Welcome to our April update providing the latest news on the Sizewell C project.
Surveys
We’re delighted to have launched our new onlineSizewell C Works Tracker, which allows you to see daily updates on the surveys and other key activities that we are undertaking in East Suffolk to prepare for the project should it be granted a Development Consent Order (DCO).
The tracker allows you to search for works happening in your parish or to find out about surveys related to a particular scheme, such as the proposed Park and Ride sites or the Two Village Bypass. Currently you can find information there about topographical surveys taking place this week on the B1122, and an archaeological survey near the site of the Sizewell Link Road. We will of course continue to notify directly parish councils and others about important surveys taking place locally, but the tracker offers an easy-to-use way of seeing the latest information on local activities at a time of your choosing.
We are also continuing our work this month to understand more about the recreational use of various public rights of way in East Suffolk. This will put us in a position to understand how this usage changes if and when Sizewell C progresses into its construction phase, and therefore whether – in addition to those already set out in our planning application – further measures will be necessary to protect habitats and species at these sites.
Local events
We are continuing a busy programme of engagement with local parish councils and other community organisations. At these meetings we are proving an update on the project and a refresher on the proposals submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. We are also presenting Sizewell C’s Deed of Obligation, a set of legally-binding commitments to how we would seek to limit the impacts of construction on local communities and maximise the opportunities. These meetings are providing a good opportunity to continue to listen to community representatives and to answer questions and clarify details on the proposals.
Later in the year, and subject to the project receiving its planning consent, we will be eager to meet again to discuss in more detail the emerging plan for construction and how this will be experienced in different local communities.
Last week we hosted a networking breakfast at Suffolk New College in Ipswich, which explored the opportunities for the town in the event that Sizewell C is given the go-ahead. Attendees heard from the college’s Principal, Viv Gillespie, on some of the local skills challenges that Sizewell C could help to address, from Tom Hunt MP on the Government’s commitment to nuclear power, and from Sizewell C Head of Regional External Affairs Tom McGarry on how the Project is progressing. Sizewell C’s Supply Chain Lead Steve Carroll spoke alongside Ashley Shorey-Mills, Head of Sizewell C Supply Chain Engagement at the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, on the opportunities for local businesses and the project’s commitment to driving investment in the region. You can read more about it here:https://www.edfenergy.com/energy/nuclear-new-build-projects/sizewell-c/news-views/sizewell-c-puts-ipswich-centre-its-plans.
Legislation and planning
The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is still expected to announce a decision on whether to grant a DCO for Sizewell C on 25 May. Since receiving in February the report and recommendation prepared by the Planning Inspectorate, the Secretary of State has issued two sets of questions for us and other interested parties on various aspects of our planning application. The first set of responses that we and others provided were published yesterday on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.
The Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill, which will allow the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) funding model to be applied to large-scale nuclear power projects, has now received Royal Assent and is therefore in law. The RAB could be applied to Sizewell C, if the project reaches a Final Investment Decision. This milestone came a few days before the government published its Energy Security Strategy, which set out an ambition for a new fleet of nuclear power projects to support the net zero transition.
As ever, if you have any questions or issues you’d like to raise or would like to have a meeting or presentation, feel free to contact the Project Team in Leiston, by email (info@sizewellc.co.uk) or freephone (0800 197 6102).
We wish you all a happy Easter and look forward to seeing you soon.
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