Date set for vote on West Cumbria nuclear waste dump
Last updated at 16:40, Thursday, 22 November 2012
A DATE has been set for the vote on whether to press ahead with a process that could see the UK’s high-level nuclear waste buried deep beneath Cumbria.
Copeland Borough Council, Cumbria County Council and Allerdale Borough Council will all vote on January 30 whether to progress to the next phase of the Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Partnership’s consultation.
The vote was originally due to take place in October but the councils put the vote on hold due to uncertainties about the legality of withdrawing at a later stage.
There are four possible outcomes of the vote.
Should only Cumbria and one of the district authorities support progressing to the next phase, a desk based study for potential sites, the search will progress but only within the district in favour.
A spokesman for Copeland Borough Council confirmed councillors will take the vote on January 30.
Cumbria County Council’s cabinet is due to take the vote on the same date and the 10-strong panel will not receive a recommendation from officers on a par with “regular” issues.
MP for Copeland, Jamie Reed, said: “We have to make this happen.
“It’s make or break for this area – the potential benefits are phenomenal.
“It is a clearly stated policy of the county council to proceed with deep geological disposal.
“This is the time for serious people capable of making serious decisions. We can’t play with this process for much longer.
“Thirty years of drift and delay is too long – there’s simply too much at stake for the people of Copeland and for future generations of West Cumbrians to lose.”
However, strong opposition against the repository has been lodged.
Martin Forwood, a member of Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment, previously told the Evening Mail: “This would be a very bad idea.
“There are no good points and nothing positive about an underground dump – it can only have a negative impact.
“It will simply turn West Cumbria into a nuclear pariah.”
First published at 16:36, Thursday, 22 November 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk
The area is geologically unsuitable for radiological disposal and will leak into the environment and local water aquifers.
Have your say
It's because the county is so desperate for jobs and money that the government and our local councilors are determined to find a way to dump nuclear waste in Cumbria. This short term strategy will be a legacy of disaster for our children ,their children ad infinitum. Surely a suitable place should be found first .Volonteering without due concern to the geology of the ground proposed is madness. The decision should be made by independent geologists as to the most suitable site, not politicians who have too many other interests to consider. Seven councillors will be making this momentous decision. Do you trust them to do that for the whole population of West Cumbria ?
Posted by Clive Milburn on 14 December 2012 at 16:48