CONTROVERSIAL plans to berth a nuclear submarine in Southampton should finally be decided next week.

The city council's Cabinet was due to make a final decision about a new safety plan - dubbed SotonSafe - in July this year or face legal action in London's High Court which could have cost the authority at least £100,000.

Members of the pressure group Southampton Coalition Against Nuclear Ships (SCANS) argued that approving the controversial plan would probably contravene complex European legislation concerning radioactive materials.

The council decided to delay making a final decision until all the legal arguments had been heard.

City council leader Councillor Adrian Vinson said that the time had come for the council to make a final decision on the plan - a decision due to be made on Monday.

He said: "The decision will be made. We have now obviously reached a point where the issue needs to be determined."

The long-running SotonSafe saga began when the Royal Navy announced proposals to use Dock 38 at Southampton to house a nuclear submarine. City chiefs were supposed to agree the safety scheme by July 21 this year - or face legal action from the Health and Safety Executive.

The original plans were put on hold last year when councillors had so little confidence in the Royal Navy's safety plans that they told the service to stay away until new procedures were drawn up.

The latest plans have been written with the help of Associated British Ports and emergency services.

They are supposed to swing into action in the event of a nuclear incident and include distributing potassium iodine tablets to vulnerable people in the event of a nuclear leak.