Large development at AWE approved by West Berkshire Council

Plans for a significant new development at AWE Aldermaston have been approved by West Berkshire Council.

Dubbed ‘the hub’, the complex proposal, which contains research laboratories, office space, engineering workshops, and a learning centre, will be spread over a vast 9.3 hectare area, equal to the size of just over 13 football pitches.

The approval is subject to certain conditions, including construction noise not exceeding a certain level as to not disturb nearby residents, and a new travel plan for the atomic weapons factory must be approved.

Concluding the final report on the plans, a West Berkshire Council planning case officer said: “On the one hand the approval of this very significant application will have a degree of harmful impact upon surrounding residents during the construction phase, due to the increase in HGV traffic arising and additional vehicles across the surrounding network.

“In addition, once completed there will be a minor degree of visual impact caused by the scheme, but this will not be significant.”

The officer went on to list the positive reasons that support the development.

These include the positive economic and defensive impact, the “good” design and elevational treatment of the scheme, the lack of harmful amenity or heritage issues which would detract from the scheme, and the lack of land contamination problems associated with the project, among other reasons.

The officer said: “Accordingly there is little doubt that the application is strongly supported, as the elements of harm are either temporary or minor in extent.”

The development’s design and access statement says: “The hub development will provide a contemporary and significant work of architecture, whose key objective is to attract world class scientists, researchers, administrators and secure future operations through apprenticeship, learning and teaching spaces.”

This comes after an Office for Nuclear Regulation report on AWE Aldermaston and Burghfield published in January found some of the facilities’ operations to be inadequate.

However, AWE insisted the new development plans, which were sent to the council in May, were not submitted in response to the January report.

A representative of the facility said: “The hub is part of an ongoing programme of improvements to the AWE estate as outlined in the long-term site development context plan, which sets out a phased programme of development.

“The overall approach to the modernisation of the site is based on the consolidation and rationalisation of facilities constructed mainly in the 1950s and 1960s.

“The hub will facilitate the closure, demolition, and clearance of approximately 75,000 sq m gross internal area (GIA) of existing buildings on the site.”

The hub will host around 3,000 AWE staff relocated from other surrounding buildings, with the day-to-day occupancy of the new development being in the region of 1,300.

It will not contain manufacturing and operational space, instead providing: “a significant part of the science, engineering and associated capabilities that are essential to support AWE’s work”.

The hub’s design and access statement says the new facility will make AWE “successor ready”.

“By transforming the way that capabilities are delivered, AWE will become ‘match-fit’ to meet government future deterrent requirements as set out in recent policy announcement to replace current provision.”