Anglesey unveils housing plan for Wylfa B builders

The current plant has been given permission to continue to generate electricity until 2012.

Plans for accommodating 6,000 construction workers on Anglesey if the Wylfa B nuclear power station goes ahead have been unveiled.

Experts warned in July there might not be enough homes on the island if the proposals were given the green light.

Anglesey council said it favoured a mix of purpose-built, rented and tourist accommodation to cater for the influx.

Wylfa has been confirmed among eight sites around the UK which would be suitable for a new power station.

Anglesey council said it commissioned a "construction workers accommodation study" last September.

Five options from the study were considered, but a mix of new build, rented and tourism accommodation was the council's preferred choice.

Anglesey's Energy Island Programme Director, Sasha Wynn Davies, said: "This option was identified as the preferred position as it supports a number of cross cutting themes."

Next generation

She said the option increased the choice of accommodation for workers and residents, and was flexible enough to respond to "market conditions and demands".

"To put the scale of the proposed new nuclear build at Wylfa into perspective, peak construction would occur in around 2017 resulting in approximately 6,000 construction workers being on site," said Ms Wynn Davies.

In June, the consortium behind plans for the new nuclear power station on Anglesey welcomed a UK government decision to list the site as suitable for the next generation of plants.

Wylfa was among those deemed suitable for new power stations by 2025.

Horizon Nuclear Power said its plans could create hundreds of jobs, although an anti-nuclear campaigner claimed the case in favour of Wylfa B was weak.

Horizon, a joint venture between E.on UK and RWE npower, expects its proposals for Wylfa to be available for public consultation early next year.

But Dr Owain Llewellyn, of the University of Glamorgan, a senior lecturer in real estate and property at the faculty of advanced technology, has previously said politicians might be "mesmerised" by the promise of jobs without preparing for the full impact.

A campaign group has also been formed against plans for Wylfa B.