Court of Appeal dismisses anti-SZC claims

On Wednesday (20 December), The Court of Appeal dismissed claims brought against the Government by a Suffolk-based anti-SZC campaign group.

Together Against Sizewell C (TASC) had claimed that the Secretary of State was wrong to grant us our Development Consent Order (DCO) last year because he didn’t assess the environmental impact of our proposals for a water supply.

The courts have rejected their arguments for the third time with the judges saying that the Government’s approach was ‘legally impeccable’ and that the approach taken by TASC could produce “sclerosis in the planning system”.

A Sizewell C spokesperson said: “After two previous High Court dismissals on this issue, we welcome today’s judgment and now look forward to the next step for this project.

“Sizewell C will play a key role in Britain’s clean energy future, and this judgment comes at an exciting phase in the project’s development: following excellent progress of pre-commencement work this year, we’re now looking forward to beginning the construction phase in 2024.

“Once built, Sizewell C will meet 7% of the UK’s energy needs for at least sixty years, strengthening Britain’s energy security, lowering bills, and creating thousands of jobs locally and across Britain.”

Useful links

Find out more about Sizewell C’s water plans here.

Find the judgment online here, with the conclusion on the final page.

Read a blog from HSF’s Charlotte Dyer here.