CAMPAIGNERS have suffered a blow in their fight to prevent millions of tonnes of spent fuel ash being dumped in an Oxfordshire lake.

Campaign group Save Radley Lakes is hoping to prevent RWE npower from filling Thrupp Lake outside Abingdon with ash from Didcot Power Station.

But the group received a major setback this week when it emerged that Oxfordshire County Council planners have recommended that the application should be approved.

On Monday, councillors on the planning and regulation committee meet at County Hall to discuss the application for a new clay-lined and bunded ash lagoon in Lake E, known as Thrupp Lake, to store ash pumped from Didcot.

The lake would eventually be restored to nature conservation.

A report for Monday's meeting says the lake is located in a complex of former gravel pits, most of which have already been filled with ash under a permission granted in 1982.

Because the new proposal involved raising final land levels and the lining of the lake with clay to meet environmental standards set by the Environment Agency, the development was not covered by the old permission.

The report notes: "The current disposal lagoons at Radley are nearly full and it has proved impossible to reuse or recycle all of the ash produced. In order to continue to generate electricity, Didcot Power Station must have a disposal facility for the ash that cannot be reused or recycled."

The report says many objections have been received because the lake and its surroundings are valued as a local ecological and recreational resource. There have also been concerns raised about pollution and flooding issues.

But the report adds: "These issues are adequately addressed in the environmental statement and the application includes an ecology led restoration plan. Neither the Environment Agency nor English Nature have objected to the application. The adjoining lake, Lake F (Bullfield), is to be retained, ensuring that some of the most important ecological and amenity value of the immediate area remains."

Officers have recommended approval, but because its a departure from the development plan, it will have to win Government approval.

Save Radley Lakes activist David Guyoncourt said: "We are disappointed at the recommendation, but in the end it is up to councillors to decide. They must take into account the strong body of public opinion that includes more than 3,000 objections and a petition with 11,500 names."

Campaigners were at Didcot Power Station last Friday to hand in an 11,500-name petition.

But power station manager John Rainford issued an equally direct response when he told a delegation headed by Oxford West and Abingdon MP Dr Evan Harris that there was no alternative but to dump spent fuel ash in Thrupp Lake.

Mr Rainford said: "Didcot operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and if we do not have this facility, we cannot guarantee security of supply."

Meanwhile, RWE npower said that the establishment of a colony of rare orchids at the lakes is an indication of the positive impact that the firm's work at Radley can have. The species, called Marsh Helleborine, is flourishing along with other species such as Common Spotted, Southern Marsh, Early Marsh, and a range of hybrids.

Eric Hobson, of RWE npower, said this was due to the chemical composition of the soil following restoration of the pits.

He said: "The main orchid area, also known as Lake D, was restored by filling with pulverised fuel ash. A wide range of plants and animals have flourished in the area since then. The alkalinity makes the soil ideal for orchids."