They’re out – at last.
As I reported on 1 October, the Government has now published its national policy statements on energy. These statements will be crucial when the new Infrastructure Planning Commission makes decisions on proposals for new power stations, whether coal, nuclear or wind, in England and Wales. The decision was delayed by some weeks, apparently because ministers were finalising their policy on clean coal. You can read about our disappointment on that here.
The Government wants to know what we – and you – think, and we need to get comments back by 22 February next year. As expected, these statements and the supporting material are massive tomes and are going to take some digesting. Fortunately Planning Aid, an independent organisation which helps local communities to understand the planning system, has produced some handy summary leaflets and FAQs. Parliament will be taking a close look at the statements as well, so we’ll have a chance to make our views known to MPs as well. It will be Christmas before we know it, though, so we’ll have to get cracking.
Climate change and nuclear issues have been dominating the headlines. See this from the Telegraph, for example. We’ll be digging into the statements to see if they really help deliver a low carbon future. And we’ll be looking at the implications for special places for wildlife, especially of the proposed nuclear sites. We don’t think nuclear power is necessary, and many of these sites are near internationally-designated wildlife sites.
The good news is that proposals for a new nuclear power station at Dungeness, right next to the RSPB’s reserve, have been dropped. The Government recognises that it would be virtually impossible to avoid adverse impacts on the wildlife sites, and it also has concerns about coastal erosion and flood risk.
We’ll also be looking to see how thorough the public consultation will be – it’s no good just sticking stuff on a website and hoping people will reply. There are going to be a number of events around the country, and public exhibitions in all the places affected by nuclear proposals. More details on the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s website. If you’re reading this, please spread the word, and keep an eye out for further updates on our website and this blog.
As if that wasn’t enough, the Department for Transport has also published its national policy statements on ports – that will have to be the subject of another post!