St Andrew’s Churchyard
Penrith
Cumbria
CA11 7YA
01768 812141
NEWS RELEASE
28 August 2012
PARISHES SEEK DELAY AS COUNTDOWN STARTS TO NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY DECISION
As a series of council meetings start this week to discuss whether to begin the search for a site for an underground nuclear waste repository in West Cumbria, the Cumbria Association of Local Councils (CALC) has written to the Leaders of Cumbria County Council and Allerdale and Copeland Borough Councils asking for deferment of a decision until there is more clarity about the area’s geology and other issues.
Cumbria County Council and Allerdale and Copeland Borough Councils are holding a number of committee and full Council meetings from 30th August until the end of September to discuss the Government’s “Managing Radioactive Waste Safely” (MRWS) programme. These meetings are leading up to the formal decision about whether to go into the next stage of the MRWS programme and start looking for a suitable underground site in West Cumbria. The three councils are expected to take separate, but co-ordinated, decisions on 11 October.
“This is a key decision coming up” according to Cllr Keith Hitchen, Chairman of CALC, which represents the interests of town and parish councils in Cumbria. “It is vitally important that the decision is not rushed and that the County and Borough Councils have fully satisfied themselves that the proposed MRWS programme has credible foundations. We believe there are serious gaps in the information available to the councils that must be addressed before any decision is taken.”
The Government’s MRWS programme is seeking to find a site with suitable geology for an underground repository to dispose of the nation’s higher activity nuclear waste. The Government has said that the development of a repository will only go ahead in an area that volunteers to have it. Councils in West Cumbria have already expressed an interest in hosting such a facility and must now decide whether to go into the next stage of looking for a site. If the decision is positive it is likely to be interpreted nationally as West Cumbria saying, in principle, it is willing to have the repository in its area.
Earlier this year, in response to a consultation, some 70% of town and parish councils in West Cumbria said that they do not want the MRWS programme to continue in West Cumbria. They expressed a number of concerns, including serious doubts about the suitability of the area’s geology.
Cllr Keith Hitchen went on to say “The majority of town and parish councils in West Cumbria are unconvinced about the current approach to the MRWS programme. The County and Borough Councils should not be taking this decision without an authoritative, independent appraisal of the area’s geology that spells out what the prospects really are of finding a suitable site. There is a real possibility of time, effort and money being wasted in abortive research and site investigations. In addition, we are concerned that the legal requirement to look at alternatives has not been met and there is no agreed approach to ensure the co-operation and participation of potential ‘host communities’ in West Cumbria – an essential requirement in a voluntary programme”.
ENDS
Further information:
- Town and parish councils are one of the three tiers of local government in Cumbria. The others are the County Council and the District (Borough) Councils. The Cumbria Association of Local Councils (CALC) is a membership organisation for town and parish councils that supports the work of the councils and represents their interests.
- The letter the Chairman of CALC has written to the Leaders of the County Council and the two Borough Councils accompanies this News Release.
- The key council meetings currently planned to discuss MRWS are:
30 August – meetings of the County Council’s Local Committees for Allerdale and Copeland areas.
5 September – meeting of Cumbria County Council
19 September – meeting of Allerdale Borough Council
26 September – meeting of Copeland Borough Council
It is understood that the above meetings are for discussion of MRWS, not for taking decisions.
11 October – formal decisions on MRWS by the Cabinet of Cumbria County Council and the Executive Committees of Allerdale and Copeland Borough Councils.
- For the MRWS programme to go ahead in a Borough Council area there needs to be the agreement of both the relevant Borough Council and the County Council (and also the Government).
- For further information contact the Chairman of CALC Keith Hitchen on 07843370085 (), or Guy Richardson, advisor to CALC on MRWS matters, on 01539531153 ()