Oldbury Nuclear Power Station

Oldbury Nuclear Power Station stands beside the River Severn near the village of Oldbury-on-Severn in South Gloucestershire. It is a Magnox nuclear power station now being decommissioned by Nuclear Restoration Services. Four such stations once operated close to the Severn estuary, the others being Berkeley, Hinkley Point A, and Hinkley Point B. Construction began in 1961 and the plant opened in 1967 with two Magnox reactors. The site was managed by a consortium led by Sir Robert McAlpine and supplied by The Nuclear Power Group. The station once produced enough electricity for an urban area twice the size of Bristol. In 1976 it won the Hinton Cup for good housekeeping, awarded by Sir Christopher Hinton. Reactor One set a world record in 1992 by running continuously for 713 days. A fire in 2007 and an electrical fault in 2011 led to temporary shutdowns. Armed officers from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary guarded the site from 2005 until 2012. Visitors see silt lagoons that serve as a high-tide roost for birds on the Severn Estuary. Between 1979 and 2005, nineteen species of waders and rare vagrants were recorded there. The reactor buildings and cooling towers remain visible on the skyline. The decommissioning process is expected to continue until 2027, followed by decades of care and maintenance. Plans for a new station have been shelved, leaving the site in transition.