Create a new pathway to allow semi-urban power stations
New pathway for semi-urban power stations
DESNZ should amend EN-7 so that is provides two routes open to LWRs for complying with SUPDC: either compliance with the methodology, or via a new 28-day process culminating in an approval from the Secretary of State or the Commission (if established). This process should oblige the Government (or, if established, the Commission) to confirm that it has no objections in principle to a given proposal, in light of the safety which can be assured via the nuclear site licensing, and REPPIR19.
The ONR should revise SUPDC to account for scientific and technological progress since the original system was created.
Government Response: Going further with SUPDC alternatives for all reactor classes
The Government is going further than the Taskforce recommended. Rather than creating a pathway limited to light water reactors, it will work with ONR to bring forward alternatives to the Semi-Urban Population Density Criterion for all classes of reactor, targeted within 12 months. This broadens the scope significantly beyond the original recommendation, which focused on amending EN-7 for LWRs. The expanded approach should benefit advanced reactor developers who might otherwise have faced continued siting constraints under the original 1967 methodology.
Primary Owner
Key Regulators
December 2026
Notes: Govt response: Implementation within 12 months (from March 2026)
Sectors
Domains
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