The application for the new nuclear power station was due to be submitted to the UK's Planning Inspectorate by the end of March, but that will be deferred by a few weeks, EDF said.

"We are ready to submit the application but we recognise that many people in Suffolk, including the local authorities, are adjusting to new circumstances created by the coronavirus crisis," said Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson, EDF?s managing director of nuclear development.

By Nina Chestney