SOUTH Copeland Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) Community Partnership awarded £1 million in Community Investment Funding to local projects during its first year. 

A GDF is an underground facility designed to dispose of radioactive waste.

Once the waste is placed inside the GDF, it is permanently sealed.

It is designed to function without maintenance for hundreds of thousands of years until the radioactive material decays naturally. 

The Community Partnership is a group made up of members including the GDF developer, the local authority, and community members. It engages with the community to outline what it would mean to have a GDF. 

South Copeland is only one potential site. Two others in Cumbria may host a GDF, Mid Copeland and Allerdale. Theddlethorpe in Lincolnshire is also competing. It could take another ten to fifteen years to decide on and survey a site before construction starts. 

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The projects that received money from the community partnership included: 

  • Bootle & District First Responders, £8,982, to replace 8 defibrillators and purchase a laminator, clothing and additional equipment.
  • Cumbria Addictions: Advice and Solutions (CADAS), £106,662, to provide focused support to the local community on a variety of issues relating specifically to mental health and addictive behaviours.
  • Cumbria Community Foundation, £49,812, to support the Foundation's Winter Warmth Fund in South Copeland.
  • Millom Baptist Church, £40,000, to replace the wooden flooring in the community hall and remove and replace the old stairs, storage areas, and toilet.
  • Millom Cricket Club, £31,236, to make improvements to the clubhouse, facilities and grounds.
  • Millom First Responders, £19,984, to replace 8 defibrillators, and other equipment including a mannequin and training defibrillator.
  • Millom Flower Group, £5,000, to provide one year of funding supporting regrowth post-Covid-19. This will support guest speakers, demonstration fees and trips.
  • Millom Rugby Union Football Club, £31,606, to update a range of groundskeeping equipment.
  • Millom STEM Club, £2,000, to fund Haverigg Environmental Science project including the planting of wild woodland and pond plants and building a dipping platform. The wildlife will be accessible to all local primary schools and will encourage a greater diversity of wildlife to inhabit the area.
  • Millom Town Council, £46,737, to resurface the multi-use games area (MUGA) in Millom Park and install new fencing.