Our management contract for Sizewell Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) was up for renewal in December and after careful consideration we decided not to renew. Wildlife in the UK continues to decline and there is strong scientific evidence to support this. As part of our strategy to 2030 to reverse these declines, it makes sense to invest our resources directly where we can add real value on behalf of a landowner.  

Handing back management, with clear ‘instructions’ via a Management Plan, to landowners with the ability to do this themselves, gives us a greater opportunity to focus our efforts in bringing new land into conservation management. This upscaling is critical to reverse wildlife decline and enables us to focus more on our farmland and community advisory work as well as new nature reserves, such as Martlesham Wilds, where we can achieve new and significant ecological improvements. 

Sizewell Marshes SSSI is in excellent condition. We have in place a detailed Management Plan and we have great confidence that the SSSI will continue to be well managed after we have left, enabling us to invest our resources in other areas that urgently need more work. Although it was a decision that had nothing to do with the Sizewell C development (we would have made the decision if there had never been any plans for SZC at all), we remain concerned about potential impacts Sizewell C might have on the hydrology of the SSSI. We remain committed to working with Natural England and EDF, ensuring that appropriate data are collected and interrogated to pick up any possible changes. We will continue to push for mitigation and compensation for our priority species on the estate, barbastelle bats and natterjack toad, as well as supporting the RSPB in their work.