THE Hunterston A station which is to be decommissioned is set to close in 2024.

Largs Community councillor Drew Cochrane, who sits on the Hunterston site stakeholders group (SSG), said: “The A Station will close in 2024. There will no staff on site.

“At the moment 125 employees, 90 contractors, and it has cost £41m in the past year to decommission.

“There are three tenders out for what will be the final A station building which they are calling a weather envelope - and a contract will be issued soon.”

A spokesman for Magnox, operators of Hunterston ‘A’ said: “Under the current Magnox lifetime plan Hunterston ‘A’ is scheduled to go into care and maintenance by 2024 when the only buildings that will be left will be the two Reactors, the Intermediate Level Waste Store and potentially one or two other Buildings.

“At this point in the schedule, any remaining staff will fulfil any regulatory requirements for safety and security at the site subject to agreement with the regulator.

“Under the current plan, the care and maintenance period is expected to last approximately 50 years with final site clearance commencing in 2071."

Magnox has received planning permission for a new aluminium weather cladding to provide durability to keep the reactor buildings watertight during the care and maintenance period, with the cladding and colour requiring final approval from NAC Planning at a later date.

Magnox are currently evaluating the supply chain bids (which all include a number of colour options available for the cladding) with a view to placing a contract in 2018, with a build programme of several years.