Heysham 3 Nomination
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) recently published a revised draft of the National Policy Statements for Nuclear Power. Heysham was one of the 8 sites nominated for a new nuclear power station, the first of which would be operational by 2018.
The DECC provides all of the supporting documents online for members of the public to read. HANA would like to draw attention to the most important documents as sources of information to local residents. The siting map shows the proposed site includes Heysham Golf Course, and an area to the south and west including Heysham Nature Reserve and Ocean Edge Leisure Park. It is proposed a new reactor could be ready by 2019 or 2020 and at the latest by 2025, and a second reactor was also suggested. The French Energy giant EDF expects to submit a first application to the Infrastructure Planning Commission by the end of 2010, and be pouring concrete foundations by 2013, and complete the work by the end of 2017, with commercial operation beginning within 2 years thereafter.
The assessment of the area proposed for development considered numerous environmental factors. The risk of flooding is not a threat to the site as presented in a flooding map, however the shore surrounding the proposed site and the original power stations is of environmental significance. Under international statutory designations the wetland surrounding Heysham peninsula and the Lune Estuary is a Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, and included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. Also this area is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest based on legislation introduced by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as presented on the national statutory designations map.
The effect of climate change was also considered in detail by an British Energy report, with the rise in sea level, ambient temperatures, and increased rainfall, factored into the assessment, from which they concluded the risk to the proposed Heysham site was minimal. A Met Office Report provided the scientific predictions for this climate change assessment, and the results of its computer models would also be of interest to residents concerned about this issue.
All of this information above was summarized in the Nomination Report for Heysham. We hope this web page combines much of the information associated with the Heysham 3 nomination and allows residents to consider the implications of a new nuclear power station in their neighbourhood.