Wildlife ‘catastrophe’
fears over reactor plan
September 1 • 2019 The Mail on Sunday^43
IT Is a wetland nature reserve of
such beauty and importance that
it became home to the BBC’s
popular springwatch series for
three years.
But campaigners fear that Mins-
mere, a 2,500-acre Royal society
for the Protection of Birds site
on the suffolk coast, faces catas-
trophe under plans put forward
by French energy firm EDF to
build a new nuclear power station.
The site, which attracts numer-
ous species of rare birds including
marsh harriers, lies close to an
existing nuclear power station,
sizewell B – but EDF now wants
to build sizewell C, which com-
prises two more giant reactors.
Locals say years of discussions
between the firm, environmen-
talists and local residents had
been positive until EDF this year
scrapped its plan to build a special
half-mile-long jetty so most of the
millions of tons of materials needed
to build the power plants could be
delivered by sea. Instead, the firm
is now suggesting three alterna-
tive ways to bring in materials by
road and rail.
Campaigners say each would
involve a huge increase in traffic
and could involve up to 1,150 38-ton
lorry movements in and out of
the sizewell site every day, which
would disturb the delicate ecosys-
tem that allows wildlife to thrive.
The disruption would last for at
least a decade and require new
village bypasses. Even under the
energy firm’s ‘rail-led’ option, 700
truck movements would be neededdaily, and it would require exten-
sive upgrades to the eight-mile
rail track between sizewell and
the main line.
Other aspects of the scheme may
also be damaging to wildlife, say
opponents of the plans, such as
the digging of three 120ft-deep
‘borrow pits’ for spoil, covering
about 50 acres each, on what is
now idyllic countryside. Opposi-
tion, led by naturalist and spring-
watch presenter Chris Packham,
is growing with more than 20,000
RsPB supporters sending emails
to EDF urging it to think again. Ina video for the RsPB’s Love Mins-
mere campaign, Mr Packham
describes the site as ‘one of the
UK’s leading wildlife hotspots’.
RsPB expert Adam Bailey said
Minsmere, which depends on a
delicate balance of drainage and
water supply, had helped bring
the avocet, the bird featured on the
RsPB’s logo, back to UK shores.
‘There was no confirmed avocet
sighting for 100 years until they
returned to Minsmere in 1947.
Now, we have about 90 breeding
pairs,’ he said.
A seven-year consultation willend later this month before the
Planning Inspectorate holds public
hearings and submits a report.
Under the streamlined national
infrastructure planning process,
a final decision will be made by
Andrea Leadsom, the Business and
Energy secretary.
An EDF spokeswoman said ‘envir-
onmental sensitivities’ were a ‘key
consideration’ of the £20 billion
scheme and that it was holding
‘regular workshops’ with local and
national bodies to ‘look closely at
how to minimise the impact of
building sizewell C’.
she added: ‘sizewell’s C’s reliable,
low-carbon electricity is needed to
help the UK tackle climate change
and cut its dependency on polluting
fossil fuels. The project is working
with the local community to miti-
gate the impact of construction
and maximise the benefits.’Packham in
fight to save
Springwatch
wetland site
By David Rose
ALARM: Chris
Packham, above,
believes building a
reactor at the site,
left, could drive away
species such as
IAN McILGORM / ALAMY / RSPB marsh harriers, inset