The UK government recently confirmed its support for Sizewell C. Getting to this point, and planning how thousands of construction crew and millions of tonnes of materials and plant will get to the site, has taken a decade of work. 

Nuclear power plants like Sizewell C are almost always built in rural locations, by the sea. Their neighbours are often used to a quiet pace of life, and transport links have limited capacity. To gain permission to build the plant, EDF, helped by WSP, had to carefully consider a mix of road, rail, and sea transport options.

Their proposals were eventually considered by five examiners during a tightly scheduled six month process. This took place under an approach to planning of nationally significant projects in the UK, called a Development Consent Order, or DCO. 

The DCO system was adopted shortly before work on planning Sizewell C began, in 2008. While it promises to streamline planning approvals, with one consent given for an entire project, it requires companies to prepare thousands of pages of documents, and detailed simulations of transport impacts for dozens of miles around the plant.

Guests

Richard Bull – Head of DCO delivery Sizewell C

John Hicks – Technical director, WSP

Nick Cottman – Technical director, WSP