persuade EDF to amend it proposals – the company appears deaf to what we have to say. The only straw of comfort is the Government’s intention to take a ‘special share’ in future reactors, and we will do all in our power to engage the Government in our battle to stop EDF trampling our communities in east Suffolk.”

Sizewell C is expected to bring a £100m a year boost to the Suffolk economy and the HPC decision was welcomed in the county.

Graham Kill, chairman of the Institute of Directors Suffolk branch, said: “Whilst it has been a more difficult journey than hoped to get Hinkley Point approved, we hope that this is a positive step in the right direction for Sizewell C.

“Further developments at Sizewell will increase the opportunity for jobs in the area and therefore help local businesses. Hopefully the issues with Hinkley Point are behind us and progress on Sizewell C can be made without similar stumbling blocks.”

The new legal framework for future foreign investment in Britain’s critical infrastructure will mean the Government will be able to prevent the sale of EDF’s controlling stake prior to the completion of construction, without the prior notification and agreement of ministers.

This agreement will be confirmed in an exchange of letters between the Government and EDF.

Existing legal powers, and the new legal framework, will mean that the Government is able to intervene in the sale of EDF’s stake once Hinkley is operational.

After Hinkley, the British Government will take a “special share” in all future nuclear new build projects – including both Sizewell C and Bradwell. This will ensure that significant stakes cannot be sold without the Government’s knowledge or consent.

Theberton and Eastbridge Action Group on Sizewell (TEAGS) expresses support for communities adjacent to Hinkley Point C as UK Government gives the project the green light.

TEAGS fears that EDF’s failure to adequately address local concerns at Hinkley will be replicated in east Suffolk, with even greater hardship for residents here.

[SUFFOLK] Theberton and Eastbridge Action Group on Sizewell (TEAGS) today expressed support for local Somerset residents, as the UK Government gave permission for Hinkley Point C nuclear new build to proceed provided new conditions are met. [1] EDF, which had made its final investment decision on 28 July, and its Chinese partner China General Nuclear Power Corp, have both agreed.

“We can imagine how residents next to Hinkley C must be feeling, where local campaigners fought valiantly to change aspects of EDF’s construction proposals but to little avail,” said Su Swallow of TEAGS. “Having visited Hinkley, we know that their experience of negotiating with EDF matches our own thus far in seeking to persuade EDF to amend it proposals – the company appears deaf to what we have to say. The only straw of comfort is the Government’s intention to take a ‘special share’ in future reactors, and we will do all in our power to engage the Government in our battle to stop EDF trampling our communities in east Suffolk.”

EDF staff told Theberton and Eastbridge Parish Council on 14 September that the company hoped to press ahead swiftly with a second stage of consultations in Suffolk on its proposals for Sizewell C.

Alison Downes of TEAGS said, “Nearly four years after the first consultation stage here in Suffolk on Sizewell C, all evidence suggests that EDF is doggedly sticking to unacceptable plans that will have a devastating impact on our tiny parish – including a multi-storey campus for 3,000 construction workers beside a hamlet of 100 people, along one of the main routes into RSPB Minsmere. and a wildly unrealistic expectation that the B1122, a country road through Theberton, can cope with all construction and emergency traffic.”

In July the results of a Suffolk County Council survey revealed that traffic on the B1122 was “the number one” concern for the community, with residents feeling that EDF had not yet provided any satisfactory mitigation proposals to counter the problems. Local media quoted County Councillor Guy McGregor as saying: “We needed to hear what concerns local people have about the development. This report has given voice to such concerns and EDF need to listen and act upon this…We will use this information to ask EDF Energy to take direct measures to address the widespread worries of the local community.”  [2]

The communities around Sizewell are increasingly aware that EDF has so far failed to adequately address local concerns about:

•   transport, with up to 600 lorries a day expected to use the B1122 to bring loads to Sizewell.
•   emergency access, given the very limited road infrastructure in the area.
•   opposition to a campus for 3,000 construction workers adjacent to a tiny hamlet. In Hinkley, 500 workers will live on the site, the remaining 1,000 on brownfield sites in Bridgwater, (population 41,000).
•  Noise, light and air pollution
•  Impact on sensitive wildlife and habitats as well as the wider Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

“Whilst EDF is using the same language in Suffolk as in Somerset – a desire to ‘be a good neighbour’ – there is no sign so far that we will be able to achieve any shift in EDF’s plans for Sizewell,” said Jon Swallow of TEAGS. “Our small rural communities will bear the brunt of the construction phase but trampling our villages is clearly seen as the easiest option, with little hope of meaningful mitigation.”

EDF will not say whether its plans have changed since Stage 1 consultations, but there is no indication that they have done so and residents have been told they must wait for Stage 2 documents for more information. Meanwhile TEAGS representatives have met Ministers in both the then Department of Energy and Climate Change and Department of Transport, and County and District Councillors. It has carried out extensive mapping of the number households that would be affected by EDF’s use of the B1122 for construction and emergency traffic [3] and made a strong case for an alternative Sizewell relief road from the A12 to the Sizewell C site. TEAGS will be increasing pressure on the county and district councils to ensure that the group’s concerns about the decade-long construction phase have been loudly and formally registered.

Notes:

1. The UK Government’s conditions, as described by the BBC are:

– After Hinkley, the government will take a special share in all new nuclear plants.

– Full implications of foreign ownership of power stations will be scrutinised for the purposes of national security.

– The government will ensure foreign direct investment works in the country’s best interests.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/business-37320034

2. http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/traffic_analysis_raises_serious_concerns_over_sizewell_c_1_4618024
3. www.stopsizewellc.org

Traffic analysis raises ‘serious concerns’ over Sizewell C

17 July 2016, by Richard Cornwell

Read online at http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/traffic_analysis_raises_serious_concerns_over_sizewell_c_1_4618024

The report, commissioned by Suffolk County Council and produced by research agency Accent, shows traffic is the number one concern for the community, with residents requesting EDF Energy find a way of delivering its materials to the site in a way that minimises the amount of vehicles on the surrounding road network, in particular the B1122.

Both the county council and Suffolk Coastal District Council support the Sizewell C development in principle, but say to make it a success it is essential the impacts are mitigated.

The report, which investigated the extent, scale and type of traffic concerns residents have about current proposals for Sizewell C, was presented to the community at a meeting in Theberton..

County councillor with special responsibility for working with outside bodies, Guy McGregor, said: “I do continue to support the Sizewell C proposal on the basis that this is a much needed facility for the UK as a whole and that EDF Energy can provide a lasting legacy for the economy and the local communities.

“There are, however, significant obstacles that need to be overcome, none more challenging than the management of traffic.

“We needed to hear what concerns local people have about the development. This report has given voice to such concerns and EDF need to listen and act upon this.

“We will use this information to ask EDF Energy to take direct measures to address the widespread worries of the local community.”

The report said residents, who were interviewed during its preparation to gain a full and clear picture of the perceived traffic issues surrounding the construction, felt EDF had not yet provided any satisfactory mitigation proposals to counter the traffic problem.

Additional concerns raised included the belief that volumes of traffic associated with the construction of Sizewell B were significantly underestimated by EDF – and transport projections for Sizewell C must be more realistic and the effects of such increases properly assessed.

EDF Energy has been carrying out extensive traffic survey work in preparation for releasing more details of its mitigation plans at the stage two consultation expected later this year.