Oldbury Power Station

Oldbury Power Station was commissioned in 1967 and is expected to cease operations at the end of 2008.

At that point fuel will be progressively removed from the reactors and sent to Sellafield for treatment.

This is likely to take three years, after which the site begins decommissioning.

For more information, visit www.oldburysite.co.uk

If you would like to receive a copy of the Oldbury Site Newsletter, called PowerLines, or to read the latest edition online, please click here.

Site Stakeholder Group

Oldbury's Site Stakeholder Group (SSG) meets quarterly - see the calendar for details of future meetings.

SSGs are the interface between the community, the site operator, and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

They provide opportunities for

• questioning the operator, the NDA, and regulators
• reviewing, commenting on, and influencing strategies, plans, and achievements

For more information visit www.sitestakeholdergroups.org.uk/oldbury

Latest News:

Church Hall boosted by donation from Oldbury Power Station

St. Mary’s Church Hall in Thornbury has completed the first stage of its environmental project, thanks to a £4,000 donation from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, owners of Oldbury Power Station.

The donation, together with support from the All Churches Trust, enabled the hall’s committee to fit new double glazing in the small hall, replacing the original windows fitted in the 1970’s.

The new windows are the first step in the committee’s long term programme to improve the fabric of the building and reduce its environmental impact to ensure its continued availability to the local community.

Richard Everett, fundraiser for the Church Hall said: “Committee members are extremely grateful for the support given by Oldbury Power Station, without their funding we would have found it very difficult to kick start the project, with this part of the work completed we can now move on to the next stage.”

Joe Lamonby, Oldbury’s Site Director added: “We are really pleased to be able to invest money in the local community on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Projects such as this are important to ensure that community facilities continue to be available for the next generation.” The power station invests in a range of educational, economic and social projects and last year more than £60,000 was given to support the community.

Oldbury Power Station ladies don’t just talk the talk... they Walk the Walk!

17 members of staff from Oldbury Power Station pulled on their walking boots on Sunday to take part in the Bristol Walk the Walk at Ashton Court.

The event, to raise money for a number of breast cancer causes in the South West, including Penny Brohn Cancer Care, Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre and Weston Area Health, saw more than 2000 ladies walking the 10 kilometres in difficult conditions.

Wendy Macey, who was born and bred in Thornbury, was inspired to help after her mother Mary Witchard was given the all-clear after breast cancer treatment. She asked some of her female colleagues if they also wanted to get involved and was amazed by the response.

Wendy’s daughter, Sarah White (14 years) and Melissa Ledger’s daughter Hayley (16 years) also took part to bring the total of ladies to 19.

The team have been undertaking a range of fundraising activities including a silent auction for a signed Gloucestershire cricket bat and shirt and a raffle with a huge amount of generously donated prizes from a range of local businesses including Thornbury Castle, The Gables, Taylors of Woodford, Hard Pressed for Time, Calcot Manor, Tortworth Court, The Prince of Wales, Berkeley Arms to name but a few.

In addition the ladies received a donation of £500 from EnergySolutions, the company that manages Oldbury Power Station and this has helped to push the total raised to a whopping £4,000.

Wendy Macey said: “We had a great time on the day, although the weather could have been kinder, making all the hard work in the run-up worthwhile. Our thanks go to all the people who supported us and helped us raise such an amazing amount of money for the charities.

“We enjoyed the day so much that we are already planning for next year!”

Oldbury Celebrates 40 Years Of Safe Generation

Oldbury Power Station is celebrating its 40th year of safe electricity generation.

The station was officially declared as being commissioned in 1968 and so 2008, forty years on, marks a milestone in the station’s lifetime.

Building at the site began in 1961 and Oldbury was publicly opened by the former Labour MP Tony Benn on 10 June 1969, in his capacity as Secretary of State for Industry.

Oldbury’s reactor one first went critical on 18 September 1967 and on 9 November 1967 reactor one and turbine one generated the first spark of electricity.

On a typical day the station can produce enough electricity to serve the combined populations of Bristol and Bath.

Site Director Joe Lamonby said: “40 years of successful electricity generation is a tremendous achievement in which all our staff, past and present, should take enormous pride.

“Oldbury is now the longest serving nuclear power station in the country and has generated over 118 terawatt hours of electricity.

“The site has endeavoured to be a good neighbour to the local community – we have never had a nuclear safety event and are confident the station will continue to provide electricity safely until our planned closure date.

“Over the years the site has helped to support hundreds of community projects and we hope the fantastic relations we have with local residents and businesses alike will continue for many more years to come.”

The site has welcomed a host of famous visitors in the past 40 years, including the pop band Slade who recorded a performance for Top Of The Pops inside one of Oldbury’s reactors.

And in 1976 Tom Baker visited the site as Doctor Who when the reactors formed the backdrop for ‘The Hand Of Fear’ episode. The instalment will be remembered by fans as the last time the Doctor’s trusty assistant Sarah (played by Elisabeth Sladen) featured.

So successful was the filming that the BBC’s other sci-fi programme, Blakes 7, also used the site as a set.

Oldbury first featured in an episode filmed in 1977 called ‘Time Squad’ playing the role of The Federation Transceiver Complex. In 1978 the site fulfilled the role of Spaceworld in the ‘Redemption’ episode and was Q Base in the episode called ‘Killer’.

In addition the reactor charge face has been the board for the world Monopoly championship in 1977, and the site welcomed thousands of less well known visitors when it opened its doors for tours of the site.

To commemorate this important occasion, an Evening of Celebrations was held in January for staff and their partners to look back over the site’s history and look forward to the changes ahead.

Contact Us

If you would like to know more about activities at Oldbury Power Station please contact Zoe Young, Communications, Oldbury Power Station on 01454 893322 or via email:

Oldbury Power Station, Oldbury Naite, Thornbury, South Glos BS35 1RQ
Tel: +44 (0)1454 893540
Fax: +44 (0)1454 8937244