Backing for new nuclear plant at Oldbury

Plans to build a new nuclear power station near the existing Oldbury plant near Thornbury have won government backing.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband yesterday announced that a site near the existing South Gloucestershire power station was on a list of 10 sites that have met government requirements for new plants.

A reactor could be built on the land within 10 years and would pump an estimated £2 billion into the local economy, creating 800 to 1,000 permanent skilled jobs. A further 9,000 jobs would be linked to its construction, along with that of a plant in North Wales planned by the same consortium.

But the planned power station would feature cooling towers up to 200m (656ft) tall, which would be visible for miles around.

Plans could be pushed through by a new planning body, the Infrastructure Planning Commission, which is being created to speed up decisions on such major schemes and has been criticised for taking away power from local communities. Although the

Government has given the green light for the shortlisted sites, which also include Hinkley Point south of Burnham-on-Sea, the IPC will have to consider any detailed applications, including the impact on the local area.

In a report released to support the announcement, the Government acknowledges the impact a plant near the existing Oldbury site will have on beauty spots around the river Severn.

The Thornbury Conservation Area and garden of Thornbury Castle are within two miles of the 150-acre site at Shepperdine, and there are 228 Grade II-listed buildings within three miles. Any new plant is "likely to have to lead to a perceptible deterioration in some views, which would not be able to be fully mitigated given the scale of the possible new buildings".

The 200m cooling towers will affect views across land officially classed as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the Wye Valley and also the Cotswolds. There could also be a "cumulative" impact from the combination of Oldbury, Hinkley Point and the Severn Barrage, if that goes ahead.

In the Commons Northavon MP Steve Webb asked: "If my constituents are actually given the chance to object, will they be listened to and not just heard?"

Mr Miliband said he could "reassure him" the IPC would take residents' views seriously.

Anti-nuclear campaigner Reg Illingworth, who lives in Shepperdine, said: "We were expecting Oldbury to be on the list, but there's a long way to go for it to open."