A council leader has announced his authority’s intention to withdraw from the search for a site for an underground radioactive waste facility.
Lincolnshire is one of three areas being considered for the location – the others are off the coast of South and Mid-Copeland in Cumbria – but the leader of Lincolnshire County Council said the authority intended to withdraw from the community partnership scheme.
This would effectively cancel the company’s consideration of the Lincolnshire coast for a geological disposal facility, known as a GDF.
Martin Hill OBE, leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: “When we took up the invitation to join a working group in 2021, we did so with an open mind, knowing that residents themselves could make the decision as to whether it was right for the area.
“We wanted residents to be able to understand the full extent of the opportunities and consequences that would come with the building of a GDF in Lincolnshire.
“At that time, the site earmarked for the development was an old gas terminal in Theddlethorpe – a brownfield site.
“Since then, the area that NWS is considering for the entry point to the GDF has shifted to open farmland, a couple of miles up the coast and further inland.
This changes the very nature of the proposal and, understandably, raised further concerns within the local community.
“Whilst we have tried to maintain an open mind towards the plans, we are now several years on from this first being suggested, and big questions still remain to be answered about the scale of the development and how this waste would get there.
“We had planned to put the decision on whether to remain within the partnership to a public vote next year, but it has become increasingly apparent that the community is getting frustrated with the uncertainty and slow pace of this process.
“Unless NWS can provide significant further details about their plans that would reassure the local community and comprehensively explain the benefits and costs, it is my intention to withdraw from the process altogether.
“This will need to be a formal decision, taken at a meeting of the council’s executive.
“NWS require at least one of the local councils to remain involved in the working group in order to progress the Lincolnshire GDF option.
“Following East Lindsey District Council’s withdrawal from the group earlier this month, our decision would effectively cancel NWS’ plans to build a nuclear waste facility in Lincolnshire.”
The company is clear that it needs a ‘willing community’ to build this facility and other locations in the UK are being considered for a GDF.
Simon Hughes, NWS siting and communities director, said: “We understand Lincolnshire County Council’s current position.
“It has advocated for residents to have the opportunity to have access to the information they need to make an informed decision about hosting a GDF. Their participation is playing a key role in facilitating conversations with local people about the process, its implications, and potential benefits.
“NWS has held many public events and produced dedicated websites, newsletters, and met regularly with local people and stakeholders.
“We have to date granted over £2 million to support local community projects for engaging in the process. Longer term, a GDF has the potential to provide the host community with significant opportunities for a local workforce, skills, and education, as well as many other benefits such as improvements to local transport and infrastructure.
“The Government’s GDF siting process in England and Wales is consent based and requires NWS to identify both a suitable site and a willing host community.
“This means if the community does not ultimately express support for a GDF, it won’t be built there.
“The GDF process would continue to progress as we engage with the two Community Partnerships currently involved in the GDF siting process, who are already learning more about this vital project and the benefits and opportunities it could bring. We will also consider opportunities for more communities to join the siting process.”
How close is Cumbria to getting a GDF?
Cumbria has been in the running to host an underground facility to store nuclear waste for several years now.
Work to find a suitable site for a geological disposal facility – or GDF – is a long process and the facility itself, if built here, would be ready to store waste in the 2050s.
