The chairman of Oldbury on Severn Parish Council has raised a number of concerns following the scrapping of plans to build a new nuclear power station.

Following the decision by parent company Hitachi to pull out of a project to build a new power station on Anglesey, Horizon Nuclear Power has ceased its activities at both Anglesey and Oldbury.

A statement issued by Keith Sullivan, chairman of Oldbury on Severn Parish Council, said: "It is too early to give the Parish Council’s full reaction to the announcement by Horizon today that they are pulling out of all plans to develop a new nuclear power station at Oldbury on Severn.

Many of our parishioners live in Shepperdine and are directly affected by this decision.

"Initially they may feel relief that their lives may eventually return to where they were ten years ago.

"However, we believe, in common with the views of the rest of the Parish, that much depends on what happens next.

"We cannot imagine that Hitachi/Horizon will want to dispose of their assets at the purchase price.

"The Anglesey sister site is at an advanced planning state, as is the reactor design, and these factors will no doubt have some implications for the disposal of the Oldbury site, which also benefits from approval as a site for a nuclear station.

"From that point of view it is too early to express an opinion.

"The loss of the project to Oldbury however is a different matter.

"The flood defences against the river Severn are in urgent need of improvement and we had hoped that the new power station would give considerable impetus towards this.

"Employment is another factor, we are losing employment due to the closure and decommissioning of the existing Magnox station and had hoped to gain from Horizon’s project."

Horizon's two power station sites were set to employ up to 850 people each once operational, with construction workforces of up to 9,000.

Cllr Sullivan added: "We also, although a small parish, share a national concern about global warming and climate change, and in that respect the loss of a potential nuclear power station is of concern."