Government faces legal challenge over Sizewell C nuclear reactor
Campaigners have advised ministers they intend to take legal action over the approval of a new Suffolk reactor
Campaigners against the development of a third nuclear reactor on the Suffolk coast have written to the government, advising ministers they intend to take legal action.
Together Against Sizewell C (TASC) thinks the decision to give the go ahead to Sizewell C was unlawful, as water supplies for the reactor cannot be guaranteed and the coastline is at risk of erosion.
Plans for the controversial reactor were approved last month by Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng.
The multibillion-pound project is intended to generate enough low-carbon electricity to supply six million homes.
TASC Chair, Pete Wilkinson said: “The case against Sizewell C is overwhelming, as has been carefully documented throughout the inquiry stage and was found by the Planning Inspector to have merit."
"Even to consider building a £20+ bn nuclear power plant without first securing a water supply is a measure of the fixation this government has for nuclear power and its panic in making progress towards an energy policy which is as unachievable as it is inappropriate for the 21st century challenges we face.
“Government has seen fit to ignore the Planning Inspector’s recommendation to deny the application and it therefore falls to campaign groups to defend East Suffolk from the ravages of this unnecessary nuclear development.
"TASC has engaged Leigh Day to take its case to the courts and is delighted to be supported by Suffolk Coastal Friends of the Earth in this effort and to work with others opposed to this scandalous attack on the Suffolk environment.”
The government approved plans for Sizewell C after deciding the potential benefits outweigh the risks.
Ministers see nuclear power as a way to improve energy security and reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels.
The project would see a new reactor built alongside Sizewell B, which is still generating power, and the now-decommissioned Sizewell A.