nuclear-news

Will there ever be a new nuclear power station at Bradwell?

6 October 2026 https://www.banng.info/news/regional-life/new-nuclear-at-bradwell-ever/

Peter Banks, BANNG Co-ordinator, answers this question for the October 2026 edition of Regional Life magazine

Several factors come into play when attempting to answer that big question.

1. Current State of Play
The withdrawal of the Chinese General Nuclear Company (CGN) indicated that the Bradwell site is highly unlikely to be further considered for large ‘mega-reactors’ like the Hualong One Reactor design.

2. Political Implications
In existing (albeit awaiting updates) UK Government documentation, the Bradwell site is still listed as “potentially suitable” for nuclear development. With frequent changes in ministers and proposed regulatory changes, it is unclear whether this will change, especially as the onus has shifted to potential developers to choose a “suitable site” themselves. BANNG continues to maintain that the site is wholly unsuitable for any type of nuclear power station and its long-term legacy of dangerous radioactive wastes.

3.Legacy
There are areas of the former power station that give cause for concern. The two highly visible buildings covered in shiny cladding house the reactor containment vessels with the graphite moderator blocks still inside. These will remain too dangerous to decommission for another 100 years from now. Also Bradwell Intermediate Level Waste (ILW), along with inbound ILW from Dungeness and Sizewell A, is housed in a relatively new (built 2013-14) Intermediate Storage Facility (ISF). Further, when demolition of the storage pond building started, it was found it was too radioactive and another shell was built around it. Any new nuclear power station next door would vastly add to the dangerous legacy.

4. Speculation
With large ‘mega-reactors’ seemingly out of the picture, a prevailing misconception is that so-called Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) might be built at Bradwell. SMRs are anything but small! Typical proposals would take up more space than the closed Bradwell does and introduce yet more toxic waste. And no design that the UK Government has considered has ever been built and tested. No company or developer has indicated it is considering the Bradwell site, although other closed sites in England have been mooted.

5. Probability
At the time of writing, no developers have proposed building any sort of nuclear power plant at Bradwell. In addition to BANNG’s resolute stance that the site is not suitable, regulators may also be reluctant to recognise it as meeting the criteria to be “potentially suitable”.

To conclude, the chances of building a new nuclear power station at Bradwell are minimal. The answer to the question must be NO.

October 11, 2026 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, UK