But a threat hangs over the glories of wildlife. In a few days, the government is due to announce its decision on whether to allow EDF to build the Sizewell C nuclear power station on land overlooking the 1,000-hectare (2,500-acre) reserve. graphic The approval will trigger the green light for one of Europe’s largest construction projects and the impact on the reserve will be significant. New roads and a temporary harbor can be built, and dozens of huge cranes erected across the land bordering Minsmere. For at least a decade, the construction of the giant plant’s twin nuclear reactors will continue – day and night. “We are not opposed in principle to having energy infrastructure at Sizewell, but the potential impact of this particular project could be very damaging,” said Adam Rowlands, Suffolk area manager for the RSPB. “There is a real threat to the species that we have fought to preserve here.” Minsmere, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, has been hailed as one of the UK’s best wildlife sanctuaries, although its origins are unusual. At the beginning of World War II, it was decided that the low-lying agricultural lands of the area should be flooded as a protection against a German invasion. After the war ended, it was discovered that buzzards, which had been extinct in the UK for over 100 years, had started nesting there. “At the time, there was all sorts of pressure on landowners to drain land and boost food production in the UK in the years after the war,” added Rowlands. “However, it was ultimately decided to keep the area as a natural combination of shingle beaches, coastal lagoons, swamps and woodlands. The RSPB took it over in 1947. Essentially, the land was remade, long before the term became an ecological buzzword.’ View of Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station as seen from RSPB Minsmere. Photo: Simon Dack/Alamy Many rare species, such as the wagtail and bittern, have found valuable refuge at Minsmere. However, it was the return of avoce that made the biggest impact. After a century’s absence from Britain, the black-and-white wader, with its distinctive curved bill, has established a small colony at Minsmere. From there it slowly spread across the nation. Today, there are around 1,500 breeding pairs in the UK and the bird is now featured on the RSPB crest, a symbol of hope for saving endangered bird species. Nor are the Avocet, the Bitter, and the Weltovian the only inhabitants of Minsmire. Otters, water voles, kingfishers, nightingales, woodpeckers, Dartford warblers, adders, toads and silver-spiked blue butterflies have also made homes in the refuge. “It’s the range of habitats that makes Minsmere special,” Rowlands said. “There are reedbeds, wet meadows, ditches, coastal shingle, woodlands, heather and acid grasslands. This is a valuable space.” So the prospect of a huge construction project proceeding on an adjacent plot of land is cause for concern. In Somerset, where EDF is building the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, around 1,600 workers are on site every day. 3 million tonnes of concrete and 230,000 tonnes of steel will eventually be used to build the new power plant, the site being dominated by giant 40m (130ft) cranes. The construction of its twin in Sizewell C will be identical in scale. Sizewell C will also require huge amounts of water for its workers and to make the concrete needed to build it. It is unclear where that water will come from in an area where supplies are already stretched. A Western Helicopter in flight over RSPB Minsmere Reserve in Suffolk, which has a range of habitats. Photo: Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images After its completion, even larger quantities will be needed to cool its reactors. “There’s also the issue of hot water leaving the reactor,” Rowlands said. “This could have a significant impact on the marine environment on the coast at Minsmere, affecting the fish and shellfish populations there and the birds that feed on them.” After nine years of construction, Hinkley Point C is now two years behind schedule and £8 billion over budget, although EDF has argued that lessons learned from building the Somerset plant will be vital to keeping Sizewell C – which would provide electricity for 6 million homes in Britain – on target in terms of cost and schedule. The company says it is already planting trees along its boundary with the reserve to protect Minsmere and has also created 47 hectares of new marsh foraging habitat to the north of the site. “Climate change is one of the biggest threats to biodiversity and Sizewell will play a big part in tackling the carbon emissions that drive this change,” an EDF spokesman said. “We need to achieve net zero carbon emissions and – in conjunction with Hinkley Point C and further nuclear projects – Sizewell C will play a key role in getting us there.” However, the RSPB remains concerned about the potential impact on the reserve which it considers to be a jewel in its crown. “There are plans to build a new port, a huge new road and a new rail line on the land next to this reserve in order to build Sizewell C,” Rowlands said. “This will make it very, very difficult for us to maintain an absolutely glorious area where people can observe some of Britain’s finest wildlife.”
