THE owners of Dungeness nuclear power station have hailed the government's pledge of support for a new generation of nuclear plants.

British Energy owns the Dungeness B plant in Romney Marsh, which was built in the 1960s and supplies 30 per cent of the South East's power.

Business secretary John Hutton has told MPs that new stations needed to be built in order to meet the country's energy needs.

He added that he expected the new facilities would be built "in the vicinity" of existing plants.

Speaking to the Kentish Express, British Energy spokesman Martin Pearce said: "We think it's a very welcome step, not just for the industry but for the UK as a whole. Nuclear is a low carbon technology, and will also help guarentee secuity of electricity supply."

He added that Dungeness was one of eight sites owned by British Energy where a new plant could potentially be constructed, although he said the company was "still some way off" deciding between them.

Although British Energy estimates that building a new reactor at Dungeness would create more than 2,000 jobs in the area, critics say a new nuclear power station will be expensive, dangerous and harmful to the environment.

Cllr Lynne Beaumont, leader of the Lib Dem group in Shepway, is against another nuclear power station being built in the district.

She said: "My huge concern is we still don’t know what to do with the waste from these stations. This is a knee jerk reaction as everything is running out, but what we should be doing is looking at alternative sources of energy.

"People are looking at a Dungeness C when we should be looking at greener options. We should concentrate on renewables and greater energy conservation."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown also says the UK needs a more independent power supply.

See this week's Kentish Express for a behind-the-scenes look at the Dungeness B power plant.