COMPARISONS between Berkeley and its declining nuclear industry have been drawn with towns that have lost their mining industries. Due to the deadline for the council to issue comments about plans to ‘import’ waste to the town, the council called an extra ordinary meeting to discuss the plans. It was revealed that Magnox plans to transport nuclear waste from power stations in Dorset and Oxfordshire via Berkeley to a processing site in Cumbria. As part of a £200million savings programme, Magnox unveiled plans to limit the number of its sites it constructs waste storage facilities at. Through this programme, waste at Oldbury power station, which includes a number of ‘packages’ from power stations in Kent and Suffolk would be stored at Berkeley’s purpose-built storage facility until a national facility is developed – saving an estimated £20million locally. The town council asked through its comment on the application asked for 10 per cent of the local saving to mitigate the loss of the nuclear industry in the town. Berkeley site director Mike Heaton said that as Magnox was operated under contract by the government it would not have the savings to distribute to the community. He directed the council to Magnox’s socio-economic fund which provides grants to projects in communities where the firm operates.
Gloucestershire Gazette 16th April 2016 read more »