Anglesey nuclear power station granted planning permission

Horizon Nuclear Power’s plans to build its lead project, Wylfa Newydd, have been formally accepted for consideration by the Planning Inspectorate.

Horizon’s Development Consent Order (DCO) submission, which was made up of 41,000 pages, was submitted at the beginning of June, and has now completed its statutory 28-day period of review by the Planning Inspectorate to ensure it met the standards required.

Duncan Hawthorne, CEO of Horizon Nuclear Power, said: ‘This is a significant milestone for Horizon and an important step on the path to having all the permissions we need to build Wylfa Newydd.’

‘The power station will not only deliver huge benefits for Anglesey, where it will provide top-quality employment for local people and significant opportunities for local businesses, but it will also play a key role in the UK’s energy future, delivering much-needed low carbon, safe and secure power for decades to come.’

The DCO process now formally starts with the pre-examination phase. This is where members of the public are invited by the Planning Inspectorate to become an interested party by making a relevant representation.

An examining authority is also appointed at the pre-examination stage, and all interested parties will be invited to attend a preliminary meeting, run and chaired by the examining authority.

The approvals come after the ministerial statement made to the House of Commons by Greg Clark, secretary of state for business, energy & industrial strategy confirming that Wylfa Newydd is the next project in the UK’s nuclear new build programme and announcing the commencement of formal negotiations between Horizon and the UK Government on financing support for the project.

It also follows the positive ‘opinion’ from the European Commission for the Wylfa Newydd project under Article 37 of the Euratom Treaty which stated that the station will not have significant health or environmental impacts on other member states.