Campaigners opposed to the building of a new nuclear power plant near Sizewell in Suffolk are waiting to see if they have won the latest stage of a legal battle with the Government.
Protest group Together Against Sizewell C objects to a decision, made in 2022 by then business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, to give the development the green light.
The group lost a High Court fight in June and has now asked three Court of Appeal judges to consider its concerns.
Sir Keith Lindblom, Lady Justice Andrews and Lord Justice Lewis on Thursday finished overseeing a Court of Appeal hearing in London and said they would deliver a ruling on a date to be fixed.
Lawyers representing the group told judges the central issue relates to whether a “development consent order” was lawful “without any assessment” of the environmental impacts of an “essential” fresh water supply.
A spokesman for Together Against Sizewell C said in a statement outside court: “It is clear that the business secretary needed to guarantee how a permanent water supply of two million litres per day for Sizewell C would be obtained, before giving consent.
“However, the environmental impact of such a plant was not included in the planning application for the nuclear power plant, and therefore was neither assessed nor taken into account.”
The group has taken legal action against Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Claire Coutinho and Sizewell C Ltd.
Lawyers representing the two defendants say the appeal should be dismissed.
Together Against Sizewell C argued at a High Court hearing in March that the Government failed to assess possible environmental impacts, including the impact of the water supply, and did not consider “alternative solutions” to meeting energy and climate change objectives.
The Government argued that it had made “legitimate planning judgments”.
A High Court judge dismissed Together Against Sizewell C’s challenge.
French energy giant EDF, which is due to develop the plant, has said Sizewell C is expected to generate low-carbon electricity to supply six million homes.
Ministers have said the multibillion-pound project will create 10,000 highly-skilled jobs, with its go-ahead being welcomed by unions and the nuclear industry.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article