Proposed AWE Aldermaston building for electricity sub station - not nuclear waste

PROPOSALS for a huge new building at AWE Aldermaston are for an electricity substation and not to house nuclear waste, the company has confirmed.

West Berkshire Council is to decide early next year on a planning application submitted by the Atomic Weapons Establishment, which manufactures and maintains the UK’s nuclear deterrent, Trident, at sites in Aldermaston and Burghfield.

The proposed site for the substation encloses an area of some 7.28 hectares, including the development site, internal circulation routes and a lorry search area, located at the AWE’s West Gate.

Development will therefore only take place on four per cent of AWE’s total site area of 285ha.
The proposals include two new road junctions serving the proposed building, one to the north west with widened access for HGV turning, removable bollards and two parking bays for LGVs, and another to the south east of the building.

There will also be a 1.8m-wide footpath around the perimeter of the building, along with landscaping, including native parkland, tree and copse planting and areas of heathland.

AWE spokeswoman, Val Hincks, confirmed that the proposals were in order to house an electricity intake substation, bringing an external supply on to the site to support core business.

She said: “There will be no waste housed in this building of any kind.

“The substation building will measure approximately 19.5m by 21m and will have a finished height of 7.7m above existing ground level. Its external finish will be that of a small- to medium-scale industrial building.

“This planning application forms part of the essential infrastructure for AWE’s long-term development.”

West Berkshire Council has set a target date of February 3, 2015 for a decision on the proposals.