Dear Friends,

You may have seen the news that Ed Miliband is looking to scrap the already flimsy “Test of Public Support” for a nuclear dump which has already seen damaging seismic blasting taking place (with your help we highlighted this and Allerdale was removed from seismic blasting plans).  

Only the Lake District coast is in the frame.

In essence, even with all the £millions of public money being poured into the “Areas of Focus,” the UK government can see that the chance of finding a “willing community” to host an experimental and uniquely dangerous sub-sea nuclear dump is vanishingly small.  This is why they  reduced the right of veto from the whole region (Cumbria County Council) to the most nuclear compliant area – Cumberland Council.  The “communities within Cumberland Council area do not have the “Right of Withdrawal” only the council has that… and so far the full Cumberland Council have never discussed or voted on this.  The“partnership” with Nuclear Waste Services (whose aim is to deliver a “geological disposal facility)” only being formally agreed with four councillors and those were from the previous Copeland Borough Council.

Given Ed Miliband’s plans to scrap the “Test of Public Support” for a nuclear dump, it is more important than ever that Cumberland Council holds a full discussion and vote before continuing any further down this toxic undemocratic path to the most dangerous experiment ever in the UK, namely to use the Lake District coast as a giant heat sink in which to abandon plutonium and other high level nuclear wastes.  The hot wastes are currently cooled by millions of gallons of fresh Lake District waters – once abandoned underground they would continue to heat up causing “volatile boiling geysers” according to leading geologists.

Please keep sharing the petition urging Cumberland to hold a full debate and vote – the petition is here https://www.change.org/p/urgent-insist-cumberland-council-fulfill-their-nuclear-democratic-duty.   and please keep encouraging others to sign especially if you live in Cumbria – please remember to put your correct postcode on the petition.

With many thanks!

Marianne

Below is our latest correspondence with Cumberland Council

https://radiationfreelakeland.substack.com/p/support-what-support-cumberland-council