The RSPB has staged a what it called a “once in a generation” protest against plans for the a nuclear power plant to be built on part of a nature reserve in Suffolk, which they claim will endanger more than 6,000 species. Protesters from the charity were joined by All Creatures Great and Small actor Samuel West outside the Department for Business in Westminster on Thursday as they lobbied Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to drop proposals for EDF’s new Sizewell C nuclear power plant near the Minsmere reserve. The proposals would see a breeding area the size of eight football pitches lost, as well as some three million fish, according to RSPB estimates. West and other volunteers read out hundreds of names of species which they say would be put at risk by the power plant outside the department while holding up banners which said: “Do the right thing for nature Kwasi #loveminsmere”. The actor, who plays vet Siegfreid Farnon in Channel 5’s James Herriot adaptation, said of Minsmere: “I don’t think I know anywhere lovelier. It’s an extraordinary collection of habitats, internationally important numbers of threatened species, and we’re very lucky to have it. EDF Energy, which is behind the proposed plant, said it was not building on the RSPB site and its plans would lead to an overall increase in biodiversity in the area.
ITV 19th May 2022 read more »
Independent 19th May 2022 read more »