CONTROVERSIAL plans to store more nuclear waste at Bradwell have been given the green light.

Magnox applied to Essex County Council to remove a planning condition barring it from storing waste removed from other power plants at Bradwell.

The intermediate level waste, which would come from Sizewell in Suffolk and Dungeness in Kent, typically consists of sludge, sand, gravel and metal.

Now Essex County Council’s development and regulation committee has approved the plans by five votes to two.

Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group (BANNG), the Maldon Society and North Essex MP Bernard Jenkin all raised concerns about the plans.

Barry Turner, speaking at the meeting on behalf of BANNG, said: “The original store was designed and approved only for Bradwell intermediate waste by yourselves specifically only for that purpose.

“It has to be remembered the accepted policy was that each site would store its own intermediate level waste in its own storage – not transport it across the country.

“The location we are talking about it low – it is below the sea wall and it will be vulnerable to climate change sometime in the future.”

Judy Lea, of the Maldon Society, told the meeting tourism could be harmed by the move.

She said: It is simply immoral to change the planning conditions retrospectively on such a big issue.

“The perception – and it is a perception – of Dengie and its coastline and the historic buildings it contains as a nuclear dump cuts across Maldon District Council’s efforts and expense on initiatives to boost employment and income on issues such as tourism.”

John Jowers, county councillor for Mersea and vice chairman of the committee, raised concerns about the move but said there was not a planning policy reason to object to the plans.

He said: “How temporary is temporary? That is the one thing that really concerns me and of course this is not your normal waste – this is nuclear waste.”

A spokesman for Magnox said: "Magnox is pleased that the committee has agreed with the planning officer’s recommendation and granted approval for our plans to move waste packages from Sizewell A and Dungeness A to Bradwell for interim storage.

“This will help us make best use of our existing resources and provide value for the taxpayer. We will continue to work closely with our stakeholders as we now look to progress our plans."

The decommissioning process at Bradwell Power Station started in 2002, 40 years after it started to produce nuclear energy, and could continue until 2019.

China General Nuclear Power Corporation has agreed to build a nuclear plant on nearby land and says construction could start as early as 2023.