This morning I will be attending the public meeting in Lydd on the future of Dungeness power station.
Some people have said that as the Government has decided not to proceed with granting permission for a new nuclear power station to be built at Dungeness, that there is nothing we can do to change their mind. This is not true. There is a public consultation on this decision that is open until 22nd February and a final decision on the sites for new power stations might not be taken until after the general election.
As a community, the thousands of new jobs that would be created by the new power station would be of enourmous benefit in these difficult times. As a country, a new nuclear power station at Dungeness could be one of the first to be operational - potentially even before 2020, and could supply us with low carbon power. This energy will be increasingly important if we are to reduce our carbon emissions as a country and meet our climate change targets.
Natural England have raised objections to the new power station due to the damage that the building could cause to the vegetated shingle habitat at Dungeness. However I believe we should work together devise the best possible scheme to mitigate this risk. Shepway District Council have produced a report to consider this and their independent consultants believe this is possible.
Of course, many residents know that the shingle at Dungeness looks the way is does now, not just thanks to nature, but to human intervention to prevent coastal erosion from damaging flood defences and endangering the existing power stations. This work will need to continue regardless of whether a new power station is built.
The site would also encroach on less than 1% of the protected Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
If we don't take the decision to allow Dungeness to be built what will our options be. Well, we would probably need to rely even more on imported energy to meet our demands. I would rather have the security of having clean energy produced in Kent.