OUR SITES: OLDBURYLand at Shepperdine, near the village of Oldbury in South Gloucestershire and on the banks of the Severn Estuary provides all the essential requirements of, and is a good location for, a potential new nuclear plant. The new station would deliver much needed low carbon power generation. The site boasts a strong history of nuclear power generation, an experienced local skills base and good connection into the electricity transmission network. |
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150 hectares of land next to the existing Magnox nuclear power station at Oldbury has been included in the Government's list of sites deemed strategically suitable for new nuclear development. Horizon Nuclear Power successfully acquired land here through a Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) auction in April 2009 and later that year completed preliminary ground investigation works to get a better understanding of the site. While the Government's National Policy Statement (NPS) process has been designed to decide upon Oldbury's strategic suitability for a new station, planning permission would still be required to build a new station on the site. Oldbury was listed on the Government's Nuclear NPS in June 2011 along with seven other sites it believes to be strategically suitable for new nuclear build. The Nuclear NPS was approved by a vote in Parliament on 18th July 2011. Further details can be found on the Government's nuclear siting website. A new nuclear power station at Oldbury would generate substantially more electricity than the existing station which means that cooling towers will be required to cool the steam used to generate electricity. We have undertaken a study to assess the suitability of different types of cooling towers that could be used. The study incorporated the environmental, economic and visual impacts of each technology available. Based on the results of this study, a 'hybrid' cooling tower is our preferred option for the site. For more information on cooling towers please see our FAQ's below.
We are committed to keeping the local community informed at all stages of the development process. In 2009 we held two rounds of public exhibitions and a drop-in surgery session followed by further public exhibitions and a masterclass event, to field questions from local people, in 2010. In 2011 we introduced open surgeries where local people can put their questions to the project team and we continue to distribute newsletters to communities close to Oldbury at least twice a year to keep residents up to date on our plans. Document libraryConsenting process documents: The scoping report 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. To download a copy of the Oldbury Scoping Opinion issued by the IPC as a PDF, please click on the link: Scoping Opinion (April 2010)
To download a copy of the Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Full Report, Report Summary and associated documents, which accompanied our request for an opinion through the IPC, please click on the link: To download a copy of the Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Report - Response To Public Feedback, please click on the link: Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Report - Response To Public Feedback Newsletter distribution: Our regular community update newsletter is now distributed to 14,000 homes close to our proposed site. The recently expanded distribution area can be seen on the following map and will be reviewed as the project develops, please click on the link: Map of distribution area If you live are outside of these areas you can still sign up for an electronic version of the newsletter by contacting us by either email or on the freephone number. Hard copies are also made available to local parish councils. Newsletters: Oldbury Newsletter October 2011Public exhibition materials:
October 2010 - Drop-in event information |