Opponents of plans to build Sizewell C nuclear power station have begun legal proceedings against the government for acting unlawfully.
The move comes from Together Against Sizewell C (TASC), representing local protest groups.
It is claimed that business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng acted unlawfully in rejecting the findings of the Planning Inspectorate, which recommended refusal of development consent having partially accepted TASC’s arguments.
TASC had claimed that the proposed location is wrong, since the water supply can’t be guaranteed, and the coastline will not remain resilient for the entire lifetime of the project. Kwarteng made his decision to ignore the findings of the Inspectorate and granted consent last month.
The case will now go to judicial review, the purpose of which is not to overturn the decision but to establish whether or not it was made on legal grounds.
The chair of TASC is Pete Wilkinson, who says in a statement: “The case against Sizewell C is overwhelming. Even to consider building a £20+ billion nuclear power plant without first securing a water supply is a measure of the fixation this government has for nuclear power.”
Rachel Fulcher, a co-ordinator for Suffolk Coastal Friends of the Earth has “profound concerns” for local wildlife sites. RSPB Minsmere is a coastal nature reserve that abuts the Sizewell site to its north. The 1,000-hectare (2,500 acre) Sizewell site lies within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths area of outstanding natural beauty and the Suffolk Heritage Coast area. She is worried about “the many rare and protected species that inhabit the sites, if this destructive development is allowed to proceed.”
TASC is fundraising towards the costs of the judicial review.
The case against the government is being handled by lawyers Leigh Day.
