Bradwell: Campaigners drawing up plans

1:13pm Thursday 20th November 2008

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Battle lines are being drawn in the fight against a new nuclear power station.

About 70 people attended a public meeting in West Mersea to hear proposals for a new power plant at Bradwell.

The meeting at the Mersea Island Centre was organised by British Energy, which owns land to the east of the existing Magnox power station.

Representatives said three reactor designs for Bradwell are being considered, with a grid connection of up to 1,650 watts, as well as a store for spent radioactive fuel.

It is one of four sites to be put forward by British Energy for development.

Others include Sizewell, in Suffolk, Dungeness, in Kent and Hinckley Point, in Somerset.

When, or if, a site is chosen, it is expected a planning application for the new power station will be submitted by the end of 2010 or early in 2011 with a final decision in 2012.

This would allow the building of the new station to be completed by 2018.

A spokesman for British Energy said: “The meeting was very useful.

“It’s important we get out and speak to as many people as possible and give them the chance to raise their questions and their issues.”

But residents accused the energy firm of paying lip service to consultation.

Peter Clements, a West Mersea parish councillor, said: “They said the technology is so far improved that the dangers are infinitessimally small.

“That’s impossible for us to argue with – we have to take their word for it.

“We will just have draw up our battle lines and have a go at them.

“But I couldn’t help feeling a bit despairing.”

West Mersea resident, Ian Clarke, added: “A lot of important questions were not answered, including the evacuation arrangements, the results of a German study on leukaemia and power stations, issues of climate change and whether compensation will be given to owners for any impact on property prices.”