Matthew Riddles to Residents of The Severn Vale

Power Station New Build at Shepperdine,


Oldbury-on-Severn - February 2010 Update

Dear Local Resident,

I am writing to you today with an update about the current situation regarding a possible new nuclear power station at Shepperdine. This update includes an important deadline of Monday 22nd February which is when the government’s current consultation on the suitability of the site ends.

My concerns so far about the suitability of the Shepperdine site are:

 The cooling towers – they could be as high as 200 metres and it is the only one of the 10 sites that needs cooling towers. All the rest are next to deep water, which will be used for cooling

 Flood risk to the site and the wider area if the site is made flood proof. It is noted that apart from Bradwell and Hartlepool, none of the other sites are wholly within Flood Zone 3. However, Oldbury appears to be the only listed site where the Environment Agency has outstanding concerns.

 Transport during construction on our local roads

 Thousands of workers coming to the area


The government’s current consultation is about the suitability of the Shepperdine site. It is important that as many responses as possible are sent by local people, expressing their views, before Monday 22nd February 2010.
You can do this by either:

going on the web site and answering the questions (you do not have to answer all the questions – the most important one for us is Question 21 h). http://data.energynpsconsultation.decc.gov.uk/documents/condoc.pdf

write to the address below with your concerns before Monday 22nd February 2010.

Robin Clarke
OPM
252b Gray’s Inn Road
London
WC1X 8XG

I would also like to update you on what South Gloucestershire Council and I have been doing on this important issue:

Response to the Government Draft Policy - South Gloucestershire Council has currently devoted considerable resources to producing its response to the government’s draft policy. I have attended two meetings where it was discussed and ensured that it includes residents’ concerns. The council’s response can be found at http://www.southglos.gov.uk/_Resources/Publications/PTE/10/0200/PTE-10-0028

Local Government Association (LGA) meeting in London – I represented South Gloucestershire Council at a meeting of all the councils that potentially have new build nuclear power stations. We discussed common issues and I also raised specific issues about Oldbury. The LGA and the Planning Officers Society will be making a joint response to the government’s latest consultation ending on 22nd February, both in general terms and also on site-specific issues. I will be ensuring that the issues with the Oldbury site are well documented within their response.

Scoping Report – South Gloucestershire sent back its response to Horizon's Scoping Report, in late December. The response was sent to both Horizon and the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), which is the new guango created by the government that has the final say on new power stations.

Oldbury Parish Council meeting with Senior South Gloucestershire Council Officers - I organised this meeting so that local residents’ views and issues of common concern could be discussed. It also helped us to understand time scales and the detail of the various consultations.

Meetings with Sedgemoor District Council – they have the proposed new Hinkley Power Station in their area and are about a year ahead of us in the process. These meetings have proved very useful in understanding the planning process and common concerns.

Finland visit – a fellow resident and I organised a short trip to Finland to see the impact that the construction of a new nuclear power station is having on the local community. The visit was paid for out of our own pockets and proved invaluable in terms of helping us to understand what the main construction issues could be in our area.

I will keep you updated. Please contact me on this or any other issue.

Best Wishes,
Matthew