An overhaul of planning barriers to make it easier to build new nuclear power plants has been announced by Keir Starmer.
The move will create thousands of highly skilled jobs, the government said, as the Prime Minister confirmed red tape would be “slashed” in a bid to fast-track approval of reactors.
It is set to clear a path for so-called small modular reactors (SMRs) to be built in the UK for the first time, which ministers said would help deliver clean, secure and affordable energy.
“Archaic” rules are expected to be ripped up across England and Wales, with growth to be prioritised ahead of local opponents, or NIMBYs [‘not in my back yards’].
The UK is lagging behind in the global race for cleaner, more affordable energy after years of delay and obstruction, with the last nuclear power station built in 1995, said ministers.
In a move announced today, mini-nuclear power stations will be included in planning rules for the first time and a set list of eight sites where they can only be built will be scrapped.
While the expiry date on nuclear planning rules will be scrapped, and a Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce will be established, the government added.
Ministers said Britain is considered one of the world’s most expensive countries to build nuclear power in, so the taskforce will speed up the approval of new reactor designs and streamline how developers engage with regulators.
Sir Keir said: “This country hasn’t built a nuclear power station in decades. We’ve been let down and left behind. Our energy security has been hostage to Putin for too long, with British prices skyrocketing at his whims.”
Starmer added: “I’m putting an end to it – changing the rules to back the builders of this nation, and saying no to the blockers who have strangled our chances of cheaper energy, growth and jobs for far too long.”
While energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “Build, build, build – that is what Britain’s clean energy mission is all about.
“The British people have been left vulnerable to global energy markets for too long – and the only way out is to build our way to a new era of clean electricity.”
Nuclear Industry Association chief executive Tom Greatrex said: “This is the Prime Minister’s strongest signal yet that new nuclear is critical to the growth and clean power mission.
“A more streamlined planning system will give certainty to investors, the supply chain and communities, and will enable us to get on with building new nuclear plants on more sites and at pace for a cleaner, more secure power system.
“We need to make Britain the best possible place to build new nuclear, both large-scale and SMRs, which means avoiding unnecessary stumbling blocks and ensuring regulations are proportionate to our urgent need for low carbon power, energy security and good jobs.”
Sam Richards, CEO of pro-growth group Britain Remade, also welcomed the news.
But he said: “Relaxing where SMRs can be built is a no-brainer, but a key test for the upcoming planning bill will be whether it tackles the rules that have made Hinkley Point C the most expensive nuclear power station in the world.”
Institute of Directors (IoD) director-general Jonathan Geldart said ministers were “right to identify nuclear power as a crucial contributor to the UK’s future electricity needs” and the move “shows the right desire to overcome the significant challenges involved in building back nuclear at scale”.