EDF Executives from the local area and from London met with the Theberton and Eastbridge Actions Group on Sizewell on 15 April 2014.

Before the meeting in Theberton’s Jubilee Hall, TEAGS members took four senior EDF executives on a short a minibus tour of the parish, and along a stretch of the B1122, to highlight some our concerns and to impress on them the extraordinary qualities of this place. They spoke to a few local residents on the way. The weather was perfect.

EDF then gave a project update and feedback on the various consultations so far. TEAGS set out our concerns about the nature of some aspects of the consultations, such as the continued lack of key information, the campus maps that crop out Eastbridge, the limited response time at Stage 1, and so on.

The main focus of this workshop was accommodation, but transport, environment, light and noise pollution, mental health, emergency evacuation, and impact on tourism were also discussed. EDF has agreed we will have further workshop meetings in the autumn to discuss transport and environment in more detail.

EDF strongly defended their campus site choice as the most economical, as an attractive option for contractors, and citing the need to attract ‘high calibre workers’ and to avoid adding to road traffic. Our impression was that it will be an uphill struggle to persuade EDF to seriously consider alternatives, such as dispersed accommodation that could, in due course, become legacy housing.

We will continue our dialogue with the developer on all the concerns of this parish, and of the many visitors who come to share our enjoyment of this magical place.

Minutes of this workshop, agreed with EDF, are now available here