Sizewell: RSPB Minsmere nature reserve fears 'environmental impact' on wildlife

A nature reserve says it is worried for the future of its wildlife if a new nuclear power station goes ahead.

RSPB Minsmere in Suffolk, which neighbours the proposed Sizewell C plant, said it was concerned EDF energy may not be able to keep environmental promises.

EDF has said it takes environmental responsibility "seriously".

Plans for Sizewell C are due before the government's Planning Inspectorate later this year.

Minsmere reserve provides reedbed, wet grassland and heath habitats for a variety of wildlife including marsh harriers, otters, water voles and bearded tits.

Last year hundreds of people formed the shape of a giant heart to support the reserve and voice concerns at plans for the new nuclear power station.

The RSPB said it was worried the reserve, which has been voted 'site of the year' by Birdwatch Magazine, would not be able to continue conservation at its current level if EDF did not "adequately mitigate" all of the "potential adverse impacts from Sizewell C".

Adam Rowlands, the RSPB's Suffolk Area Manager, said: "We have been overwhelmed by the love for Minsmere.

"The RSPB does not believe that Sizewell is a suitable position for a new nuclear power station.

"As highlighted in the Government's National Policy Statement for Nuclear Power Generation (EN-6), Sizewell C could have detrimental impacts on internationally and nationally important landscapes, habitats and species of the Suffolk coast and at RSPB Minsmere nature reserve."

A spokeswoman for EDF said the company had a "good track record of looking after nature" at its existing sites at Sizewell.

She said: "The environmental sensitivities of the local area have been a key consideration in the development of our proposals for Sizewell C."