Beach and coastal path to close for Sizewell work

Part of a beach and a coastal path will be shut to allow for a new Sizewell C marine import facility to be built.

Construction will begin in January on the Suffolk coast and is expected to be completed in March. The new facility will allow large North Sea barges to berth up close to the site and offload construction materials for the new nuclear power station.

To allow for this to be built, part of the beach and coastal path will be closed weekdays. Alison Downes of Stop Sizewell C believed it could "drive away" people.

A spokesperson for Sizewell C said there would be some "inevitable disruption", but it had scheduled works during the winter months to keep it to a minimum.

"Sizewell beach has always been an important local amenity, but has already changed beyond all recognition," Ms Downes said.

"These closures will drive away the remainder of those people not already put off by the noise, spatial and visual changes.

"We are also very concerned about the impact on marine wildlife of constructing the jetty and marine bulk import facility, with piling an intrusive impact that is only going to increase with this work.

"This area will never be the same again."

The area will be open from 23:59 GMT on Fridays to 23:59 on Sundays during construction.

The new facility will extend approximately 500m (1,640ft) from the main construction site into the North Sea.

Sizewell said it would support its strategy to deliver 60% of its construction materials by rail and sea and it formed part of its development consent order.

It is also working to build the Green Rail Route – a new rail line to be used for this as well.

To ensure public safety, a 50m (164ft) radius exclusion zone will be placed around the works area while the marine bulk import facility is being built.

"Constructing a key piece of infrastructure of this scale inevitably causes some disruption," a Sizewell C spokesperson said.

"However, we're working hard to minimise that disruption. A section of the beach will be closed during weekdays only, and an alternative route will be in place.

"We're also scheduling these works during the winter months to keep disruption to a minimum while also maintaining public safety.

"Reopening the beach at weekends will allow Sizewell parkrun and other activities to continue."

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