10,000 say ‘no’ to new Bradwell power station (From Essex County Standard)

10,000 say ‘no’ to new Bradwell power station

4:00pm Friday 28th January 2011 in News By Adam Cornell

CAMPAIGNERS fighting plans for a new nuclear power station in Bradwell have got 10,000 people to sign a petition against the plans.

The petition, led by West Mersea pressure group Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group, will be passed to energy minister, MP Charles Hendry, on Tuesday.

The group claims no more than one in five people refused to sign, which it says is evidence of widespread opposition to nuclear power on their doorstep.

Varrie Blowers, secretary of Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group, said: “Getting so many signatures from local communities and those with ties to the area is a colossal achievement and demonstrates unequivocally the sheer strength of opposition to the proposal.”

The signatures were all achieved by face-to-face talks, rather than through an online campaign.

The petition stated: “We, the undersigned, wish to express our strong opposition to the construction of a new nuclear power station at Bradwell and the storage of highly-radioactive waste on site. We demand the Government reject this proposal. We demand the site of the former station be returned to greenfield status within 25 years of closure, as proposed by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.”

The Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group has been fighting the plans for three years.

Mrs Blowers added: “Meeting the minister presents us with a great opportunity to put forward our views, backed as they are by thousands of people.

“Our objective is to get him to see how wrong it would be to persist with proposals for Bradwell.”

Bradwell is one of the Government’s preferred sites for a new wave of nuclear power stations.