Avison Young (UK) Limited, acting on behalf of Nuclear Restoration Services Limited, hereby give notice of the intention to apply for full planning permission from Eryri National Park Authority to demolish the Trawsfynydd nuclear power station ponds complex, which comprises a complex of mainly contiguous buildings (some of which extend below-ground) located between the two reactor buildings and the intermediate level waste (ILW) storage building, to ground slab level, infill its below-ground voids, capping of most of its footprint, and modifications to the local surface water drainage. The planned demolition of the above-ground concrete structures of the Ponds Complex will result in a volume of slightly radioactive mainly broken concrete approximately equal to the volume of voids to be infilled. Infilling the voids in this way will be regulated by Natural Resources Wales as a type of on-site disposal of solid radioactive waste termed “disposal for a purpose”. In addition, leaving radioactively contaminated structures in the ground will also be a type of on-site radioactive waste disposal (termed “in situ disposal”).

The Trawsfynydd nuclear power station ceased electricity generation in 1991 and was permanently shut down in 1993 and is currently undergoing decommissioning and waste management operations. The demolition of the ponds complex is just one of several major operations in the multi-decade programme of works to fully decommission the Trawsfynydd site. During the late 1990s and 2000s, the cooling ponds within the ponds complex were drained and much of the contamination on their internal wall and floor surfaces was removed and disposed of off-site.

Our client is required, under the terms of its environmental permit, to determine and implement the use of optimum (and optimised) radioactive waste management (including disposal) routes. Recently published UK regulator guidance requires that, as part of the overarching optimisation requirement, operators like our client must consider the options of on-site disposal of some low level radioactive wastes, such as leaving contaminated structures permanently in-situ or using suitable demolition arisings as backfill material. As well as submitting an application for planning permission regulatory permissions will be required for the proposed works, including a variation (amendment) to the site’s existing Environmental Permit. The non-technical summary of the environmental permit application that has been made will be submitted in support of the planning application documentation for information to assist in clarifying the content of the matters under consideration by Natural Resources Wales as part of the separate environmental permitting regime.

All of the draft documents and drawings prepared in connection with the proposals can be viewed using the hyperlinks included below.