Power is not expected to be generated by the planned nuclear plant until 2034.
A proposed new nuclear power station in Suffolk has cleared a legal hurdle after the Court of Appeal ruled the government’s decision to approve the site was lawful.
Protest group Together Against Sizewell C argues the nuclear site will cause irreparable damage to the Suffolk Coast and brought the challenge, which was dismissed on Wednesday morning.
The group had unsuccessfully argued that the government failed to consider the environmental impacts of the need for water supply when it gave the go-ahead for the plant and did not consider “alternative solutions” to meet energy and climate change mitigation goals.
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The Court of the Appeal was hearing the case after the High Court in June refused to grant a judicial review of former energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng’s July 2022 decision to grant development consent for the site.
The government said it made legitimate planning judgments.
The plaintiffs said they are “dismayed by this decision and struggle to understand how the potable water supply that £30billion+ Sizewell C is totally reliant on for its 60 years of operation can be considered lawfully, or indeed rationally, as a separate project”.
Discussions with their legal team are ongoing and next plans are being considered.
