Latest news with #Leiston
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sizewell C boss 'optimistic' it will get go-ahead
The head of a multi-billion pounds project to build a new nuclear power station says she is "very optimistic" a final go-ahead will be given to the scheme this week. Julia Pyke, the joint managing director of Sizewell C in Suffolk, told BBC Politics East she is hoping for an announcement when the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves unveils her Spending Review on Wednesday. She said construction of the new power station was expected to create 10,000 jobs and fund a new post-16 college in the nearby town of Leiston, along with other infrastructure projects in the area. But there was fierce opposition on Saturday at a demonstration calling on the government to reject the scheme. Ms Pyke, who has been working on the project for 10 years, told Politics East that she would "really like to see the go-ahead for Sizewell C". "Obviously we are very optimistic, because it's a great thing for this country and a great thing for this region." She added that the nuclear plant was needed by the nation because "we want energy security. We want to wean ourselves off gas". The project is expected to be jointly owned by the British government and the French state-owned energy giant EDF, and would be funded by taxpayers and private investors. She said the taxpayer contribution would be funded by adding around £1 a month to energy bills, but she argued that once operational, the new power station would save consumers between £1bn and £1.5bn a year. "It will have been cheaper to have built it than not to have built it," she said. But there is opposition to the scheme. On Saturday, about 300 protesters braved the bad weather to demonstrate on the beach near Sizewell B. Organisers said the rally was "to grieve for our beloved Suffolk and urge ministers to think again about splashing the cash on this slow, expensive folly". Alison Downes, director of Stop Sizewell C, said pre-construction work had already changed the area dramatically. "Anybody visiting Suffolk for the first time in a year or so is going to be enormously shocked," she said. "Local people say to me all the time just how devastated they feel at seeing old oak trees, seeing long swathes of hedgerows and vegetation, being chopped down. "The local economy has been seriously impacted. Tourists are staying away." She also questioned how many of the jobs being created at the site would go to locals. Julia Pyke told Politics East she would never deny that it was inconvenient to have a big construction project on your doorstep - but said Sizewell C would do everything it could to minimise disruption. She said the project hoped to mitigate against increased traffic by having 60% of materials brought to the site by rail or sea. Asked about claims that early construction work was already putting off tourists from visiting the area, she said: "The power station site is in Leiston, it's not in Aldeburgh and it's not in Southwold. "It's quite a contained area. Our experience of having built Hinkley Point C (nuclear power station in Somerset) is that actually tourism increases." She said Sizewell C was contributing to a tourism fund and there was a legal commitment to a third of the workforce coming from the local area. Sizewell was highlighted by the government as being suitable for a future nuclear power station in 2010. There have been two power stations at Sizewell already - Sizewell A, which opened in the 1960s and shut in 2006, and Sizewell B, which opened in the 1990s and is still in operation. The Labour government and previous Conservative administrations have committed £6.4bn to Sizewell to help with start up costs. Labour, like the Conservatives, believes more nuclear power will help Britain become energy self-sufficient. There are still questions over where the private finance for Sizewell C will come from, but ministers and EDF insist there are plenty of potential investors and they are close to finalising an agreement. BBC Politics East will be broadcast on Sunday 8 June at 10:00 GMT on BBC One in the East of England, and will be available after broadcast on BBC iPlayer. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Latest legal challenge against Sizewell C launched Sizewell C announces plan to build post-16 college 'Nothing prepared us for Sizewell C devastation' What are the arguments for and against Sizewell C?
