# Sizewell C co-founds grantmaking environmental charity for East Suffolk

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2025/08/06/sizewell-c-grantmaking-environmental-charity/
- Published: 2025-08-06T14:30:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Nuclear power station Sizewell C on the Suffolk coast has co-founded a charity
that will distribute funds to local organisations with the aim of making “East Suffolk
the most ecologically diverse and resilient area in England”.**

East Suffolk Trust (EaST) has been jointly established by Sizewell C, East Suffolk
Council and Suffolk County Council. Together they have pledged to spend at least
£78 million.

EaST Trustee and Director General of the Royal Horticultural Society, Clare Matterson
CBE, said:

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> “East Suffolk is famed for its landscapes and wildlife, which enrich the lives
> of those of us lucky enough to live here, as well as the thousands of visitors
> drawn to the region each year. Yet the diversity and abundance of our animals 
> and plants continue to decline.
> “EaST, whose Board is made up of a deeply experienced group of charity trustees,
> has been launched to reverse this decline and restore nature in East Suffolk and
> the county as a whole, and I’m absolutely delighted to be a part of it.”

Dr Bakaki, from the University of Essex’s Department of Government, said:

> “I am honoured to be a founding Trustee of EaST, the first of its kind environmental
> trust in East Suffolk.
> “The trust will not only fund environmental projects but also contribute to the
> advancement of the education of the public in the enhancement of the natural environment.”

## Sizewell C’s contribution to funding

EaST will receive unrestricted annual donations from Sizewell C of **£1.5 million**
throughout the power station’s construction and for the first 20 years of its operation.
Thereafter annual contributions will continue at **£750,000**.

With Sizewell C expected to generate power for at least 60 years and potentially
up to 100, the total investment could exceed **£100 million** over the coming century.

## First nuclear power station to co-found a charity

Given its novelty it has been suggested that “the charity could serve as a greenprint
for how major infrastructure projects can help deliver local nature recovery across
the UK”.

**Julia Pyke**, Joint Managing Director of Sizewell C, commented:

> “This charity is the first of its kind anywhere in the UK and perhaps the world.
> Taken together with the work we have already delivered to create new nature reserves
> around Sizewell, including our flagship Wild Aldhurst reserve near Leiston, much
> of which has been voluntary, it shows how major infrastructure projects like ours
> can be an important force for good for nature, as well as for people and businesses
> in Suffolk and across the UK.”

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   10 December 2015)**