The county council and Copeland Borough Council had been working to find a willing host community for an underground radioactive waste disposal facility, but the change of heart by the larger authority has brought the process to an end.
At a meeting in Carlisle yesterday (30 January), the 10 members of the county council’s Cabinet also agreed that the council would press the government to make the necessary investment to improve the existing surface storage facilities at Sellafield to strengthen surface storage arrangement in the decades to come while the government finds a permanent solution for the country’s higher activity radioactive waste.
The decision effectively ends Cumbria County Council’s four-year formal involvement in the Managing Radioactive Waste Safely (MRWS) process.
The government will now start over in its bid to find a location for the geological disposal facility (GDF), but it will not now be in West Cumbria.
Cllr Eddie Martin, leader of Cumbria County Council, said: “Cabinet believes there is sufficient doubt around the suitability of West Cumbria’s geology to put an end now to the uncertainty and worry this is causing for our communities. Cumbria is not the best place geologically in the UK – the government’s efforts need to be focused on disposing of the waste underground in the safest lace, not the easiest.
“Members have remained concerned throughout on the issue of the legal right of withdrawal if we proceed to the next stage. Despite assurances from government that they intend to introduce this as primary legislation, we do believe that this could have been done far sooner to ease our concerns. The fact remains the right of withdrawal is not yet enshrined in statute and we could not take the risk of saying yes today without this being absolutely nailed down.
“Cumbria has a unique and world-renowned landscape which needs to be cherished and protected. While Sellafield and the Lake District have co-existed side by side successfully for decades, we fear that if the area becomes known in the national conscience as the place where nuclear waste is stored underground, the Lake District’s reputation may not be so resilient."
Responding to the county councillors’ decision, energy secretary Ed Davey said: “We respect the decision made by Cumbria councillors. They have invested a great deal of time in this project and have provided valuable lessons on how to take forward this process in future. While their decision to withdraw is disappointing, Cumbria will continue to play a central role in the energy and nuclear power sectors.
“We are clear that nuclear power should play a key role in our future energy mix, as it does today. I am confident that the programme to manage radioactive waste safely will ultimately be successful, and that the decisions made in Cumbria today will not undermine prospects for new nuclear power stations.
“It is however absolutely vital that we get to grips with our national nuclear legacy. The issue has been kicked into the long-grass for far too long.
“We remain firmly committed to geological disposal as the right policy for the long-term, safe and secure management of radioactive waste. We also remain committed to the principles of voluntarism and a community-led approach.
“The fact that Copeland voted in favour of entering the search for a potential site for a GDF demonstrates that communities recognise the benefits associated with hosting such a facility.
“For any host community there will be a substantial community benefits package, worth hundreds of millions of pounds. That is in addition to the hundreds of jobs and major investment that such a huge infrastructure project could bring.
“We will now embark on a renewed drive to ensure that the case for hosting a GDF is drawn to the attention of other communities.”
The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) expressed its disappointment at Cumbria’s decision to withdraw. Director of external affairs Alasdair Reisner said: “The council has declined to move forward to the fourth stage of a process that would lead to the potential construction of an underground store for radioactive waste generated by the UK’s historic nuclear programme.
“CECA believes it is essential that the UK deals with the legacy of its nuclear past in a timely, efficient and safe manner. We hope that the government can work with communities to move forward quickly to find another solution, either in Cumbria or elsewhere in the UK.”
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