News : Cumbrians’ views on underground nuclear waste repository examined
The views of residents of
The West Cumbria MRWS Partnership is looking at the issues related to the Government’s search for somewhere to build an underground disposal facility for the nation’s higher-activity radioactive waste.
As part of its work, the Partnership has conducted two rounds of communication and engagement with stakeholders and residents in the county.
The views expressed during the most recent round of communications and engagement – which took place in the winter – have been looked at by the Partnership and a report is now available at www.westcumbriamrws.org.uk.
Questions about how the Partnership engages with the public, how it gauges the views of people living in the area, as well as concerns about health and safety and issues of community benefits have been expressed.
For example, a number of people raised questions about whether
A number of people asked questions about the use of an opinion poll rather than a referendum to gauge public opinion. The Partnership promised to review this, which it did at its last meeting, and to look at how it can ensure the results of an opinion poll can be relied on.
A copy of the report on the second round of public engagement and the Partnership’s responses can be found in the Public and Stakeholder Engagement documents section of www.westcumbriamrws.org.uk. Responses will be updated over the coming months to publish what furtheractions have been taken.
Councillor Tim Knowles, a West Cumbria MRWS Partnership member and the Cumbria County Council cabinet member responsible for the environment, said: “We would like to thank everyone who took time to engage with the Partnership recently.
“The views, issues and concerns raised by the public have been looked at by the Partnership and they will prove invaluable in helping us to produce a draft report setting out our preliminary conclusions over the summer.
“This is a huge issue for
The Partnership completed a three month round of communications and engagement in February. This included newsletters sent to all households in West Cumbria, articles in papers across
The Government has asked for communities to volunteer to take part in its search for a location to build an underground repository to dispose of the nation’s higher-activity radioactive waste.
Copeland Borough Council, Allerdale Borough Council and Cumbria County Council expressed an interest in finding out more about the process without making any commitment to have it in the area. Even if West Cumbria does agree next year to take part in the search for a site, the councils can withdraw from the process up until the point where building work could begin – likely to be a decade or more from now.
The West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Partnership is made up of all the local authorities in
Over the next few months, Partnership members will consider all of the information they have received throughout the process, including feedback from members of the public, and produce a draft report of its advice to the councils. Residents of
The website also includes information about the Partnership and the issues involved in this process. The Partnership also has a Facebook page and people can follow WestCumbriaMRWS on Twitter.
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For media enquiries please contact the Partnership’s communications advisor Paul Gardner or Ian Boydon at Osprey Communications on 01524-782086 or 077667906561
- A copy of the report can be found at www.westcumbriamrws.org.uk/documents/157-PSE2_Report_Final.pdf. The Partnership’s responses are in Section 11.
- In addition to Allerdale Borough Council, Copeland Borough Council and Cumbria County Council there are a range of other organisations making up the partnership, including Barrow Borough Council, the Nuclear Legacy Advisory Forum), local trade unions, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), Churches Together Council, Eden District Council, South Lakeland District Council, Carlisle City Council, the Lake District National Park Authority, the Cumbria Association of Local Councils, NuLeAF (the Nuclear Legacy in Cumbria, the Chamber of Commerce and Cumbria Tourism.
- A number of other organisations attend as ‘observing members’ including Government departments, the Isle of Man Government, CoRWM (Committee on Radioactive Waste Management), the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the safety and environment regulators.
- The Government is looking for a community in the
- Taking part in discussions with the Government does not commit the Cumbrian authorities to hosting a deep geological repository and they can withdraw from the process at any point up until a time when construction would begin – estimated to be more than 10 years from now.