To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will arrange for (a) an exhibition and (b) public discussions to be held in Colchester constituency on proposals for a new nuclear power station at Bradwell, Essex. (303655)

DECC will be holding both an exhibition and public discussion, as part of its consultation on the draft Nuclear National Policy Statement, at the Mersea centre in West Mersea, Colchester on 10 December. There are more details on the venue on the event’s website:

www.nuclear-nps-events.info

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what criteria were used for choosing locations for the exhibition and public discussion on proposals for a new nuclear power station at Bradwell, Essex; and if he will make a statement. (303656)

Venues were chosen to be as close to the proposed nuclear power station site and while being as accessible as possible, our priority is to facilitate participation by as many people as possible.

We took into account a number of principles which helped us in choosing the exhibition location. These included:

Journey time to proposed site

Historic evidence of attendance levels to similar consultations

Existence of multiple proposed sites in one area

A wide range of venues were considered for each location. Suggested venues have been recommended by local authorities and energy companies (who have undertaken similar events in the past) and we have endeavoured to use as many of these recommendations as possible. A continuous three-day slot that stayed open into the evening was also sought, which meant many venues were unavailable due to regular weekly clubs/fitness programmes etc.

The priority was finding the largest possible venues, nearest to the site and with as good accessibility to the public as possible.