The Western Gateway hails UK Chancellor's announcement on Oldbury nuclear plans

Pan-regional partnership The Western Gateway has hailed the UK government's move, announced in the spring Budget, to buy land at the former Oldbury power station in South Gloucestershire to pave the way for a new generation of nuclear reactors.

On Wednesday, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a £160 million deal from the government-owned Great British Nuclear to acquire land at Oldbury and another site in north Wales.

READ MORE: Government's nuclear expansion plans include potential new plant as big as Hinkley

A so-called single small modular reactor (SMR) could power one million homes for 60 years whilst a UK wide rollout could create 40,000 new jobs.

"The site at Oldbury has long been identified in national policy as suitable for new nuclear, clean energy generation," said Cllr Claire Young, leader of South Gloucestershire council and board member of the Western Gateway.

"This announcement of investment in making that a reality is very welcome. This will help our journey to net zero and we would expect this project to create significant numbers of high-quality education, training, skills and employment opportunities for local people in the construction, R&D and running of any new facilities."

Oldbury is one of four former nuclear power stations located close to the mouth of the River Severn and the Bristol channel.

It has long been championed by The Western Gateway as part of a vision for a Severn Edge low carbon energy park, bringing together local authorities, landowners and businesses to champion net zero technology, green jobs and new skills at sites in Oldbury and Berkeley, Gloucestershire.

The news follows the recent £10 million investment of a consortium led by Chiltern Vital Group including Rolls Royce SMR and University of Bristol at the Berkeley science and technology Park - the second part of the Severn Edge sites, which encourages training, skills, and nuclear and low carbon energy innovation.

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, leader of Gloucestershire county council and vice-chair of the Western Gateway, added: "This is exactly what the Western Gateway’s Severn Edge Vision was designed to enable. Our vision is of a site which can help develop new skills and clean energy jobs powered by a boost of investment into our communities.

"Severn Edge is ready to be seen as a world leader in new SMR technology and we look forward to working with the UK Government and industry to deliver a greener fairer future."

The Western Gateway is the pan-regional partnership for South Wales and Western England which reaches from Swansea to Swindon.

It brings together business, academia and governments from across the area to work together in partnership to drive growth and net zero.