A Suffolk wildlife and conservation charity has called for "greater transparency" from Sizewell C in relation to its wildlife compensation schemes.
Earlier in September, developers of the new Sizewell C nuclear power station announced a new partnership with the nature restoration movement WildEast to promote the return of land to nature across the region.
In announcing the partnership, Sizewell C flagged up how it had pledged to return a large part of the land to nature during the construction of the new power station.
READ MORE: Sizewell C joins Wild East to rewild East of England
Its involvement in leading on a wildlife habitat scheme at Wild Aldhurst nature reserve in Leiston was mentioned, along with plans for wetland habitat creation at three nature reserves at Benhall, Halesworth and Pakenham.
However, in a joint statement with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the Suffolk Wildlife Trust spoke of its "real disappointment" that Sizewell C had included the work at the three nature reserves, which is part of its legal duty to compensate for the impacts of the power station's construction on wildlife.
The charities said the projects were a "minimum requirement," but were being "misrepresented" as examples of the developers going the extra mile for nature.
READ MORE: Wild Aldhurst linked with Sizewell C applies to expand
A spokesperson for the trust said: "People have a right to expect far better transparency from Sizewell C when it comes to it's wildlife compensation.
"Sizewell C must do better to be clear about the compensation they are required to deliver by law, versus what is truly 'additional' for nature."
A Sizewell C spokesperson said: “We fully accept that the new habitats we’re creating at Benhall, Halesworth and Pakenham are to compensate for the unavoidable loss of a small part of Sizewell Marshes SSSI to construct Sizewell C.
"The SWT and RSPB's support for our efforts to create new habitats at Wild Aldhurst and elsewhere on the Sizewell estate that go above and beyond statutory requirements is very welcome. Our new partnership with Wild East is another way we can benefit Suffolk’s wildlife.”
Julia Pyke, joint managing director of Sizewell C, said: “Sizewell C will be built in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that’s rich in wildlife and we fully understand our responsibility to look after nature before, during and after construction.
"But we don’t just want to mitigate the environmental impacts of building Sizewell C, we want to create an environmental legacy here in East Suffolk.
READ MORE: New nature reserves take shape near Sizewell C in Suffolk
“We’ve already spent 10 years rewilding over 150 hectares of arable land within the Sizewell estate and the three additional nature reserves we’ll create during the construction period will provide hundreds of acres of new habitats for wildlife and boost local biodiversity by 19%.
“By partnering with Wild East, we can make our habitat creation part of a much bigger project in the region and can empower our significant local supply chain to take part to.
"It’s a great opportunity to pull together businesses and organisations of all shapes and sizes to make East Anglia a key corridor for nature.”
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