EDF chiefs say the Hinkley Point C is obliged to make environmental improvements like saltmarsh to compensate for the very small impact the power station will have on fish numbers when operational.(Image: EDF)

Thornbury MP fights for Hinkley Point environmental protections

by · BristolLive

An MP has joined South Gloucestershire Council in calling on the Secretary of State for Energy, Security, and Net Zero to block plans to remove important environmental protections from the Hinkley Point C project.

In a letter to Ed Milliband, Thornbury & Yate MP Claire Young has expressed her concern about proposals to remove Acoustic Fish Deterrent measures from the project – warning that millions of fish, and connected wildlife, could be affected by the plans.

This is not the first time removing this environmental mitigation tool has been proposed, with a similar push to do so being blocked back in 2022 due to the impact it would have on local fish stock.

Her letter warned that the project has been years in the making and without sufficient environmental protections the impact on local biodiversity would be ‘devastating’. She urged the Secretary of State to join her and the council in opposing the plans.

She also expressed her support for further reviewing the existing measures in place to offset the impact on local nature to further strengthen them and ensure all areas which would see their local wildlife affected properly compensated.

Ms Young said: “The plans for Hinkley Point C has been in development for years. We cannot allow EDF to now abandon key protections for our local nature and wildlife at this late stage.

“Removing the measures designed to protect local fish would see millions killed every year, which would be devastating for our local ecosystem and harm our biodiversity.

“This is not the first time this idea has been floated, with it being rebuffed back in 2022. It seems ludicrous that the very same idea would be accepted now, two years later.

“If anything, we need to see the environmental protections and measures taken to offset the impact of this project strengthened – not watered down.

“That’s why I have written to the Secretary of State for Energy, Security, and Net Zero, urging him to listen to the concerns from South Gloucestershire Council and block the move.

“We cannot achieve net zero if we do not take steps now to put nature at the heart of all we do. I hope Ed Milliband will agree to join us in opposing this move so we can do just that.”