The company behind plans for a new nuclear power station in Essex say it is now focusing on feasibility studies after completing survey work.

There is no indication the project is being scrapped - despite claims from campaign group Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) that letters sent to residents from Bradwell Power Generation Company Limited indicate that the Bradwell B project team is making a withdrawal from the site.

NFLA says workers will soon be returning to fill in exploratory boreholes dug from 2018 to 2020 to conduct "early investigative surveys" into ground conditions.

They say restorative work will take place from mid-September to make land available once more to enable local farmers to grow crops. And there is news that the project team will be "closing the current site compound" and ‘removing the temporary site offices "by the end of the year".

David Blackburn, chair of the NFLA Steering Committee, said: “We do not know for certain if the Bradwell B project is finally dead and buried, but the fact that the project team is beating retreat from the site is a clear indication that no work will progress for the foreseeable future.

“Clearly Chinese involvement, which includes the bulk of the equity investment and the employment of a reactor specifically designed for this project, is as dead as the dodo."

He said the appetite of most private investors to back new nuclear projects is "almost nil”.

However a statement from Bradwell Power Generation Company Limited says work has now moved to a feasibility study stage adding their belief that Bradwell B will bring jobs, training opportunities as well as contributing to The UK’s move away from its dependence on fossil fuels.

It said: “After finishing the early survey work, we are now focusing on feasibility studies for the Bradwell B project.

“We believe Bradwell B will bring huge benefits to the East of England in terms of green jobs, training opportunities and the supply chain. The project will also make a vital contribution to meeting the UK’s future need for low carbon, secure and affordable energy.”