EDF Chief Spurns Locals in whistle-stop visit to Suffolk

27 June 2018, for immediate release

EDF Energy’s Chief Executive Officer Simone Rossi will address the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce AGM in Kesgrave, Ipswich [1] on 29 June but, according to EDF staff, he will not visit Sizewell, and has ignored an invitation to meet local groups.

“Despite being in post for eight months and speaking about Sizewell regularly to the national media, Simone Rossi appears surprisingly reluctant to visit us,” said Paul Collins of Theberton and Eastbridge Action Group on Sizewell (TEAGS) and Minsmere Levels Stakeholder Group (MLSG) said. “If EDF really wants to show its commitment to engagement, Simone Rossi will make it a priority to come and meet the community that is on the frontline of Sizewell C & D and that will suffer a cumulative and disproportionate impact during construction. He owes it to the people of east Suffolk to come and hear our concerns face to face and ensure that EDF meets its stated obligations before the next round of consultation.

Charles Macdowell of the B1122 Action Group said: “The views of local people and groups are not being taken seriously. We have a great many concerns, many of them shared by the local councils and others. These include the B1122 which is not fit for purpose as the sole access road, the enormous workers’ campus at Eastbridge and the refusal to conduct proper Environmental Impact Assessments. Unless significant changes are made, we will have to conclude that EDF’s consultation process is purely symbolic and that the company has never had any intention of addressing local concerns.”

TEAGS invited Simone Rossi in October 2017 to visit our parishes. Our open letter was published in the East Anglian Daily Times [2] and posted to EDF’s London offices. After eight months, as EDF said it could not locate our letter, Sizewell C Project Development Director Jim Crawford replied, ignoring our invitation to Simone Rossi and instead reiterating the willingness of local staff to meet. [3] EDF staff told TEAGS verbally that Simone Rossi would visit Sizewell “at some point in the future”, but there is no guarantee that he would hold any meetings with local people at that time.

Notes

[1] https://www.ea-today.com/event/suffolk-chamber-june-business-networking-lunch-agm/

[2] East Anglian Daily Times, 31 October 2017, http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/protest-group-asks-new-edf-chief-to-visit-suffolk-to-hear-sizewell-c-views-1-5259290

[3] EDF’s reply can be viewed at https://www.dropbox.com/s/j8jcjv2oi1o4l8i/EDFLetter22June2018.jpeg