What does Leiston make of Sizewell C's plan for a college?

Sizewell C nuclear power plant's decision to open a post-16 college in Leiston, Suffolk, has been described as "fantastic" by some residents, but many still fear the impact of the plant.

Sizewell C said on Thursday the college would be opened in September 2027, in partnership with Suffolk New College.

The training on offer would not only serve the future nuclear station's workforce, but the wider energy, infrastructure and engineering sectors, it added.

Frank Newson, who owns a cafe in Leiston, said the plans for both the college and plant would bring people into the area.

"It can only help the younger population and give them a better grade of education," he said.

"Looking ahead they've got something to aim for, give them an objective in life to obtain to.

"I know there's a lot of people against it [the nuclear power plant], more the older generation.

"The younger generation see the positives in it, they've seen it happen elsewhere, and you've got to look on the bright side and say, 'We're going forward, the town is going forward as a whole'."

Francis Newson echoed Mr Newson and said the news of the college was "brilliant".

"Leiston is a lovely town, but it needs more amenities especially for the youngsters because they are our tomorrow," she said.

"A lot of children now won't go to sixth form or college because they have to go out of town and it's too far to travel.

"So if they can get their further education on site, it's amazing."

Reece Stone, 27, from Leiston, believed the college would "level up" the area while the nuclear power plant plan was a "positive".

"It's wonderful because this area has been in need of investment, it's been in need of opportunity," he explained.

"I know a lot of young people who have gone further afield, they've gone to Ipswich, they've gone to London in search of jobs and careers that mean something to them.

"There's not been much for that [in Leiston], so Sizewell is an opportunity for them to do that, having the college here as a place for them to learn and then potentially go on to work there or elsewhere in the area."

Robert Flindall, 70, and his wife Helen Flindall, 64, live in Eastbridge, north of Leiston.

They both have reservations about the college and nuclear power plant.

"Where on Earth would a college be put in a small town like Leiston," Mr Flindall questioned.

"I'm a planner by profession, I know it would be difficult to provide, but if a college provides that service for local people then that'll be wonderful, but not necessarily associated with Sizewell C."

Mr Flindall said he felt Sizewell C would not help solve the climate emergency in time while Mrs Flindall did not believe the nuclear power plant would help younger generations.

"It's the wrong place at the wrong time and there's other things that they could do that'll be faster to generate the electricity that we need," she said.

"We know we need it, we're not being silly about it."

Linda Middleditch, 75, who works in a Leiston shop said the plan for the college was "brilliant".

"You're always going to get people who are going to [be negative about] it, but why?

"The youngsters have got to have a chance to travel and there's nothing here, so they've got to travel and they may not want to travel. It's a good thing."

She added she had no problems with the power plant.

James Felgate, 46, believed the college was a "great opportunity" for young people.

"At the moment they have to travel to Ipswich or Lowestoft or Halesworth so it'll be good for them not to have to travel because of the cost of things, it'll help families out and stops pricing them out from going to colleges," he said.

Mr Felgate's son, Freddie, 15, is doing his GCSEs right now and planned to study landscaping at Suffolk New College's rural campus in Otley.

"If the [Sizewell C] college was already built here and they did the same course, I probably would have gone," he said.

While Freddie said he did not know anyone his age considering a career at Sizewell, he said an apprenticeship there "would be nice".

Jenny Kirtley is the chairperson of Together Against Sizewell C.

While she felt the college was "probably a good idea", she questioned what the courses would involve.

"We are hoping it'll maybe include an environmentalist conservation course because my goodness, this area is going to need it after this [Sizewell C's] build," she said.

"I think local people thought it was going to be just like the Sizewell B build, one road needed for Sizewell A and B."

Ms Kirtley also questioned how many local students would get a space in the college.

The new college is to be an extension of Suffolk New College's coastal campus.

Julia Pyke, Sizewell C joint managing director, said the college would create a "highly skilled, homegrown workforce".

While some work is ongoing to prepare for the Sizewell C nuclear power plant, a final investment decision will be made by the government during the spending review next month.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband previously said he wanted to develop further nuclear sites and the government has insisted that new nuclear plants would be needed for the UK to hit its target to decarbonise power generation.

Nuclear currently produces about 14% of the UK's electricity.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero explained Sizewell C would "play an important role in helping the UK achieve energy security and net zero", while creating thousands of jobs.

"The project is expected to reduce the cost of the electricity system, boost our supply of secure homegrown power and generate major investment nationwide," they added.

Sizewell C is a very expensive project and critics question exactly how it will be funded. There are also concerns about the environmental impact, even if the current technology is out of date.

But despite all that, the mood from the government suggests that it does want to back this project.

It has already given it £6bn and though we are saying Sizewell C will put money into this college, it is probably the taxpayer's money that is partly funding it.

Leiston is a bit off the beaten track, there is limited access to further education and training, so the project would be very big for the town.

Within the energy industry, at the moment, there is a lot of concern about where the sector's workers are going to come from.

This is a particular problem for Suffolk, which is not just expanding in nuclear energy but also offshore wind and solar as well.

A number of colleges in the region have started to increase their training provision and their apprenticeship courses.

Now we have got a new college coming on to the market which intends to do the same.

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