Bradwell's twin Magnox reactors, in service from 1962, became in November 2018 the first UK Magnox site to enter 'care and maintenance', a quiescent state in which the reactors are left to decay before final demolition. The site is managed by Nuclear Restoration Services.
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Current state
| Status | SAFSTOR |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Location | Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex, England |
| Site | Bradwell |
| Units | Reactor 1, Reactor 2 |
| Unit count | 2 |
| Reactor types | Magnox |
| Owner / licensee | Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (site licensee: Nuclear Restoration Services) |
| Decommissioning contractor | Nuclear Restoration Services |
| Strategy | Deferred (SAFSTOR) |
| Spent fuel | Defueled; no spent fuel on site. |
| Notable issue | First UK nuclear power station to enter long-term care and maintenance. |
Notes
Shutdown year (2002) not in the sources reviewed, so not recorded.
Timeline
- 1962 — Bradwell's Magnox reactors entered service. (source)
- 2018-11-30 — Bradwell became the first Magnox site to enter care and maintenance. (source)
- 2026-02-26 — ONR introduced a new regulatory approach for the former Magnox sites. (source)
The timeline is append-only: corrections are added as new entries. Stated targets appear in the current-state table, never as milestones.
Related sites
- Barsebäck Nuclear Power Plant Active dismantling · Sweden
- Berkeley (Magnox) SAFSTOR · United Kingdom
- Dounreay (DFR and PFR fast reactors) Active dismantling · United Kingdom
- Dresden Unit 1 SAFSTOR · United States
- Dungeness B Fuel removal · United Kingdom
- Hinkley Point B Active dismantling · United Kingdom
- Humboldt Bay Power Plant Unit 3 License terminated · United States
- Hunterston B Active dismantling · United Kingdom
See all 72 sites in the Nuclear Decommissioning Tracker →
Sources
- UK's Bradwell site enters care and maintenance — World Nuclear News, checked 2026-10-11
- Bradwell — Office for Nuclear Regulation (primary), checked 2026-10-11
- ONR introduces new regulatory approach for former Magnox nuclear sites — Office for Nuclear Regulation (primary), checked 2026-10-11