A BUSINESS rates break for Hartlepool's nuclear power station has been settled, along with almost £27,000 in interest.

British Energy negotiated a deferral with councils for five months while bosses drew up a plan to restructure the struggling company.

The £447,508 due to Hartlepool Borough Council -one of five authorities to agree to the deal -has now been paid, as well as interest at six per cent.

News of the payment was last night welcomed by Hartlepool campaign group Nuclear Free Future.

Spokesman Geoff Lilley said: "I am so pleased that British Energy has paid the interest on this deferral.

"The sad thing is that Hartlepool was one of the few local authorities that was asked which decided to give it.

"If they had gone bankrupt, we would have been left out-of-pocket to the sum of that £27,000 and that is a lot of money to people who pay council tax.

"It is brilliant they have paid it back, but the way the decision was taken and the secrecy surrounding it seems endemic of modern local politics."

The station was one of five around the country given the rates break between November last year and March -saving their owner, British Energy, £4m before interest.

An earlier £650m loan from the Government is being investigated by European Commission officials to see if it meets EU rules.

The firm's rivals said the aid, the only thing that kept the company afloat, amounted to unfair competition.

The company has blamed its financial plight on the high fixed costs of nuclear generation and a sharp fall in electricity prices following the opening up of the wholesale power market.

The result was a £4.3bn pre-tax loss in the last financial year, compared to a £493m loss the previous year.