A final report by the West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Partnership (MRWS) has been released (19 July) that sets out considerations needed to be taken into account should the plans for a nuclear waste store in the area go ahead.

Comprising of the seven Cumbrian councils, plus other regional organisations including the Lake District National Park, Cumbrian Tourism, the NFU and the Cumbrian Association of Local Councils, the Partnership’s report was compiled following a public consultation, which ran between November 2011 and March of this year. During this time, around 2,300 people and organisations responded to the Partnership’s initial opinions, raising a wide range of issues, which the final report has aimed to address.

Speaking on the release of the document, the current Chair of the Partnership, Councillor Elaine Woodburn said: “Over the last three years the Partnership has considered reports, heard from experts, commissioned independent research and invited reviews by independent experts. We have also placed a high priority on involving the public.

“There is a considerable amount of detail in the report and we hope people will take the time to consider our opinions and advice. The report does not provide any simple answers because these are complex issues and many of them can only properly be considered if more detailed work is carried out.”

The document considers both positive and negative impacts the building of a nuclear repository could have on the natural landscape and the local community, including the affects to tourism, jobs and pollution from the construction process. One such consideration centres around the issue that areas within the National Park should not be considered for aboveground facilities ‘because of the likely impact this would have on the special qualities of the Park, which would not be consistent with current planning policies’.

Another consideration the Partnership has established as being key to the selection of the site’s location, is in identifying a suitable rock formation to provide an effective safety barrier around the waste. There have, however, been mixed responses from experts as to whether West Cumbria’s geology is actually suitable for the repository. As a result, the Partnership has recommended more studies be carried out, but it is not clear whether ‘further geological work should be done before or after a Decision about Participation’. Despite this, the report suggests any technical work undertaken is assisted by government funding to ensure it is completed independently and with the benefit of the community in mind.

The report also discloses a set of principles the Partnership has agreed with the government to be used as a basis for any future negotiations on a benefits package, which it states, ‘gives us a certain amount of confidence that an acceptable community benefits package could be negotiated… [however] a final decision to accept a repository should only be made if the community is convinced government – and future governments that follow – will honour commitments on community benefits’.

Running in excess of 200 pages, the report will now be passed to Allerdale and Copeland Boroughs and Cumbria County Councils to decide whether to further explore for a potential location of the site. Both the report and Councillor Woodburn were keen to emphasise that participating councils have the legal right to withdraw from the process at any stage, prior to construction.

Councillor Woodburn added: “It is now up to the three Councils, as the Decision Making Bodies in this process, to weigh up the evidence on all sides of the debate. The Councils will then decide whether to take part in a search to find out if there is anywhere in the Allerdale or Copeland areas that is suitable for a nuclear waste repository. If we take part in this process the Councils would still have a right to withdraw but the decision that needs to be made now is still an important one.”

The final report will be made available on the Partnership’s website within the next few weeks.