Stop Hinkley Legal Challenge Appeal

Numerous decisions have been taken recently at both a national and local level to facilitate the so-called 'Nuclear Renaissance'.

Already this year a decision was taken by Energy Minister Chris Huhne to rubber stamp the 'justification' for new nuclear build. A resident living near the proposed nuclear reactor site ay Heysham in Lancashire has applied to challenge this in court, and although initially rejected, an appeal is under way. A press release about this legal case can be found here: http://www.irwinmitchell.com/search/pages/NewsViewer.aspx?item=4516

More recently, the government decided to ratify its National Policy Statements (NPSs) on energy, including one which covers nuclear power. The national environmental pressure group Greenpeace has now challenged this - see details here: http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/media/press-releases/greenpeace-takes-government-court-over-nuclear-power-expansion-20110826

Greenpeace has a good track record on such challenges: it has already forced the government to re-run an earlier stage of the NPS process after taking them to court.

Locally, West Somerset Council decided at the end of July to allow EDF to carry our preparatory work for Hinkley C. This would mean desecrating a large area of West Somerset countryside, including ecologically sensitive areas with national and international conservation designations, and even before the company has secured permission to build the nuclear power station. Despite the fact that the application has met with universal disapproval from local residents, the Council has blindly forged ahead, forgetting whose interests it is supposed to represent.

At the moment there is a pause whilst the Council finalises the planning conditions attached to this permission. Once properly ratified, there will be a 12 week period during which this decision can be challenged.

Finally, EDF's application for a sea jetty (as part of the Hinkley C preparations) has gone to a public inquiry to be heard in November.

We are currently taking legal advice about which of these decisions Stop Hinkley should challenge, but whichever we choose, the financial burden will be huge. There won't be much time to raise these funds, so with this in mind we would like to ask all Stop Hinkley supporters to make a donation to our legal challenge appeal - no matter how large or small.

	Donate on-line via Paypal.
	Or send your donations, made payable to "Stop Hinkley", to: Stop Hinkley Legal Challenge Fund, 8 The Bartons, South Petherton TA13 5LW

Donors, who wish it, will be sent a copy of the Application for Judicial Review, once we have decided which decision to challenge.

If the legal challenge does not go ahead, your donation will be used for ongoing major campaign activities against the Hinkley plans.  If you would prefer your donation to be refunded, please let us know.

• PLEASE PASS THIS INFO TO ANYONE WHO YOU THINK MIGHT CONTRIBUTE TO OUR LEGAL CHALLENGE APPEAL.