SIZEWELL C PROJECT UPDATE TO LEISTON-CUM-SIZEWELL TOWN COUNCIL

7 September 2021

Good evening councillors and members of the public.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to provide an update this evening. It is nearly two years since I was last here and it feels good to be back after these strange and difficult months. I hope that the impacts of the pandemic were not felt too greatly by you and your families.

Following this project update, with the chair’s permission, I will stay to take any questions.

Since we were last here together, a lot has happened with the Sizewell C project. In March last year, SZC Co was ready to submit the application for a Development Consent Order to build Sizewell C. However, with the onset of the pandemic and lockdown, it was clear that it would be wrong to submit proposals for a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project when everyone was figuring out how to go shopping safely and deal with the kids at home, never mind getting acquainted with things called Zoom, Teams or Skype.

We therefore delayed submission until the end of May when lockdown measures were being lifted. After the Planning Inspectorate reviewed the application, confirmed the applicant had passed the adequacy of consultation test and accepted it for examination, we made sure the maximum three-month period was put in place for local people to view the documentation.

This afforded people the time to register as interested parties within the unique circumstances of the pandemic.

The Planning Inspectorate did not wish to proceed to examination immediately and this gave us the opportunity to consult on changes to the application. We had initially felt that we had arrived at proposals which included a high level of deliveries by sustainable modes of transport, with 40% of freight delivered by sea and rail. However, stakeholders confirmed this was not ambitious enough so we worked on proposals to increase that up to 60%. The eventual changes were accepted by the Planning Inspectorate’s Examining Authority, the panel of experts appointed to examine the application.

The examination process began in April this year. Since then, we have also proposed some further changes, which have included redesigning Pretty Road in order to allow vehicular access to and from the B1122. This was in direct response to Theberton and Eastbridge Parish Council.

The most recent change application was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate yesterday. This relates to the Construction Water Supply Strategy for the early years of construction. This is an important issue, and I would like to clarify that our proposals, both at submission in 2020 and with this change application, do not result in any impact on local drinking water supplies.

Recently some stakeholders have suggested that the Sizewell C Team left the requirement for the adequate supply of potable water to the last minute to consider, hence the change. This is simply not the case.

The construction of the power station would include many activities that require a regular supply of water, both potable and non-potable. Parishes like this Leiston-cum-Sizewell raised this issue right at the start of public consultation and like all elements of construction, it was an important consideration for the engineers, planners and expert third parties working on the Sizewell C proposals.

Therefore our planning application includes a long-term proposal to access water from a permanent water main. Until the building of that connection is complete, we had expected to access potable water using existing network connections. However, very recently the water companies we had consulted with on our strategy indicated there could be a risk that the full requirement of potable water in the early years of construction might not be met.

As a responsible applicant focussed on ensuring the impacts of construction are avoided, mitigated or compensated for, we therefore proposed the change to include a temporary desalination plant on the main construction site, away from both Sizewell Marshes SSSI and Sizewell beach. This proposal will provide a reliable, continuous source of water for the early years of construction while the permanent water transfer main is completed and won’t impact the local supply of potable water.

During the 4-6 months it would take to build the temporary desalination plant, clean water would be delivered to the Sizewell C site by water tanker trucks. However, this will not exceed the forecast limit of HGVs predicted for the project during the early years of construction – these additional movements are within the published figures, they are not an addition. As you know, the examination of the Sizewell C application which is underway includes scrutiny of our transport proposals to ensure our investment in road infrastructure can sustain this construction traffic.

During August we held a 24-day public consultation for this proposed change to our planning application. We received 147 responses and the change application was submitted to the Examining Authority this week.

The consultation timeframe was shorter than usual in order to work within the examination timetable and provide time to interested parties such as yourselves to make representations to the examining authority on this proposed change if they accept it. So, as well as providing feedback to this consultation, you can also influence change through your representations to the Examining Authority with the time remaining in the overall process, which runs until mid-October.

When things change it is important that we listen and respond appropriately. In that way we will achieve a project that reduces as much of the impacts of construction on local communities as possible. This fulfils the first one of the pledges to local communities we announced on submission of the application, which is to do our utmost to minimise disruption to local communities during the construction of Sizewell C.

To that end we have been pleased to work with the Town Council for the last two years on traffic and transport mitigation measures for the town, which will also help to deliver some of the aspirations of the Leiston Community Land Trust. I understand the consultation and its outcomes will be covered later in the meeting.

