A variety of consents and permits are required to build Bradwell B. Permission to build a new station at Bradwell is applied for as part of a Development Consent Order application. Separately there is acceptance of the reactor technology proposed for use at Bradwell B (the UK HPR1000) under the now complete ‘Generic Design Assessment’ process. These two key processes are explained below. More information can be found on our Consents and Permits page.

To build Bradwell B requires the granting of a development consent order. This is a special type of planning application for significant infrastructure projects, where an independent inspector is appointed to review our plans.

We are still in the early stages of developing proposals for Bradwell B, and as such do not expect to be in a position to submit an application for a while yet.

Once submitted, it can take up to 18 months for the inspector to review the application. They will then issue a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), who will make the final decision.

For more information, visit the Planning Inspectorate’s website: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/application-process/the-process/.

The GDA process is used by the UK nuclear regulators (the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency) to assess new nuclear reactor designs. It allows the regulators to assess the safety, security and environmental implications of new designs, separate from applications to build them at specific sites.

The Generic Design Assessment (GDA) for the UK HPR1000 nuclear reactor technology was successfully completed on 7 February 2022, with the issuing of a Design Acceptance Confirmation (DAC) from the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and a Statement of Design Acceptability (SoDA) from the Environment Agency.

More information can be found via www.ukhpr1000.co.uk