Saturday, 20 February 2010

LOCAL RESIDENTS TO MARCH IN A CALL TO THE GOVERNMENT TO SEE THE LIGHT ON MARCH 4th AT 6.15pm OUTSIDE OF THORNBURY TOWN COUNCIL OFFICES

OLDBURY IS SIMPLY NOT SUITABLE FOR NEW NUCLEAR

From Shepperdine Against Nuclear Energy*

Following the recent discussion meeting held in Thornbury with representatives from
the DECC and the subsequent submissions that numerous bodies and individuals have
made to the DECC we feel it is imperative that the Shepperdine site, near Oldbury is
removed from the list of 10 sites proposed for new nuclear power stations. This site
is totally unsuitable on so many obvious grounds but we have reservations that the
government will not listen in their rush to fix the mess they are now in over their
predicted energy gap.....

We are to hold a protest gathering and march in Thornbury town centre on Thursady
March 4th at 6.15pm entitled "DECC----Please See The Light" before the meeting held
by the promoter (Eon) on the same evening.

It will involve a short march from outside the Thornbury Town Council Offices to the
Eon meeting at Cossham Hall with the protesters carrying placards, torches, candles
and other forms of light.

We will also be projecting some key messages and images on to the buildings in the
vicinity.

Reg Illingworth of SANE says "The people of the villages of the Severn Vale and the
town of Thornbury know that what DECC is proposing is wrong on so many grounds--- it
is reassuring to have the support of South Gloucestershire Council and numerous
politicians. Our County Council have now highlighted most of these to the DECC in
their formal response. Including the fact that it is in a high level flood zone,
where it is so obviously ridiculous to consider such a scheme, made even more
ridiculous when you bear in mind they are planning to store highly toxic waste on
the site for up to 150 years! Other obvious concerns highlighted by the council
include the impact of the monstrous cooling towers on the adjacent areas of
outstanding natural beauty and the cummulative effect of other large scale proposals
in the area including the Severn tidal barrage."

" We invite everybody with any concerns to join our protest on the evening. It is
still by no means certain that the government will listen to us in their rush to
rectify the damage done by doing nothing about filling the energy gap for far too
long. It will be for a maximum of one hour! It could help save our community!"

"Your support is valued"
* Notes for press:

Shepperdine Against Nuclear Energy is a newly formed group of local residents living
close to the nominated site referred to in the Department for Energy and Climate
Change (DECC) draft National Policy Statement for Energy (NPS) documentation as
‘Oldbury’. This proposed site is in fact within the village of Shepperdine 2.5km to
the north of Oldbury. Our group is growing in numbers and includes residents from
the villages of Shepperdine itself, Oldbury, Rockhampton, Nupdown, Falfield and the
nearby town of Thornbury . Contact Reg Illingworth: tel 07979 560056

The DECC has just completed its public consultation on these documents and when
finalised they will nominate the sites they consider suitable for a new generation
of super-sized nuclear power stations. The documents will also set out the 'rules'
which the (much criticised new government quango) Infrastructure Planning Commission
(IPC) must follow in determining whether or not Planning Consent should be granted.
The draft of these rules sets out what the IPC can and can not consider and in its
current form seeks to pre-determine the outcome of the new nuclear sites by stating
that it should not consider many of these serious issues.





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