A PEACEFUL protest has been planned to highlight the natural beauty of an area that will be affected by a £10bn nuclear project. 

Anti-nuclear campaigners have organised a picnic to enable people to get close and personal to the flora and fauna that exist in the vicinity of the Moorside plant. 

The picnic, organised by Radiation Free Lakeland, is an attempt to highlight what the group thinks will be destroyed by the nuclear new build.


Anti nuclear waste dump protester Marianne Birkby. 21 November 2013 STUART WALKER 50056215F004.JPG Marianne Birkby , founder of the group and anti-nuclear activist, believes more needs to be said about the dangers of the project.

She said: "Cumbria has been led up the garden path. 

"No attention has been given to this - all anyone seems to talk about is the pylons. 

"We talk about our nuclear legacy but history is repeating itself but on steroids."

The event will begin at St Bridget's Church at Beckermet, an area Ms Birkby believes to be of outstanding natural beauty. 

She said: "It's a lovely old church with two ancient crosses which would be in the shadow of Moorside when it's built. 

"There's lots of wildlife up there: curlews, lapwings, natterjack toads and barn owls - not to mention miles and miles of hedgerows."

NuGen - the company delivering the Moorside project - often speaks about the importance of the environment and has made steps to help preserve the area and its wildlife through a number of schemes.

Last year the company rolled out its Green Grants scheme which saw £37,000 ploughed into local communities to help roll out environmental projects up and down the west coast of Cumbria.

Paula Madill , head of environment at NuGen, said: “NuGen takes the environment around our Moorside project extremely seriously and is going to great lengths - through our Environmental Impact Assessment - to understand, minimise and mitigate any potential to effect the environment. 

“We hope to provide a positive lasting legacy for the region and we have been working with the Landscape Institute to come up with ways that the Moorside Project can enhance the environment locally. 

“NuGen is committed to putting environmental care and sustainability at the heart of its development work."

However, Ms Birkby and fellow activists say this is not enough and believes the power station will have a huge impact on Cumbria's coastline. 

She said: "People say NuGen cares about the environment but they want to build a nuclear power station - it's contradictory. 

"NuGen are going into schools saying they will replace habitats but you can't replace a habitat. 

"The coast of Cumbria cannot be replaced; the Duddon Estuary cannot be replaced and Morecambe Bay cannot be replaced."

The picnic is open to the public and will take place at 11am tomorrow at St Bridget's Church in Beckermet . 

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