BBC News
11 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Sizewell C boss "very optimistic" nuclear plant will get go-ahead
The head of a multi-billion pounds project to build a new nuclear power station says she is "very optimistic" a final go-ahead will be given to the scheme this Pyke, the joint managing director of Sizewell C in Suffolk, told BBC Politics East she is hoping for an announcement when the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves unveils her Spending Review on said construction of the new power station was expected to create 10,000 jobs and fund a new post-16 college in the nearby town of Leiston, along with other infrastructure projects in the there was fierce opposition on Saturday at a demonstration calling on the government to reject the scheme. Ms Pyke, who has been working on the project for 10 years, told Politics East that she would "really like to see the go-ahead for Sizewell C"."Obviously we are very optimistic, because it's a great thing for this country and a great thing for this region."She added that the nuclear plant was needed by the nation because "we want energy security. We want to wean ourselves off gas".The project is expected to be jointly owned by the British government and the French state-owned energy giant EDF, and would be funded by taxpayers and private said the taxpayer contribution would be funded by adding around £1 a month to energy bills, but she argued that once operational, the new power station would save consumers between £1bn and £1.5bn a year."It will have been cheaper to have built it than not to have built it," she said. Impact "is already devastating" But there is opposition to the scheme. On Saturday, about 300 protesters braved the bad weather to demonstrate on the beach near Sizewell said the rally was "to grieve for our beloved Suffolk and urge ministers to think again about splashing the cash on this slow, expensive folly".Alison Downes, director of Stop Sizewell C, said pre-construction work had already changed the area dramatically."Anybody visiting Suffolk for the first time in a year or so is going to be enormously shocked," she said."Local people say to me all the time just how devastated they feel at seeing old oak trees, seeing long swathes of hedgerows and vegetation, being chopped down."The local economy has been seriously impacted. Tourists are staying away."She also questioned how many of the jobs being created at the site would go to locals. Julia Pyke told Politics East she would never deny that it was inconvenient to have a big construction project on your doorstep - but said Sizewell C would do everything it could to minimise disruption. She said the project hoped to mitigate against increased traffic by having 60% of materials brought to the site by rail or about claims that early construction work was already putting off tourists from visiting the area, she said: "The power station site is in Leiston, it's not in Aldeburgh and it's not in Southwold."It's quite a contained area. Our experience of having built Hinkley Point C (nuclear power station in Somerset) is that actually tourism increases."She said Sizewell C was contributing to a tourism fund and there was a legal commitment to a third of the workforce coming from the local area. Sizewell was highlighted by the government as being suitable for a future nuclear power station in have been two power stations at Sizewell already - Sizewell A, which opened in the 1960s and shut in 2006, and Sizewell B, which opened in the 1990s and is still in Labour government and previous Conservative administrations have committed £6.4bn to Sizewell to help with start up costs. Labour, like the Conservatives, believes more nuclear power will help Britain become energy are still questions over where the private finance for Sizewell C will come from, but ministers and EDF insist there are plenty of potential investors and they are close to finalising an agreement. BBC Politics East will be broadcast on Sunday 8 June at 10:00 GMT on BBC One in the East of England, and will be available after broadcast on BBC iPlayer. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
30-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Leiston residents react to Sizewell C's plan for a new college
Sizewell C nuclear power plant's decision to open a post-16 college in Leiston, Suffolk, has been described as "fantastic" by some residents, but many still fear the impact of the plant. Sizewell C said on Thursday the college would be opened in September 2027, in partnership with Suffolk New College. The training on offer would not only serve the future nuclear station's workforce, but the wider energy, infrastructure and engineering sectors, it Newson, who owns a cafe in Leiston, said the plans for both the college and plant would bring people into the area. "It can only help the younger population and give them a better grade of education," he said."Looking ahead they've got something to aim for, give them an objective in life to obtain to."I know there's a lot of people against it [the nuclear power plant], more the older generation."The younger generation see the positives in it, they've seen it happen elsewhere, and you've got to look on the bright side and say, 'We're going forward, the town is going forward as a whole'." 'Amazing' Francis Newson echoed Mr Newson and said the news of the college was "brilliant"."Leiston is a lovely town, but it needs more amenities especially for the youngsters because they are our tomorrow," she said."A lot of children now won't go to sixth form or college because they have to go out of town and it's too far to travel."So if they can get their further education on site, it's amazing." 'An opportunity' Reece Stone, 27, from Leiston, believed the college would "level up" the area while the nuclear power plant plan was a "positive"."It's wonderful because this area has been in need of investment, it's been in need of opportunity," he explained."I know a lot of young people who have gone further afield, they've gone to Ipswich, they've gone to London in search of jobs and careers that mean something to them."There's not been much for that [in Leiston], so Sizewell is an opportunity for them to do that, having the college here as a place for them to learn and then potentially go on to work there or elsewhere in the area." 