News : Cumbrians to be asked their views on a potential nuclear waste repository in the county
Residents of
The West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely (MRWS) Partnership has produced a consultation document setting out its initial opinions on a range of issues involved in deciding whether the area should participate in the Government’s search for a suitable location to engineer a repository. These issues include geology, safety, what would go into a repository, what impacts a repository might have on the area and what additional community benefits there might be.
The Partnership has launched (Monday November 21) a major consultation to find out people’s views about these important issues. The consultation will continue until March 23 next year.
The Partnership will review the feedback it receives from the public before finalising a report setting out its opinions on key issues to Allerdale Borough Council, Copeland Borough Council and Cumbria County Council, who will make the formal decision about whether the area should take part in the search for a site for a repository.
Councillor Alan Smith, the current chair of the West Cumbria MRWS Partnership and the leader of Allerdale Borough Council, said: “We have now reached a very important part of the process where the public can have their say on all the important issues relating to whether West Cumbria should take part in the search for somewhere to put a deep geological disposal facility for higher-activity radioactive waste.
“The Partnership has spent more than two years looking at a wide range of issues, including bringing in independent experts and commissioning our own research. However, it is very important that the Partnership and the Councils understand what members of the public think about the possibility of taking part in the search for a site, so now is the time to make your voice heard.
“This consultation is mainly aimed at members of the public and stakeholders in or around
The West Cumbria MRWS Partnership includes representatives of all the Cumbrian Councils as well as organisations such as the Lake District National Park Authority, Cumbria Tourism, the National Farmers’ Union, trade unions and Churches Together in
Robert Morris Eyton, who is the National Farmers Union representative on the Partnership, said: “It is quite a long time until a repository could be built. However, the decision we need to make now - about whether to take part in the search for a site – is still very important. Members of the Partnership have spent a considerable amount of time looking at these issues involved and now we want everyone else to take some time to find out what is being discussed and consider what it might mean for them and their families.”
The Partnership’s full consultation document and a DVD are available on its website at www.westcumbriamrws.org.uk. A shorter overview document will be sent to all homes in
Reverend Dr Lindsay Gray from Churches Together in
“A repository would affect people in the area for many generations into the future so everyone needs to take time to find out more about the issues involved and decide what they think would be best for the area.”
The Partnership will be hosting a series of consultation events across
As this decision would particularly affect people in Allerdale and Copeland there will also be a large, representative opinion poll to see whether people in these areas are in favour of or against entering the siting process, without a commitment to have the facility.
To help raise awareness of the process the Partnership is placing advertorials in the county’s local newspapers and there will also be advertising placed on buses, telephone boxes and billboards.
Should the area decide to participate in the Government’s process it is likely that the search for a suitable site would take around 15 years following detailed assessments and investigations on issues such as geology. The Councils would have a right to withdraw from the process up until the point where construction could start. The Councils would need to show that there is credible support for a decision to accept a repository.
For more information about the Partnership and the issues please visit the Partnership’s website.
Ends
For media enquiries please contact the Partnership’s communications advisor Paul Gardner or Ian Boydon at Osprey Communications on 01524-782086 or 077667906561
1. 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, 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 Advisory Forum), the Cumbria Chamber of Commerce and Cumbria Tourism.
2. 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.
3. The Government is looking for a community in the
4. 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.