West Berkshire Council has defeated a judicial review challenge brought by developers in relation to the designation of a ‘detailed emergency planning zone’ around an atomic weapons establishment. The claimants argued that the council had not properly overseen the regulatory designation process for the AWE Burghfield Detailed Emergency Planning Zone. The background to the case of Crest Nicholson Operations Ltd & Ors v West Berkshire District Council & Ors [2021] EWHC 289 is that the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2019 (REPPIR 19), which came into force in May 2019, impose duties on operators who work with ionising radiation and local authorities to plan for radiation emergencies.
Local Government Lawyer 22nd Feb 2021 read more »
Building 15,000 homes in Grazeley near Reading would not be safe and “could have an adverse impact on the nation’s security”. That is according to the Ministry of Defence, which has written an eight-page objection to plans for a garden town in Grazeley. It objected after the Detailed Emergency Planning Zone (DEPZ) around nuclear weapons factory AWE Burghfield was extended to cover most of the site that had been earmarked for the new homes. According to the Office for Nuclear Regulation, anyone living in the zone can be affected by a “reasonably foreseeable” radiation emergency.
Planet Radio 28th Feb 2021 read more »