Press release
No embargo
20th July 2022
TASC condemns government’s approval of Sizewell C as illogical, retrograde and deluded
After eighteen months of careful and painstaking preparation of evidence which clearly and overwhelmingly sets out the case against the need for nuclear power in general and Sizewell C in particular, TASC is incredulous at the decision by the Secretary of State to approve the Sizewell C development consent order (DCO). Hundreds of people in the East Suffolk area and wider afield presented document after document detailing how the development would be entirely inappropriate for the proposed site on an eroding coast in a flood zone, lacking in a guaranteed water supply, and taking more than a decade to construct, all to no avail.
TASC Chairman, Pete Wilkinson, said today, ‘The decision has confirmed the suspicion that this was a foregone conclusion, and the outcome was effectively given the green light months or even years ago, making a mockery of the planning process. “How else can the Secretary of State’s decision possibly be seen after approving such an illogical, retrograde and delusional proposal when the Planning Inspectorate were unable to recommend consent after they spent 21 months examining the thousands of documents submitted and listening to hundreds of testimonies? Opponents have shown conclusively that the policy of relying on nuclear power to fight climate change simply will not work, that the costs are exorbitant when compared to renewables and energy efficiency measures, that there is no solution to the nuclear waste issue and that the impact on the AONB, Sizewell Marshes SSSI and RSPB Minsmere will be unacceptable. EDF was required to amend its application on no less than 22 occasions in an attempt to shore up the inadequacies in its original plan which was – and remains – lacking in the sort of detail required to accurately evaluate the application.
‘This is a disaster for East Suffolk, but it is one that we will not sit back and accept. Together with our lawyers, Leigh Day, and with the support of Suffolk Coastal Friends of the Earth, TASC will explore every legal opportunity to challenge this decision and fight to save the unique environment of our Heritage Coast and prevent it being reduced to an urbanised energy coast for no better reason than this government’s fixation with nuclear power and its ridiculous plan to turn the UK into a net exporter of electricity at the expense of the viability of the environment and the lifestyles of people in Suffolk.’
TASC has launched an appeal for funds at https://tasizewellc.org.uk/tasc-launch-crowd-justice-fundraiser-save-suffolks-heritage-coast-wildlife-sites/
For further information:
Chris Wilson – Press Officer, 07976 820524
Pete Wilkinson – Chairperson, 01728 660232/07940 524831
Jenny Kirtley – Deputy Chairperson, 01728 668546/07986 317478
Joan Girling – 01728 830965