Following on with the pledges, we also have progressed these commitments in discussions with the county and district councils on investment in local employment, education and skills. This includes an aim to enable 1,500 apprenticeships. We are negotiating the Deeds of Obligation (perhaps better understood as a Section 106) should Sizewell C go ahead. We have agreed the principle of that with the District and County Councils, including the sums of money.

At a more tangible level, members of the Sizewell C Civils Programme have visited students from all of the FE colleges in Suffolk for the latest round of assessments for apprenticeships with the project.

Nearly 40 engineering students studying at Suffolk New College, West Suffolk College and East Coast College tried out for one of dozens of apprenticeships on offer. The apprenticeships for this latest cohort are in welding, project controls and engineering.

The session covered classroom based academic tests and practical assessments in the college workshops using equipment such as the welding bays.

Our work with Alde Valley Academy continues with support for the Design Engineering Construct course and ongoing collaboration with colleagues at Sizewell B to support learning. To that end I am pleased to say that the visitor centre has reopened with tours hoping to start again soon as we know the benefits these provide to local learners. During lockdown we recorded a virtual tour of the power station with one of our apprentices so that online learning could continue whilst the station was closed to external visits.

The third pledge is to support the growth of the local economy, and this includes measures to support local firms in gaining work on the project. We fund the five-strong Sizewell C supply chain team based in the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce and in July we held two very busy online meet the buyer sessions for Suffolk companies to meet tier 1 Suppliers. The Team, along with SZC Co managers, will be hosting similar sessions physically in Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich and East Suffolk in the coming months.

We have changed our transport pledge to transport up to 60% of the construction materials by rail and sea, rather than 40%, significantly reducing the number of Sizewell C HGVs on local roads.

Our fifth pledge is to respect the Suffolk heritage coast and minimise impact on RSPB Minsmere, National Trust Dunwich Heath and Leiston Abbey. To that end deep negotiations are underway with all three on specific measures that will be taken – and funded – by SZC Co to deliver compensation, mitigation or avoidance of these identified impacts.

The pledges to return the temporary construction area to a standard befitting the AONB following construction and to remove the accommodation campus and caravan site, the park and ride sites, the rail extension of the Saxmundham to Leiston branch line and freight management facility following construction and restore the land in those locations are all planning obligations that we are legally bound to deliver.

We have grown the amount of land in our ownership over recent years and are being advised by local and national experts on how the growing Sizewell estate can increase biodiversity and create a positive environmental legacy. Secondary objectives include actions such as rewilding, creating environmental corridors and the promotion of sustainable farming.

Aldhurst Farm is part of that growing estate, and we were delighted to be able to finally open the site to visitors with the creation of the approved access pathways this summer. It has been a lengthy project to create the six hectares of low-lying wetland habitat and surrounding 60 hectares of heathland and it is pleasing to see the site now home to otters, ground nesting birds and an array of other wildlife. A couple of weeks ago we provided guided tours of the site for Abbey Road, Valley Road and Carr Avenue residents, who as you know have had to experience a lot of change over their garden fences since 2015.

Support for the Suffolk coast tourism sector to offset impacts from construction through the provision of a Tourism Fund is a key element of the Deed of Obligation and again, the details have been discussed with the local authorities. A comprehensive 24/7 onsite occupational health service for workers is part of the DCO plans. While the aim is to make sure we do not add to the burden of the local surgery, a healthcare contribution and a Public Services Contingency Fund is also part of the Deed of Obligation, which we anticipate will be published on the PINS website this week.

Finally, we acknowledge the huge amount of work we need to do to tackle the impacts of construction, but we also wish to be helpful and add value to local communities. Our final pledge is enhance the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of local communities through the provision of a Community Fund. This has also been agreed with the local authorities but we are also structuring the local team to focus on regional external affairs and develop partnerships to deliver further benefits.

Recent examples include work with the East Suffolk Community Partnership Board. Jack Raven, one of the Team based in the office on the High Street, has provided research and reports for the Transport Task Group running off the Community Partnership Board. This has saved the group from having to spend money on consultants and has helped to identify community-based transport projects in the district. The Net Zero Leiston project is community-led and will be discussed later in the agenda. We continue to play our part in the project with the Town Council, Leiston Together Partnership and the district and county. Finally, I was recently invited to a meeting of the Community Land Trust, the outcomes of which I have recounted to the Project Leadership Team and have raised to the attention of the Economic Development Team at East Suffolk Council. Business growth and development is an important priority for them should Sizewell C go ahead, and I think the partnership created by the CLT and the ambitions for the regeneration of the town centre is important for them to consider.