Plans to use Hunterston’s port to dismantle nuclear submarines have been revealed.

The Scottish Green party and investigative journalism website, The Ferret, released documents from Peel Ports that show it considers the decommissioning of the radioactive hulks at Hunterston an opportunity.

The Ministry of Defence has 20 of the old military submarines waiting to be dismantled, but the idea to bring them to North Ayrshire has been condemned.

Ross Greer, Green MSP for the West of Scotland, told The Ferret: “Scotland isn’t short of more suitable places to do this and far better options are certainly available for Hunterston.”

The Greens highlighted that the site was close to the Southannan Sands nature conservation area, protected for its marine wildlife and called for a full environmental impact assessment.

Mr Greer said: “I struggle to see how either oil rig decommissioning or the disassembly of nuclear submarines and their reactors could possibly pass such an environmental assessment.”

Rita Holmes, chair of Fairlie Community Council, said: “Nobody who appreciates the dangers of dismantling, treating and packaging nuclear waste would want Peel Ports to be bringing more into Hunterston from elsewhere. We have more than enough to deal with already.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said that they were unaware of any Nuclear Decommissioning Authority plans at Hunterston.

The plans are part of a document from 2017 detailing a major redevelopment of Hunterston Port and Resource Centre (Parc) to create a ‘nationally significant energy and marine campus’, including fish farming and power generation.

Peel Ports’s Clydeport director, James McSporran, told The Ferret: “The manufacturing and decommissioning of marine and offshore assets was a part of the original Hunterston Parc strategy as stated in the December 2017 document.

“And we are still exploring such opportunities as part of the overall mix for the site.”