SIZEWELL C FINAL CONSULTATION LAUNCHED

EDF ENERGY LAUNCHES THE 3RD AND FINAL STAGE OF ITS PUBLIC CONSULTATION

The third stage public consultation has been launched by EDF Energy. This is the final stage before the application for development is submitted and the proposal is examined by the Inspectorate. It is now six years since the community consultation was launched and construction will take a further 10-12 years after the final decision is taken by the Secretary of State.

Stage 3 reflects the feedback from the previous two stages and lessons already learned from the current Hinkley Point C construction. The deadline for responses to this latest Consultation is 29th March, the day before the Government plans to take us out of the EU and leaves the regulatory safeguard regime EURATOM in favour of its own domestic arrangement.

In 2017 Suffolk Liberal Democrats held their own consultation and submitted a significant response to EDF Energy as part of the Sizewell C Stage 2 Consultation. You can download that response here.

Top local priorities at that time related to the transport and accommodation proposals. The message the Party most wanted to convey was that the Sizewell C development should leave a positive legacy for the communities after the severe disruption of the construction phase. We believe that building a 2,400-person accommodation campus will have a highly detrimental effect on Eastbridge and Leiston and strongly argued for a decentralised accommodation provision that could be adopted by the local community to use as much-needed affordable housing. Little has changed albeit the current proposals reduce the number of campus block stories from five to thee/four.

We also had serious concerns about the effect of Sizewell-related traffic on the A12 and at key junctions, and we considered that the proposal to use the B1122 (pushing up to 900 HGVs per day through Middleton Moor and Theberton) was untenable and argued for the creation of the "D2" relief road for the B1122. We note that the alternative road led strategy does now offer a linkroad from the A12 to the B1122 east of Theberton.

Although not included as Consultation 2 options, we supported a four-village by-pass on the A12 and note that a single carrgeway bypass for two villages; Stratford St Andrew and Farnham is under consideration.

EDF Energy have launched a 14 day series of public exhibitions and Suffolk Liberal Democrats plan to submit a further response to stage 3. We would welcome comments from members and others to the latest proposals

The remaining EDF Energy public exhibitions will be held as follows:

Leiston already held.

Therberton Jubilee Hall - January 7th 11- 5pm

Yoxford Village Hall - January 8th 11- 5pm

Darsham High Lodge - January 9th - 2 - 8pm

Hacheston Village Hall - January 10th - 3 - 8pm

Wickham Market Village Hall January 11th - 2- 8pm

Saxmundham Market Hall January 12th -10- 4pm

Woodbridge Community Hall - January 15th -10- 4pm

Middleton Village Hall - January 16th -11- 5pm

Southwold Methodist Church - January 17th -11- 5pm

Aldeburgh Community Centre - January 18th - 1- 7pm