There's concerns that it's now more likely the village of Theddlehorpe will store nuclear waste
The area is now just one of three sites that are being considered for the facility after a nearby site voted to withdraw from the process
Last updated 22nd Feb 2024
Following the decision of a nearby site to withdraw from the process of hosting a nuclear disposal facility - there's concerns that it's now more likely Theddlethorpe will become the host,
That's because the area is now just one of three locations being considered - after East riding Councillors voted yesterday to pullout of conversations because of strong opposition from the community there
Ken Smith is the Chair of the Guardians of the East Coast and tells us what this means:
"It just increases the odds, there were four, so the odds against it being at Theddlethrope was 3-1, now there are only three possible sites, so we're back to 2-1. So, that's why I say it increases the pressure on us.
"We shall attempt to get another motion put forward to the council, we can start to work on that now... nobody has listened to us in all that time, nobody has bothered to find out what it is that the people actually want."
Ken added that his initial reaction was of mixed feelings:
"It's a double edged sword, in one respect you've got the feeling of disappointment that we were not able to get the same result, but on the other hand, it gives us the hope that we can actually try and force the same outcome, and we've just got to try and make our councillors do the same thing.
"I would like to see both councils saying 'We realise now that this was a bad idea, it's a crazy place to put this facility and we no longer support it, we're going to withdraw from the process'. That would be my ideal."
East Riding councillors decided to withdraw from conversations about whether a nuclear waste disposal facility should be built in the area yesterday.
Last month the council accepted an invitation to join a group which would start conversations about the possibility of it happening.
At the full council meeting, councillors voted 53 to 1 in favour of a motion brought by councillor Sean McMaster which called on the council to pull out from the siting process - he said there had been an overwhelming response from the community since the consultations began.
Nuclear Waste Services are looking for the right location to dispose of radioactive waste underground and the South Holderness area is one of four areas being looking at across the country.
As defined by Nuclear Waste Services a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) is internationally recognised by governments and scientists around the world as the best solution for the long-term management of higher activity radioactive waste.
They say, this is a consent-based process and Government policy requires them to identify both a suitable site and a willing community.
The process of selecting a suitable site could be up to 15 years, so this is a lengthy process.
Any proposed site would need to be technically viable and have the informed consent of the local community. If after answering all questions, and the local community decided they don’t want it, it won’t be built.
They say they are committed to giving local people all the information they need, listening to all the voices and letting local people have their say on the topic.
A statement from Nuclear Waste Services says:
“We fully respect the council’s decision to withdraw from the GDF siting process. Together with the Working Group Chair, we will now take the necessary steps to wind down the South Holderness Working Group and respond to outstanding requests for more information.
“Since the launch we’ve met with over 1200 people. We would like to thank those that have given up their time to speak to us and learn more about the GDF Programme.
“We will continue to engage with the other three Community Partnerships currently involved in the GDF siting process and will consider other communities who are interested in learning more about this vital project and the benefits and opportunities it could bring."
We have approached East Lindsey District Council and Lincolnshire County Council for a statement.
Lincolnshire County council told us:
“The county council’s position remains the same."
"We feel it’s very important that all residents, businesses and organisations get an accurate picture and full information about what a GDF could mean for Theddlethorpe."
"Our role is to get the assurance that all views are heard so that when local people make a decision via the Test of Public Support, they are fully informed."
"We are continuing to push for that to happen at the earliest practical opportunity."
"In the meantime there is considerable other national interest in the site for other purposes, and we are engaging with other companies in a similar way.”
We've yet to hear from East Lindsey.