The Ministry of Defence has criticised plans for a new 'garden town' in Grazeley, warning it could jeopardise national security.

The plans for 15,000 new homes have alarmed the MOD, as it believes they would be too close to the AWE Burghfield nuclear weapons factory.

In an eight-page letter it objected after the Detailed Emergency Planning Zone (DEPZ) around the site was extended to cover most of the land earmarked for the new homes.

According to the Office for Nuclear Regulation, anyone living in the zone can be affected by a “reasonably foreseeable” radiation emergency.

In its letter, the MOD states there would be “real risks” for people living in the 15,000 homes because it would be “challenging” to evacuate or shelter all of them quickly during a radiation emergency.

The letter states: “The proposed introduction of 15,000 dwellings within about 1,600 metres (at its nearest point) is directly contrary to safety and emergency planning advice and practice, in light of the DEPZ.

“In addition, it could have an adverse impact on the nation’s security by constraining both the current and future operation of AWE Burghfield.”

The MOD is concerned AWE Burghfield would be required to “restrict operations” if thousands of homes are built nearby and pay for more expensive safety measures or relocate some facilities.

It says AWE Burghfield has “unique national strategic importance” because it is the only place in the UK that can decommission old warheads and build and maintain new ones.

The letter states: “It may also affect the ability of the Office for Nuclear Regulation to licence activities without changes to the nature and amount of materials held on site, which would directly impact the ability to assemble, maintain, and decommission the necessary amounts of warheads for defence resilience.”

It also says the MOD “does not consider that such fundamental problems are solvable”.

The map of where 15,000 homes could be built in Grazeley

The people in charge of the nuclear warhead factory were ordered to revaluate safety measures and emergency preparations after the government introduced the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2019.

They then prepared a report which recommended that West Berkshire Council extend the DEPZ, even though the factory has not made significant changes to its day-to-day operations or started using different nuclear materials.

West Berkshire Council agreed to extend the zone when it revised the Off-Site Emergency Plan for AWE Burghfield.

The council had been involved in plans for the Grazeley garden town, but it pulled out after the MOD objected to the project.

Wokingham Borough Council, which was leading the project, has not scrapped it yet.

But the council said it is now “looking at alternatives”.

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Reading Borough Council, which was also involved, has not abandoned the scheme, but says it “cannot be delivered at this time” without the support of the other two councils.

In 2019, the government announced a £3.7 million fund for the Grazeley development and four other “garden towns”, that were expected to provide 64,000 homes across England.

But the following year, the government rejected a bid for £250 million to support the Grazeley project.

The MOD accepts that “significant work” has gone into plans for the Grazeley garden town but the councils knew the DEPZ could have been extended to cover the site.

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