A Working Group has been formed in Allerdale, Cumbria, to begin discussions about the potential for hosting a deep geological facility for the safe and secure disposal of radioactive waste. Today’s announcement follows two months after the first group was established in neighbouring Copeland. Chaired independently by Jocelyn Manners-Armstrong, the Allerdale Working Group will now begin local discussions and fact-finding about the potential for the future siting of a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) in Allerdale. Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) Chief Executive, Karen Wheeler, said: “I’m delighted to see the formation of the GDF Working Group in Allerdale which will start to engage local residents, businesses, and other organisations about the possibility of hosting a GDF. This is the second Working Group to form, following Copeland’s announcement in November, with more planned to come across England in the months ahead.
RWM 14th Jan 2021 read more »
A community that hosts a geological disposal facility (GDF) for radioactive waste will help solve a huge problem for the UK, not just for now, but once and for all. And for the community itself, the benefits linked to this £multi-billion investment will also be immense. Funding benefits would start quickly, and jobs benefits would go on to last for generations. Any infrastructure project of £billions will create thousands of jobs, many of them highly skilled. What makes a GDF different, is that while the initial GDF construction phase will stretch over around 10 years and require a workforce of up to 2,000 during the peak period – the total construction and operation will take well over 100 years, employing local people and supporting local businesses all the time.
RWM 14th Jan 2021 read more »
Eight years after the last search process was halted, Allerdale finds itself back in the firing line to be the burial site for the UK’s nuclear waste. However this time it isn’t Allerdale which has volunteered itself, but a property developer based in Dalston near Carlisle. He has also volunteered Copeland. The new rules of engagement rather bizarrely allow anyone to volunteer anywhere, even an individual who doesn’t live in the area, or a company can volunteer it. During the government consultation which created these rules, Cumbria Trust highlighted the risk of making it exceptionally easy to volunteer an area, even if it is against the wishes of the local population. The first test of public support could be up to twenty years later, leaving the threat hanging over the community for that time. Of course, the ease with which the process can be started isn’t mirrored by the ease of withdrawing. There the government have chosen a highly prescriptive system.
Cumbria Trust 15th Jan 2021 read more »