Dear Stakeholder

We are writing to share the latest socioeconomic report from our sister project, Hinkley Point C in Somerset. Key achievements include training more than 8,000 people in Hinkley Point C’s new Centres of Excellence, with almost one third of those being trained being from some of the most deprived areas of Britain. 1,320 apprentices have been trained so far. The area around Hinkley Point C has seen a 25% growth in younger people aged 25-39. Productivity in the local town of Bridgwater is now 10% higher than surrounding towns.

You can view the latest socioeconomic report here.

The statistics speak for themselves and give a flavour of the many benefits that will be experienced here in the East of England.

Sizewell C is making great progress since triggering the Development Consent Order in January, which enabled the project to move forward with construction and unlock the early funding for local communities and the governance process for local engagement.

We have moved from being 100% owned by EDF to now being majority owned by the government. This is an incredibly important vote of confidence in the project and its importance to the security of energy supply and the long-term future of rewarding jobs and skills here in Suffolk, as well as the major boost that a project of this scale is already delivering to the local supply chain.

The equity raise process, which was launched in September, is making good progress and we are on track to take a Financial Investment Decision later this year.

Most recently, Sizewell C has taken another important step forward by signing a deal with EDF for the freehold of the site land which will be used to build Sizewell C.

This is an essential step to meeting the necessary requirements before being granted a site licence from the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

It builds on the progress we are making right across the project in raising additional finance, agreeing contracts with suppliers, and manufacturing key components.

We are also accelerating the recruitment of our workforce and preparing the ground at our construction site, so we can begin bulk earthworks in a few weeks from now.

Working with the Local Authorities to allocate a £250m pot of funding for the county across a wide range of areas will ensure a legacy benefit for generations to come. The funding released in January amounted to £20m across a large number of sectors, including education and community benefit. Suffolk Community Foundation have formed a panel to award the first community grants over summer.

It has been a collective effort to get to this point, and will continue to be so throughout construction so we can deliver the amazing opportunities that this project offers the region and continue important engagement with local communities.

I would like to encourage you to continue engaging with the local team based on Leiston High Street, your opinions do matter to us. Our commitment to you is that we will continue to keep you updated on the progress of the project, work hard to minimise the impacts and maximise the opportunities for generations to come.

Julia and Nigel