Sellafield compound plans approved

Sellafield, which is owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, stores nearly all of the UK's nuclear waste

A facility to treat historical plutonium at the Sellafield site in Cumbria has been given planning permission despite community concerns.

The £1bn project is intended to cut risks associated with the storage of the lethal radioactive material dating from the early days of the facility.

Seascale Parish Council had expressed "grave safety reservations".

But Copeland councillors approved it after Sellafield bosses said it played a key role in making the site safer.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that the facility would process and package waste which was currently being stored across the site, transferring it via an internal link corridor.

There were concerns the 140-ft high structure would "blight the landscape" and negatively impact the beach tourist industry.

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But Heather Morrison, Copeland's senior planning officer, told the meeting that although it would be seen from the beach it must be judged in its industrial "context".

"It will be seen against THORP which is much larger," she added.

Sellafield has also agreed several mitigation measures including less reflective cladding for the main processing compound.