A laundry serving Sellafield has been given retrospective planning permission to carry on.

Marianne Birkby, of pressure group Radiation Free Lakeland, objected to Energy Coast Laundry’s application at Lillyhall, near Workington.

Winscales Parish Council has also opposed the business’s continued operation amid claims the company was “flouting regulations” and “trying to get permission through the back door”.

But laundry bosses claimed the initial failure to apply for the proper planning permission was merely an oversight.

A meeting of Allerdale council’s development panel heard this week that regulation of site operations was not a planning issue and was the Environment Agency’s responsibility.

The company has also moved to assure the public that the site deals only with non-active basic clothing worn by Sellafield workers and contractors – and that stringent safety procedures are in place.

But activist Ms Birkby said she was appalled by officer recommendations that the laundry be allowed to carry on its operations, claiming some of the waste contained carcinogens, cancer-causing elements.

Urging the planning panel to refuse the application, she said the laundry had been operating in breach of planning for almost a year and that local people had been denied a fair chance to comment on the plans.

She also claimed that Lillyhall was becoming a “nuclear ghetto”, citing the earlier creation of a landfill site for low-level nuclear waste as well as the opening of the Cyclife which recycles metals taken from nuclear sites.

She argued that there had been no environmental impact assessment dealing with the cumulative impact on the public water supply; or on food outlets, play facilities, workspaces and the nearby college.

But Jason Robinson, of Energy Coast Laundry, stressed that the safety procedures in place the laundry site were stringent and followed to the letter.

He said that the company worked with specialists from Nuvia and contractors from Sellafield and Mitie to ensure that all the processes, including tests, were properly carried out.

He added that the company’s operations had been inspected by the Environment Agency since the submission of the application which found that no actions needed to be taken.

Mr Robinson also denied claims from Ms Birkby that Energy Coast Laundry was seeking to expand its operations and launder clothes from nuclear sites elsewhere in the UK.