Welcome to Stop New Nuclear’s first newsletter. You receive this newsletter because you have signed one of the pledges, or you signed up to the newsletter. Thank you for this.
We plan to send a newsletter to all pledgers and newsletter subscribers about once a month, and possibly more frequently in the weeks before the blockade. Feel free to share and distribute this newsletter.
Stop New Nuclear, an alliance of eight anti-nuclear groups committed to preventing the further expansion of the nuclear power industry in the UK was formed in May 2011. The plan for our first action, the blockading of Hinkley Point nuclear power station on 3 October is progressing well, and we already have a site for a camp (not far from Hinkley Point), and people working on transport and local accommodation for people who are unable or unwilling to camp. There is still a lot to do, but there is also a committed team in place around Hinkley Point working on it.
Since the publication of our call-out in late May, we have received about 100 pledges in total, of which more than 30 are blockading pledges. This is a good start, but we need many more. We need to grow. Our vision is to blockade Hinkley Point nuclear power stations with hundreds of people, and we think we can achieve this, if we all work together. We still have three months.
Please contact as many of your friends and relatives as possible and invite them to take part.
News about Hinkley Point
EDF (Electricity de France), the owners of Hinkley Point, did put in an application for preliminary works for its new nuclear power station in late November 2010,involving pre-construction activity across an area of more than 420 acres stretching from the Severn Estuary to the village of Shurton, filling in a beautiful valley and even starting excavation of the power station foundations down to a depth of up to 11 metres. It is still possible to object to this planning application. The deadline for objections has been extended to 28 July 2011. For more information, go to Stop Hinkley’s website at http://stophinkley.org/Temporary/31Jan2011.htm.
After the government published the set of National Policy Statements on Energy, including the one on nuclear power generation (see http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/consents_planning/nps_en_infra/nps_en_infra.aspx), it is now up to parliament to approve them. It did not come as a surprise that the government approved eight existing nuclear sites for nuclear new build: Bradwell,Essex; Hartlepool; Heysham, Lancashire; Hinkley Point, Somerset; Oldbury, South Gloucestershire; Sellafield, Cumbria; Sizewell, Suffolk; and Wylfa in Anglesey.
EDF announced that it aims to put in an application for the nuclear power station at Hinkley Point to the Infrastructure Planning Commission in October. This shows how important it is that our blockade on 3 October is big enough to provide a strong signal to government and EDF that we will not rest until they give up their plans for nuclear new build in this country (and elsewhere).
Mobilisation
We need your help with the mobilisation for the blockade. We have already distributed nearly 5,000 copies of the call-out (see http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/node/10). We have just ordered a second print-run of 10,000 copies, and we need your help to get them out. Please let us know if you can help distribute some, or go to a festival this summer where this might be appropriate, and we will send you as many as you need. If you can contribute to the expenses for postage, that would be great, but more important is your help in getting the message out.
You can also help us by talking to your local Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Transition Town, People & Planet or any other group that you think might be open to support the blockade. Asks them to sign the organisational pledge (see http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/pledges), or maybe even to organise a group or minibus to go to participate in the blockade.
Training
We have teamed up with Seeds for Change and Turning the Tide to provide training for the blockade. We are in the process of organising training days/afternoons/evenings in Bristol, Yorkshire, Wales, London, and Somerset, but this list is open-ended. You can help us by organising a group and a venue for a training in your area. If you have any questions regarding training, please get in touch.
Training dates will be announced on the website. So please check back regularly for updates.
What you can do
The campaign and the blockade become powerful through your participation. You can help us by organising an affinity group to take part in the blockade (or to give support), by mobilising in your community, by organising a training, but also by reaching out to your local media about the dangers of nuclear power and our campaign to stop new nuclear power stations in Britain.
On the weekend before and the day of the blockade, we will need a lot of practical support. Some of you have already kindly indicated when you signed the pledge that you can help in various ways. Thank you. When you arrive at the weekend camp or at the blockade your support will be invaluable. If anyone else wants to help by waving a placard, helping with legal support, helping out at the tea stall or by providing practical help with camp logistics, then just let us know.
Stop New Nuclear in the news
On 15 June, we sent out our first press release (see http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/node/24). Since then, we have received more news coverage than expected, thanks partly to the government’s publication of the National Policy Statements on Energy, and eight sites for nuclear new build. Stop New Nuclear was mentioned on the BBC News website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13887579), and in local media around Hinkley Point
(see http://www.burnham-on-sea.com/news/2011/hinkley-selected-22-06-11.php, http://www.thisisthewestcountry.co.uk/news/somerset_news/9105147.Protesters_plan_Hinkley_Point_blockade/, http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/Nuclear-plants-ahead-day-West-changed-forever/story-12826052-detail/story.html).
We also did a few interviews for local radio. This is an encouraging start, more than three months before the action. You can check news coverage about Stop New Nuclear at http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/inthepress. Let us know if we missed anything.
Donations!
We need them. We expect the campaign to cost about £10,000, of which we have been able to raise £2,000 until now. This means we need your help to raise the funds needed for this campaign – to cover for the flier, the camp logistics, transport, etc… Every donation is welcome – no matter how small. Please send your donation to:
Stop New Nuclear
c/o 5 Caledonian Road
London N1 9DX
Or donate online at http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/donate