ANDREW Broadbent made a range of excellent points critical of the proposed huge power plant in your March 19 edition.

I would like to bring to the notice of your readers, and ideally our political representatives, an additional fundamental point (as set out in Climate News Network, March 24, 2020).

“Andrew Warren, chairman of the Energy Efficiency Federation, confirms that our UK energy consumption is now 20 per cent lower than it was in 2000, thanks to investments in energy efficiency technology.

“He says this is totally contrary to British government predictions.

“As recently as 2010, the Government was officially planning on the doubling, or even tripling, of electricity consumption by 2050, but by then sales were already falling.

“The 2005 White Paper, which set out the Government’s proposals for future legislation, reckoned that by 2020 electricity would have risen by 15 per cent.

“In fact it has fallen by 16 per cent – an error of more than 30 per cent in forecasting.

“This same White Paper was used to justify the building of a series of nuclear power stations to satisfy the new demand – a policy that remains in place, even though it is clear there is no need for the stations.”

The cessation of the BRB public consultation exhibitions because of coronavirus restrictions must not be used as an excuse to insidiously throttle and silence public disquiet.

The proposals should be halted until all the intended 15 clusters of the public who would be affected by this proposal can fully engage with the knowledgeable exhibition staff and fully understand the displays.

More than anything, though, we need a true and up-to-date cost benefit analysis of the justification for this station from the Government (once it has finished with corona and then Brexit!)

BRB needs to suspend its operations until this has been done.

There is too much at stake for all of us – Andrew Warren proves there’s no need to rush!

Judy Lea

Spital Road, Maldon