Planning chiefs must decide today whether plans for Sizewell C will go to the next stage of examination.

The Planning Inspectorate has had 28 days to consider the development consent order (DCO) from EDF for the new nuclear power station and must now consider whether it is happy for it to proceed to the next stage.

EDF had been intending to submit the application to the Planning Inspectorate by the end of March but this was pushed back by the coronavirus. The application was eventually entered at the end of May.

The Planning Inspectorate must now either decide to accept the plans as an adequate application or require more work to be done.

If it approves the plans then work will begin to examine them further with documents being made available to the public.

Interested parties will then be able to register to make representations to the examiners who will look into the plans in much more detail.

The examiners can then make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Alok Sharma who will then make a decision.

Those against the project remain concerned about the plans and the impact they may have on the area.

“Sizewell C is the wrong project at the wrong time in the wrong place and will not deliver the government’s objectives,” said Alison Downes from the Stop Sizewell C campaign.

Mrs Downes said that the power station didn’t meet Government policy imperatives and would take away investment from renewable energies.

She added that the group also believes that the power station will threaten the local economy and protected habitats.

A spokesman for EDF said: “Sizewell C will help tackle climate change and deliver thousands of high-skilled jobs. We will create 25,000 job opportunities and 1,000 apprenticeships during the construction of the power station.

“Some are expected to join us during the construction phase and stay with us during the operation of the power station.

“When we have completed construction we will need 900 people to operate Sizewell C.

“The station will run for at least 60 years: that means decades of skilled, sustainable work in well paid jobs for local people.”

MORE: EDF goes ahead with Sizewell C application despite local objection