A REVISED construction programme to build a radioactive waste store at Sizewell B nuclear power station has been given the green light.

EDF Energy made the submission to Suffolk Coastal council after large amounts of concrete were discovered buried on the site. It means that the company had to revise its construction programme for the dry fuel store from one to two years.

The issue was discussed at a meeting of the district council's north area development control sub committee last Wednesday and members voted in favour of the plans. Permission for the dry fuel store was given in July 2011 but following ground investigations EDF discovered buried concrete, legacy foundations from the time of Sizewell A's construction.

For work to proceed this will have to be removed – increasing expected HGV movements from 2,862 to 6,771. It also means the construction programme will be extended from one year to two.

Currently, all of Sizewell B's spent fuel is kept within a fuel storage pond, but this will reach its capacity in 2015 – creating the need for the new store, which is designed to safely house Sizewell B's spent fuel assemblies after they have been sealed within large concrete casks.

Marianne Fellowes, chairman of the Sizewell Stakeholder Group (SSG), recently criticised EDF for failing to carry out a full site survey.