The development will replace existing facilities at HMNB Clyde and if the planning application is given the green light the plant will treat and dispose of solid and liquid radioactive waste from the reactors that drive submarines.

The Nuclear Support Hub (NSH) will be erected on a concrete podium with an access ramp constructed over the Gareloch, where some of the waste is expected to be discharged.

The application states: “The existing effluent treatment and disposal process is effective but nearing the end of its life and it requires to be replaced with a facility which will utilise modern technology and will reduce the levels of radioactivity in the effluent discharges into the Gareloch.” The majority of surface drainage water is currently untreated before it enters the Gareloch, with the exception of ‘oil water interceptors’.

The application, submitted this month, is for a two-storey building, 45 metres long and 31 metres wide, and is designed to last for 50 years. There are also plans for an ancillary single-storey on-shore building.

If planning permission is granted, construction is expected to begin in January 2016 and finish in April 2018.

Radioactive waste has been treated at Faslane since the 1960s.

In March it was reported that the amount of radioactive waste treated and emitted from Faslane was due to rise because the number of nuclear-powered submarines based there was planned to increase from five to 14 by 2020, when HMNB Clyde will be established as the Royal Navy’s Submarine Centre of Specialisation.

But the MoD argued that the discharges would be well below agreed safety limits, which were being reduced.

A spokesman for the MoD told the Advertiser: “The MoD is making the application to replace existing facilities, achieving operational efficiencies, and a reduction of the nuclear footprint of HMNB Clyde.” Speaking about the application, Jackie Baillie Helensburgh and Lomond MSP said all planning applications require to be carefully considered by the local authority. She said: “It is important to listen to the voices of the local community in coming to a decision and to be completely satisfied about the safety aspects of the proposal.” John Ainslie, the coordinator of the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, added: “While the new plant is an attempt to raise standards, it also signals a planned increase in the amounts of nuclear waste that are due to be handled on the Clyde.

“We should be trying to phase out these submarines, not preparing to keep them and to handle their radioactive legacy for decades to come.”