Campaigners opposed to government plans to build a nuclear powers station on the Suffolk coast are taking their case to the Court of Appeal this week.
Together Against Sizewell C (TASC) has been campaigning for more than a decade to stop French energy giant EDF from building two nuclear reactors on the Suffolk coast.
It argues that the plans will devastate local wildlife and change the area around the site from one of “rural tranquillity to brutal industrialisation”.
The plan was given the green light in July last year when then business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng granted planning consent, going against the advice of the Examining Authority.
TASC, using law firm Leigh Day & Co, brought a High Court challenge to the decision. However, Mr Justice Holgate ruled against them earlier this year.
It is now seeking to appeal that decision in a hearing that started at the Court of Appeal yesterday and is due to end today.
Their challenge is based on the issue of the permeant water supply in the area. Lawyers for TASC are arguing that the Business Secretary needed to guarantee how a permanent water supply of two million litres per day for Sizewell C would be obtained, before giving consent.
They argue that Mr Justice Holgate made a mistake in law when dealing with the issue.
“TASC will now have another chance to argue that the permanent water supply was either part of the Sizewell C project, meaning its impacts needed to be assessed as part of the whole development application, or the water supply was a separate project,” said Leigh Day solicitor Rowan Smith in a statement on the firm’s website.
The case is being heard by a three-judge panel made of Lord Justice Lindblom, Lady Justice Andrews and Lord Justice Lewis, who will hand down a written judgment at a later date.
Together Against Sizewell C Ltd v Secretary of State for Energy Security & Net Zero
Court of Appeal (Lord Justice Lindblom, Lady Justice Andrews, Lore Justice Lewis) 1-2 November 2023
