Today, Thursday 17th November, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that a new twin-reactor nuclear power station, Sizewell C, will be built on the Suffolk coast on a new site situated next to Sizewell A and B.
Throughout the planning phase, we worked hard with colleagues at RSPB and Friends of the Earth bringing together evidence and pushing hard for suitable mitigation and compensation. Whilst we still believe the location is unsuitable and the risk remains high, we did make considerable progress in influencing and improving the plans developed by EDF to lessen the impact and risk on wildlife.
This is a special place for wildlife, being a diverse mix of habitats including sand dunes, wetlands, wet woodland and heathland. Wonderful wetland habitats home to otters, kingfishers and water voles lie in the valleys between ridges of light, sandy heath. Sizewell Estate sits right next to the RSPB’s internationally important reserve, Minsmere.
Suffolk Wildlife Trust will continue to work with partners and closely with EDF to ensure the agreed mitigation, compensation and monitoring is carried out effectively and limit the impact to the wetland habitats and ensure rare species, such as natterjack toad and barbastelle bat, can survive beyond the development.