Sizewell C: What might a new nuclear plant mean for Suffolk?

The government has announced talks with French firm EDF about building a new £20bn nuclear power plant in Suffolk, capable of providing 7% of the UK's energy needs. But what might this mean for the community living nearby?

Sizewell has long been earmarked as a front-runner for a new nuclear power plant.

Although still a long way from being approved, the proposals have taken a step forward.

EDF wants to build the new two-reactor station directly to the north of the existing Sizewell B plant.

Sizewell is a fishing hamlet on the North Sea coast between the popular towns of Aldeburgh and Southwold.

It is already home to two separate power stations - the decommissioned Magnox Sizewell A and pressurized water reactor (PWR) Sizewell B.

The first nuclear plant - Sizewell A - was opened in 1967.

While about 5,500 people live in the Leiston area, it is understood fewer than 100 live in the hamlet of Sizewell itself.

Sizewell is hemmed in with every kind of protected area.

The whole coast is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and the shingle beach is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Sizewell Marshes, just behind the plant is a Special Protected Area (SPA), and the Leiston Sandlings to the south are another SPA.

Building the new power station would involve turning a large swathe of wood, marsh and grassland into a temporary construction site, housing a 1,000-space car and bus park and a 2,400-bed worker campus.

The temporary construction site, says EDF, would eventually be returned to a natural environment.

EDF says a "significant amount of construction material and equipment will need to be transported". In practical terms, this will mean up to an extra 300 HGVs a day coming in and out of Sizewell and an upgrade to branch line rail links.

A new Sizewell link road would be built and a new park and rides set up. A new bypass set up to avoid traffic having to go through the villages of Stratford St Andrew and Farnham is also part of the plans.

Also planned is a freight management facility on the A14 at Seven Hills, near Ipswich, and a new landing facility on the beach for loads to be brought in by ship.

Monday's announcement is not a "green light" for construction, the business secretary Alok Sharma said. EDF must, he said, prove the project would offer value for money for consumers "and all other relevant approvals" before a final decision is made.

Simone Rossi, EDF's UK chief executive, said: "By investing in renewables and nuclear at Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C, we're supporting decarbonisation while creating jobs across the UK.

"The time for action is now and we look forward to working with the government to implement its energy and climate policies, including the financing of new nuclear."

Alison Downes, executive director of the protest group Stop Sizewell C, says there remains numerous "obstacles" to a Sizewell C ever being built.

"The challenges surrounding a build at Sizewell C are completely unique," she says. "This idea that Sizewell C will show value for money is just pie in the sky stuff.

"Extending the life of Sizewell B makes sense, if it could be done safely.

"There's still everything to play for in this campaign."

Edwina Galloway, a member of Kelsale-cum-Carlton Parish Council, says her council had repeatedly voted against the new power plant proposals.

"We have been supplying a decade of responses saying that it is too big for this area, it is going to cause too much environmental damage and there are so many issues," she said.

"It is still not properly thought through and we are really quite shocked that at this stage it still feels like somebody is writing this on the back of an envelope with the most massive environmental damage.

"This is such a precious area in a time when the government is saying it wants to increase biodiversity."

"Would you want to come here if there's a nuclear power plant being built?" asks Trevor Fisk, a 71-year-old who has called Sizewell his home for the past 25 years.

Mr Fisk says he is not against nuclear power. But he is against building the power plant here in Sizewell.

Up to 3,600 construction roles, 1,500 management and a further 550 support roles will be needed during the building phase, EDF says.

As the project progresses, these jobs will be replaced by up to 3,300 mechanical, electrical and heating specialist positions.

Once finished, Sizewell C would need about 900 skilled operators to run it.

Kate Thrumble, 34, and her husband Luke are on holiday on the Suffolk coast from the Chelmsford area of Essex.

Staying at nearby Orford, the family decided to visit Sizewell for a walk with their dog.

Mrs Thrumble says: "It's nice here and really good to see the sea."

But she said they would think twice about visiting again if a third nuclear plant was built.

Linda Mackinnon says she is happy for the power station to be built.

"We've got two power stations here already and they've got to go somewhere," she says.

"I feel that we're going to need it. We need all sorts of sources of power and nuclear is one of them.

"It makes sense and we cannot rely on what's out there. We've just got to get on with it.

"We were here when Sizewell B started to be built and the difference was amazing. The employment for younger people was great."

Waveney's Conservative MP Peter Aldous, whose constituency is further along the Suffolk coast, says the proposals offer a "significant opportunity for people to work on the construction and also to acquire skills that we can use across the area".

If Sizewell C does eventually go ahead - and proposals have been sent to the Planning Inspectorate, which deals with nationally important developments - it is expected the project would take up to 10 years to build.

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