Campaigners have said UK approval of a Chinese-designed nuclear reactor proposed for a new power station in the Dengie "should not be read as signalling the go-ahead" for the plans.

The UK HPR1000 reactor technology proposed for Bradwell B - the nuclear power station proposed for Bradwell-on-Sea - received approval from the Environment Agency and the Office for Nuclear Regulation on Monday (7 February).

This marks the end of a five-year process, with the generic design assessment (GDA) of the technology beginning in 2017, meaning the reactor can be built in the UK if the Bradwell B project gets the necessary site-specific planning and environmental permits.

China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN), China's state-owned and state-operated nuclear company, and French energy giant EDF are partners in the Bradwell B Power Generation Company - the company formed to bring about Bradwell B.

But campaigners from the Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group (BANNG) say the GDA approval is "not a green light" for Bradwell B.

Professor Andrew Blowers, chair of BANNG, said: "This absolutely does not give a green light for reactors to be built at Bradwell.

"Given the problems of the Bradwell site and the fierce local opposition, CGN would surely struggle to gain the permits, licences and planning permission that it will need over coming years.

"Much better for it to try its luck elsewhere."

Prof Blowers said the approval does not recognise the "serious long-term risks to people and environments from reactors and radioactive waste stores on vulnerable low-lying coasts threatened by flooding, storm surges and sea level rise".

He said the approval is of "limited worth" to the project, adding: "If Bradwell B ever comes to pass, the ONR and EA will have to grant permits and licenses and we must hope that they will then apply their 'rigorous and detailed assessment' to the issues of radioactive waste, decommissioning, cooling, environmental impact and climate change at the Bradwell site.

"It would be incredible if the regulators did not conclude the site was wholly unsuitable for the development of mega reactors - but let's not hold our breath on that."

He also pointed to ongoing "strategic concerns about Chinese involvement in sensitive UK infrastructures".

He said: "All in all, the GDA approval amounts to not much more than a row of beans in the progress towards new nuclear at Bradwell."

In July last year, a Whitehall source confirmed a report by the Financial Times that the government is seeking to remove CGN from future projects in the UK - this would exclude the group from its Bradwell B project.

But prime minister Boris Johnson told MPs he does not want to "pitchfork away" all investment from China after being challenged about the future of Bradwell B in November.

He said the Government does not "want to see undue influence by potentially adversarial countries in our critical national infrastructure" and that more information on Bradwell B would be "forthcoming".