Follow-up on the latest planning application at AWE Burghfield

Hi all, some bad news. I just wanted to give everyone an update on the planning application for a CMR facility, a key component of the UK's Trident infrastructure, at AWE's facility at Burghfield. It's been approved.

You may recall Peter's earlier blog post and appeal in February, that people write to the West Berkshire Council to protest this planned construction. Here's a link to that blog post, which explains the significance of this new facility:  http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/groups/peace-disarmament/blog/please-object-latest-planning-application-atomic-weapons-establishment

Thanks to his pointers, I wrote to them, recently receiving a reply that they had approved the plans. They told me that it had been "Approved subject to conditions", but that my "representations were an important part of the determination process...", a meagre comfort, if you ask me.

So where does this leave us now? Peter was able to give me some insight into that:

Regarding AWE Burghfield, as you say, the Council has now made its decision over the resubmitted planning application, so that is the end of the matter for this particular application. We managed to very slightly delay the decision by asking the Council to re-consult with the Health and Safety Executive in the light of the nuclear industry review which HSE is conducting in the light of the Fukushima accident, but HSE has now written back to say that they do not consider the matter to impact on nuclear safety, giving the green light to the Council.

However, there's a chance that further planning applications for AWE sites may have to be re-submitted as AWE's strategy was to apply for planning permission well in advance of construction because they were worried that they might not be granted permission and have to go through an appeal process. It will be interesting to see what happens with some of the other big planning consents which have been granted to AWE.

Hopefully we may have future opportunities like this, but either way, there are certainly other ways to skin this cat. This week for instance should see the Government trying to justify Trident again, even with massively rising costs:  http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/groups/peace-disarmament/blog/announcement-new-trident-submarines-be-made-week

Andre