Share your views on the future of Winfrith Site
Winfrith Site is hosting public engagement events, as well as an online exhibition, to seek feedback on delivering the site to heathland with public access
Winfrith Site
Winfrith Site is hosting public engagement events, as well as an online exhibition, to seek feedback on delivering the site to heathland with public access.
We are asking for views on how the site might look when our decommissioning mission is completed.
Your feedback will be incorporated into future planning application and environment permits application, expected to be submitted later in 2024.
About Winfrith site and our engagement with you
Previous engagement
Through previous engagement at Winfrith you have helped us identify:
- A preferred next land use of ‘heathland with public access’ of amenity value to the local community, with the possibility of retaining some areas for commercial use.
- That delivering the next land use should include retaining large structures on site and back filling with site derived rubble.
Current engagement
Building on previous engagement, we are now seeking your views on:
- The preferred approach of leaving the large sub-surface structures at the Steam Generating Heavy Water Reactor (SGHWR) and Dragon reactor in place as low-level radioactive waste disposals, and backfilling with suitable site demolition rubble.
- How you would like to use the site and how would you like it to look in the future when we have completed our decommissioning mission.
We have worked with specialists to develop outline landscape designs to achieve the site’s next planned land use of ‘heathland with public access’ whilst meeting our legal obligations.
Several potential landscape designs have been drafted for consideration and community input. Each concept option is based on achieving a balance of public access and protection of habitats.
Have your say
You can take part in our engagement by visiting our online exhibition here.
And you can leave us feedback on our proposals here
Or you can attend one of our in-person drop-in sessions:
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Thursday 25th May 2.30-7pm Winfrith Village Hall, DT2 8LR
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Thursday 1st June 1.30-6pm D’Urberville Centre, Wool, BH20 6DL
You can find out more about Winfrith Site here.
Winfrith Site Transition
What will we do with your feedback?
We will consider your feedback in the development of the designs for on-site disposals and restoration of the site. We will submit a planning application to Dorset Council in autumn 2024, and this will be supported by an environmental statement that summarises the potential impacts from the final stages of decommissioning.
We will also submit applications for environmental permits to the Environment Agency. The application will be supported by a site-wide environmental safety case which will include details of how the proposed disposals are safe, both after implementation and into the future. The Environment Agency will review the case and may also engage with the local communities on the proposals.
How we propose to manage waste from Winfrith Site
On-site disposal
On-site disposal means that the large underground building structures associated with the remaining two reactors will remain in place and the voids will be filled. Large concrete blocks will be placed in some voids below the ground and the remainder of the voids will be filled with suitable rubble generated from the site.
Once the voids have been filled, a secure cap will be placed over each of the structures and covered with locally sourced soil to enable habitats to re-establish as part of the wider site restoration.
We will continue to monitor and manage the site once the voids have been filled and the site has completed decommissioning.
These proposals are subject to planning permission and regulatory approvals – no work has yet been completed, and we are working in compliance with Environment Agency guidance on the final stages of decommissioning.
The benefits of on-site disposal:
- Significant environmental and sustainability benefits over options that would require complete removal of the sub-surface structures.
- Minimised health and safety risks to workforce from avoiding significant excavations.
- A reduction of more than 6,000 heavy goods vehicle transport movements off-site for disposal of material elsewhere, reducing the impact on the local communities and carbon emissions.
- Significant cost savings for the UK taxpayer.
- Minimised disruption and nuisance to the local community.
- Minimised impact on wildlife and protected habitats.
Environment and safety
The levels of radioactivity in the proposed on-site disposals will be very low. So low that, under Environment Agency guidance, if excavated the waste would be suitable for disposal at a suitably permitted radioactive landfill or for recycling in non-radioactive waste facilities, if it were to be disposed of off-site.
Sustainability and natural habitats
Sustainability is an important factor when looking at the best options for decommissioning and managing waste, and optimisation assessments have been performed to define the most sustainable approach at Winfrith Site.
These assessments were completed by listing short-term impacts such as the habitat, operator risk, public risk and road transport against long-term impacts and risks such as carbon footprint. This allowed us to define the best, most sustainable, approach.
We are committed to meeting our legal obligations, including managing flood risk, both now and in future climate change scenarios, and minimising impact on protected habitats.
What will happen next?
If our applications for an environmental permit and planning permission are granted, we will start work to fill the voids at SGHWR and Dragon. Once the voids have been filled, they will be securely covered with an engineered cap. The cap will then be covered by locally sourced soil to encourage habitats to be reinstated.
Magnox will continue to monitor the site for several decades after the disposals are made to ensure it is performing as expected.
Updates to this page
Last updated 30 May 2023 + show all updates
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We have added a direct link to the feedback form
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First published.