View on the ground

Oldbury

Oldbury was one of the eleven sites that could potentially host a new nuclear station included on the Government’s list published on 15th April 2009.

Oldbury was also included on the final list of ten nominated sites which was issued on 9th November 2009 (It was proposed to drop Dungeness from the list). This was part of a consultation on Draft National Policy Statements (NPSs) on Energy Infrastructure. The draft Nuclear NPS included a site assessment for Oldbury . The consultation closed on 22nd February 2010. The Government says it is now considering the consultation responses and will publish a formal response document later in 2010 together with the final National Policy Statements. Under the new Planning Act the finalised Nuclear NPS will establish the ‘need’ for new reactors, so the subsequent planning process will only deal with site specific issues.

Oldbury is the site of two operating Magnox Reactors, owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), in Gloucestershire. These reactors are being operated, on behalf of the NDA by Magnox North Ltd. which is a company owned by Energy Solutions. The two reactors were originally due to be decommissioned in December 2008 after operating for 41 years but were then given permission to run until 2010. Now the NDA has revealed it wants the end date to be extended again, a decision that will be taken by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. This would help the NDA generate cash to off-set against a £4 billion hole in the national decommissioning budget revealed in June 2010.

Concerns have been expressed about the levels of cancer in Chepstow and Caldicott  which lie on the other side of the Severn Estuary and downstream.

A consortium of Germany’s E.On and RWE was successful in its bid  to buy land adjacent to the Magnox reactors from the NDA. The consortium, known as Horizon Nuclear Power also bought land at Wylfa on Anglesey. Horizon says it will now push ahead with plans to develop at least 6GW of new nuclear capacity in the UK.

In November 2009 Horizon Nuclear Power submitted a request to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) for an Environmental Impact Assessment 'Scoping Opinion'. This request was accompanied by an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Scoping Report.  

The IPC published its Scoping Opinion in December 2009 which sets out the scope of detailed studies proposed to establish the environmental impact of the project. This will result in an Environmental Statement which is an essential part of the planning application. Planning lawyers, Bircham Dyson and Bell say the Scoping Opinion is essential reading to anyone interested in Environmental Statements.

Horizon has also published a response to public feedback on the Scoping Report. Further information on Horizon Nuclear Power’s plans for Oldbury can be found here.

In August 2009 residents of Shepperdine, near Thornbury blocked access to the site a for a while, in an attempt to prevent initial site investigation work.

Local residents are particularly incensed by plans for four huge cooling towers planned which will be between 70 and 200 metres high.

In March 2010 more than 100 people took to the streets of Thornbury to protest against the Oldbury plans.

In May 2010 Stroud Green Party launched a report called “The Right to Know: Oldbury nuclear expansion and your safety – the risks to the people of Gloucestershire” 

According to the May 2010 IPC Programme of Anticipated Projects Horizon Nuclear Energy is not expected to apply for planning permission until April 2014.

Local Group: Shepperdine Against Nuclear Energy

Last Updated 4th June 2010

This section of the website has been developed thanks to funding from Polden-Puckham Charitable Foundation, and the Andrew Wainwright Reform Trust.