'Wrong place, wrong time' Robert Flindall, 70, and his wife Helen Flindall, 64, live in Eastbridge, north of both have reservations about the college and nuclear power plant."Where on Earth would a college be put in a small town like Leiston," Mr Flindall questioned."I'm a planner by profession, I know it would be difficult to provide, but if a college provides that service for local people then that'll be wonderful, but not necessarily associated with Sizewell C."Mr Flindall said he felt Sizewell C would not help solve the climate emergency in time while Mrs Flindall did not believe the nuclear power plant would help younger generations."It's the wrong place at the wrong time and there's other things that they could do that'll be faster to generate the electricity that we need," she said."We know we need it, we're not being silly about it." 'There's nothing here' Linda Middleditch, 75, who works in a Leiston shop said the plan for the college was "brilliant"."You're always going to get people who are going to [be negative about] it, but why? "The youngsters have got to have a chance to travel and there's nothing here, so they've got to travel and they may not want to travel. It's a good thing."She added she had no problems with the power plant. 'It'll help families' James Felgate, 46, believed the college was a "great opportunity" for young people."At the moment they have to travel to Ipswich or Lowestoft or Halesworth so it'll be good for them not to have to travel because of the cost of things, it'll help families out and stops pricing them out from going to colleges," he Felgate's son, Freddie, 15, is doing his GCSEs right now and planned to study landscaping at Suffolk New College's rural campus in Otley."If the [Sizewell C] college was already built here and they did the same course, I probably would have gone," he Freddie said he did not know anyone his age considering a career at Sizewell, he said an apprenticeship there "would be nice". 'Devastation' Jenny Kirtley is the chairperson of Together Against Sizewell she felt the college was "probably a good idea", she questioned what the courses would involve."We are hoping it'll maybe include an environmentalist conservation course because my goodness, this area is going to need it after this [Sizewell C's] build," she said."I think local people thought it was going to be just like the Sizewell B build, one road needed for Sizewell A and B."Ms Kirtley also questioned how many local students would get a space in the college. 'Important role' The new college is to be an extension of Suffolk New College's coastal Pyke, Sizewell C joint managing director, said the college would create a "highly skilled, homegrown workforce".While some work is ongoing to prepare for the Sizewell C nuclear power plant, a final investment decision will be made by the government during the spending review next Secretary Ed Miliband previously said he wanted to develop further nuclear sites and the government has insisted that new nuclear plants would be needed for the UK to hit its target to decarbonise power currently produces about 14% of the UK's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero explained Sizewell C would "play an important role in helping the UK achieve energy security and net zero", while creating thousands of jobs."The project is expected to reduce the cost of the electricity system, boost our supply of secure homegrown power and generate major investment nationwide," they added. Political analysis Sizewell C is a very expensive project and critics question exactly how it will be funded. There are also concerns about the environmental impact, even if the current technology is out of despite all that, the mood from the government suggests that it does want to back this has already given it £6bn and though we are saying Sizewell C will put money into this college, it is probably the taxpayer's money that is partly funding is a bit off the beaten track, there is limited access to further education and training, so the project would be very big for the the energy industry, at the moment, there is a lot of concern about where the sector's workers are going to come from. This is a particular problem for Suffolk, which is not just expanding in nuclear energy but also offshore wind and solar as well. A number of colleges in the region have started to increase their training provision and their apprenticeship we have got a new college coming on to the market which intends to do the same. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
29-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Sizewell C announces plan to build new Leiston post-16 college
Sizewell C nuclear power plant has announced plans to build and open a new post-16 in partnership with Suffolk New College, Sizewell C said it planned for the college to be opened in Leiston, Suffolk, in September 2027. The institution would offer comprehensive, multi-site education and training and also support up to 540 local apprentices, it added. Julia Pyke, Sizewell C joint managing director, said the college would create a "highly skilled, homegrown workforce". The college would be an extension of Suffolk New College's coastal campus and will offer technical, vocational and academic pathways aligned not only to the workforce needs of Sizewell C, but the wider energy, infrastructure and engineering sectors."Working with Suffolk New College, we're going well beyond our planning requirements to deliver a new college for Leiston – where public transport is a barrier to post-16 education – and which will continue to benefit the area long after construction has finished," Ms Pyke said."Alongside a new apprenticeship hub and centre of excellence, for which we'll work with a range of local partners, we'll be providing new facilities that will mark a major step forward for education and training in this rural area of Suffolk," she added. Alan Pease, Suffolk New College's principal and chief executive officer, said the new college would allow it to support the local community "not only related to skills required by Sizewell C, but also more generally"."As a community-based college, Suffolk New College already work with learners from across Suffolk, but the new campus will allow us to bring our expertise in the delivery of vocational and technical education to the local community in Leiston and its surrounding areas," he Hill, the mayor of Leiston-cum-Sizewell Town Council, said she was excited by the opportunities the college would offer to local people. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
