The second community forum held by the company behind plans for the Bradwell B new nuclear power station looked at both the Environment Agency's current public consultation and the company's Environmental Impact Assessment.

More than 30 attendees representing different organisations – including community groups, public service organisations, county, district and parish councillors and MPs – attended the forum on Wednesday, 5 February, and were able to ask questions of Environment Agency (EA) speakers and Bradwell B Power Generation Company (BRB).

The EA representatives explained the current public consultation on the GDA (Generic Design Assessment) – the process by which the design of the proposed nuclear reactor itself, in this case the UK HPR1000, is evaluated.

The eventual outcome is either approval and certification of the design for use in the UK, rejection (a 'not content' finding from the EA) or a middle path where identified issues have to be addressed prior to approval.

The Generic Design Assessment public consultation

The EA is running an online public consultation on the GDA until 4 April and is keen for members of the public to take part.

Alan McGoff, speaking for the EA, explained that the EA should have the reactor assessment complete by the start of 2022. Mr McGoff reported that all comments will be recorded and taken account of – and that any that are not relevant/specific to the design assessment will be passed on to the body that would deal with them.

He said: "Those responses that are outside our remit would be passed to those agencies that would deal with them and their responses would be copied back."

Mr McGoff said that while the UK HPR1000 design is intended only for use at Bradwell B at present, it could "in theory be used at other sites in the UK" if approved through the GDA process. Because of this, the EA is not looking at "site specific" aspects in the design assessment – for example, specific environmental factors relevant to Bradwell.

He explained that site specific issues are looked at by the EA when specific applications are made and that in the agency then acts as in an advisory role with regard planning authorities.

More information on the GDA public consultation, including how to take part, is available on the Environment Agency website via the link here.

Environmental Impact Assessment

In a separate presentation, Phil Rew-Williamson, a chartered environmentalist, told the forum how Environmental Impact Assessment relates to Bradwell B. The assessment must be funded by the developers as part of the planning process and is a requirement of the Planning Act 2008.

He said: "The assessment is driven by the location and the nature of the project."

Mr Rew-Williamson explained that bodies consulted during the Environmental Impact Assessment include The Planning Inspectorate, Chelmsford City Council, Maldon District Council, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the Environment Agency, Natural England, Colchester Borough Council, the NHS, Essex County Council, Historic England and Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.

A public consultation will also form part of this process.

Bradwell B's Community Relations Manager, Stephen Bray, said: "Again, we are grateful that people took the time to attend.

"We were joined by Environment Agency representatives, who presented on the regulators' generic design assessment of our proposed reactor technology, the UK HPR1000, and their current public consultation.

"We also took the time to talk about environmental impact assessment, which is a major part of our work in preparing our application for planning permission – through a development consent order – within which we will assess all of the possible impacts environmentally, for the community, local ecology, heritage, and socio-economics.

"We hope the forum members found it helpful to have explained these important regulatory processes and how they can engage with them to ensure their voices are heard."

More information about the Community Forum is available on Bradwell B's website via the link here including previous meeting notes, presentations,and its terms of reference.