Sizewell C boss bans HGVs using wrong rural roads

HGV drivers incorrectly using a small country lane to access a nuclear power station construction site are set to be banned.

The move follows a complaint from Simon Mellen about vehicles accessing the construction site of a new rail route from Abbey Lane in Leiston, where he lives.

The 57-year-old said a growing number of lorries had been using the lane as a haul road, damaging trees in the process.

New Sizewell C boss Nigel Cann said the drivers had been identified and banned from using the lane and other "non-compliant" routes and he was sorry to hear of the difficulties caused.

Part of Abbey Lane to the east was shut in January and will remain so until January 2027 so the Green Rail Route can be built.

A construction site was opened, close to where Abbey Lane meets Abbey Road and Lover's Lane, but drivers should not be using Abbey Lane to access it.

Mr Mellen, who has raised the issue with both East Suffolk and Suffolk County Councils, said the situation came to a head when a tree was damaged causing a branch to hang over the road.

"We were getting big queues of them coming down the lane and as a result all the verges were destroyed, there's been unseen destruction to all the mature trees, it's like a picture out of the Somme on some days," he said.

"Pedestrians use the road and it is completely dangerous to travel down there."

Nigel Cann, recently appointed as the new chief executive of Sizewell C, said he was "very sorry" to hear of the issues Mr Mellen had faced and stressed the project's "commitment to safety and the environment".

He said Sizewell C had identified some HGVs that used Abbey Lane between 24 November and 9 December and these drivers would be banned "for using a non-compliant route".

An ecologist has been instructed to look at any outstanding vegetation impact and Sizewell C's site delivery director, Damian Leydon, is scheduled to visit Mr Mellen this week.

East Suffolk Council said it was aware of the issue and was in contact with residents, Sizewell C and the county council to "seek alternative routes, as per the agreed construction management plan".

"As the responsible planning authority, we will consider planning enforcement powers if the issue continues," the authority said.

Richard Rout, the county council's cabinet member for large infrastructure projects, said it had escalated the complaints with the Sizewell C management to "understand why this is continuing to happen".

"It is disappointing and frustrating to see that contraventions to planning conditions are already occurring in the earliest stages of construction.

"We will not stand for Sizewell C operators disregarding agreed conditions, negatively impacting local communities or damaging the environment."

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