Romney Marsh Nuclear Waste Dump Consultation: Press Coverage Round-up
there has been considerable press commentary about the incredible decision by Shepway District Council to consult on the possibility of siting a high-level Nuclear Waste dump on Romney Marsh.
You can sign a petition against the proposal at http://shep.lib.dm/nonucleardump
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A furious row has broken out among local politicians over a proposal to build a nuclear waste dump in Kent. Romney Marshes is being mooted as a site for Britain's first store for high-level radioactive materials by members of Shepway district council but the move has infuriated the leader of Kent county council and a local MP. "Let's not sell Romney Marsh short; I believe it has and deserves a better future than being the dumping ground for all of Britain's high level nuclear waste," said Damian Collins, MP for Folkestone and Hythe, on his own website.
Guardian 17th May 2012
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/17/row-nuclear-waste-dump-proposal?newsfeed=true
A district council in Kent is to stage a public meeting to test local opinion on possibly hosting an underground nuclear dump of the kind that has triggered a lively debate in west Cumbria. Shepway Council has expressed an interest in proposing Romney Marsh could host a dump, partly to offset 1,000 job losses at Dungeness power stations. The meeting has been proposed as it emerged that there are deeply divided opinions in the county on whether west Cumbria should host an underground dump for highly radioactive nuclear waste West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely (MRWS) partnership has recently conducted a large scale consultation on the issue and is due to report on the results at a public meeting next week.
Carlisle News & Star 17th May 2012
http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/interest-is-expressed-in-n-dump-1.955175?referrerPath=news
For years West Cumbria has been the only place in the country to show interest in building an underground nuclear waste store. But a competitor for the controversial twelve-billion pound project has emerged. A District Council in Kent says it wants to consults its residents about building a site, because of the government money and jobs it would bring with it. Campaigners opposed to the store in Cumbria have welcomed the move by Shepway Council. They hope it will start a national conversation on the issue. However, Copeland MP Jamie Reed fears for the future of west Cumbria's economy without the opportunity to host the £12bn nuclear dump.
ITV Border 17th May 2012
http://www.itv.com/news/border/2012-05-17/cumbria-v-kent-for-nuclear-waste/
Ten thousand residents of Romney Marsh are being sent letters asking for their views on establishing a £12 billion disposal centre near the exisiting Dungeness power station. John Large, who advises the UK Atomic Energy Authority, says using marshland at high-risk of flooding would be "reckless in the extreme."
ITV Meridian 17th May 2012
http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2012-05-17/nuclear-plans-highly-dangerous/
WEST CUMBRIA is divided over plans to build an underground nuclear repository in the area. A draft summary report published by the West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Safely group shows a majority of respondents are in favour of Copeland and Allerdale Borough Councils being part of the search to build the repository. But a significant proportion of respondents were against the idea. Throughout the public consultation process, more than 1,400 responses were received by the partnership, from individuals, organisations and groups. More than two thirds of the responses received were from Allerdale or Copeland. Asked whether the areas covered by Allerdale and/or Copeland Borough Councils should take part in the search for somewhere to put a repository, approximately 420 were for the idea, while 300 said West Cumbria should withdraw from the process.
NW Evening Mail 17th May 2012
http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/county-nuclear-devision-1.955347?referrerPath=news/south_lakes
Many town and parish councils have already made it clear that they don't want to proceed any further. These include three closest to Sellafield - Ponsonby, Beckermet and Gosforth.
In its initial summary published yesterday, the MRWS Partnership said there have been strong views for and against whether to search for a site. It points out: "While some respondents simply state 'yes, go ahead,' or 'no the councils should withdraw,' others detail their views more clearly, tending to focus on specific issues of concern, either positive or negative.
Whitehaven News 17th May 2012
Following a public outcry, tonight Keswick Town Council has voted 9 to 3 to say NO to going any further along in the plan for a nuclear dump. At a previous meeting Town Councillors had voted 6-5 on the casting vote of Chairman and Mayor Councillor Andrew Lysser not to oppose the plan. This new vote reflects the strong public opposition to a geological dump in the vicinity of Keswick and the wider area. The objectors, who pointed out that the potential jobs boost had been exaggerated and the irreversible risks underplayed were prepared to call for a referendum if the Council had refused to reconsider the issue.
Radiation Free Lakeland 17th May 2012
http://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/keswick-says-no-to-nuke-dump/
Letter: To cut a long story short I told the man from MORI that while I had no political or anti-nuclear affiliation, and was not employed in the nuclear industry (nor were any relatives) I was dead against the project because of the potential long-term implications of burying high level radioactive waste; deadly waste that has a staggering shelf life of thousands of years.
Whitehaven News 17th May 2012
Romney Marsh - largely unspoilt corner of England, uncomfortably close to the sprawling conurbations of the home counties, could become the dumping ground for Britain's nuclear waste. The local council has sent thousands of letters to residents asking if they would be willing to let their backyard be the nation's first Nuclear Research and Disposal Facility. Building would start in 2025 at the earliest and the first "pods" of waste, vitrified as glass and coated in concrete or clay, would go underground as early as 2040, to be stored in miles of tunnels more than 3,000ft deep.
Telegraph 17th May 2012
PROPOSALS for a nuclear waste disposal facility on Romney Marsh will dent Lydd Airport's proposed expansion plans as the area could be "more vulnerable" to terrorist attack, opponents have argued. Louise Barton, of Lydd Airport Action Group, questioned how the airport could build a new terminal and extend its runway at a time when the area could be accommodating an extra nuclear facility.
Folkestone Herald 17th May 2012
http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/story-16107623-detail/story.html
Romney Marsh Herald 17th May 2012
http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/story-16107451-detail/story.html
DUMPING nuclear waste on Hythe's doorstep is a "horrifying" plan that could kill tourism for the area, a former councillor has warned.
Hythe Herald 18th May 2012
http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/Residents-say-nuclear-dump-doorstep/story-16118813-detail/story.html
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