Campaigners opposed to Suffolk nuclear plant call on regulators after appeal fails
They're opposing a 2022 decision to give the development the green light
Campaigners opposed to the building of a new nuclear power plant near Sizewell in Suffolk have urged regulators to intervene after losing the latest stage of a legal battle with the Government.
Protest group Together Against Sizewell C objects to a decision, made in 2022 by then business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, to give the development the green light.
The group had mounted a Court of Appeal challenge after losing a High Court fight earlier this year.
But three appeal judges have dismissed the group's appeal.
Sir Keith Lindblom, Lady Justice Andrews and Lord Justice Lewis delivered a ruling on Wednesday after considering arguments at a Court of Appeal hearing in London in November.
"Soul of Suffolk"
Campaigners said they were "dismayed" by the appeal decision and called on the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency to "flex their regulatory muscles".
They said they would continue their fight for the "soul of Suffolk".
A spokesman for Together Against Sizewell C said: "We are dismayed by this decision. The Office of Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency have the power to stop Sizewell C.
"We can only encourage them to step up, flex their regulatory muscles and call Sizewell C out for the polluting, unnecessary and wasteful white elephant it is and refuse to licence it."
He added: "Our fight for the soul of Suffolk will continue and we are in discussions with our legal team to consider our plans moving forward."
Lawyers representing the group told judges the central issue relates to whether a "development consent order" was lawful "without any assessment" of the environmental impacts of an "essential" fresh water supply.
The group had taken legal action against Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Claire Coutinho and Sizewell C Ltd.
Lawyers representing the two defendants said the appeal should be dismissed.
"Legitimate planning judgements"
Together Against Sizewell C argued at a High Court hearing earlier this year that the Government failed to assess possible environmental impacts, including the impact of the water supply, and did not consider "alternative solutions" to meeting energy and climate change objectives.
The Government argued that it had made "legitimate planning judgments".
A High Court judge - Mr Justice Holgate - had dismissed Together Against Sizewell C's challenge.
Together Against Sizewell C argued, at the appeal hearing, that ministers needed to "guarantee" how a "permanent water supply of two million litres per day for Sizewell C" would be obtained, before giving consent.
Campaigners said the "environmental impact of such a plant" was "not included in the planning application for the nuclear power plant", and therefore "neither assessed nor taken into account".
But appeal judges backed Mr Justice Holgate's reasoning.
They said in a written ruling published online: "He correctly concluded that the Secretary of State was entitled in this case to regard the project as the power station, and that the provision of a permanent water supply was not part of that project but formed a different and separate project."
French energy giant EDF, which is due to develop the plant, has said Sizewell C is expected to generate low-carbon electricity to supply six million homes.
Ministers have said the multibillion-pound project will create 10,000 highly-skilled jobs, with its go-ahead being welcomed by unions and the nuclear industry.
What does the government say?
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokeswoman said: "The Secretary of State granted development consent for the Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station on July 20 2022, having considered all relevant information.
"We are pleased with the Court of Appeal's judgment and are carefully considering the ruling."
A Sizewell C spokesman said: "We welcome today's judgment and now look forward to the next steps for this project.
"Sizewell C will play a key role in Britain's clean energy future, and this judgement comes at an exciting phase in the project's development: following excellent progress of pre-commencement work this year, we're now looking forward to beginning the construction phase in 2024."