A ‘willing’ community is the cornerstone of government’s drive to find a Geological Disposal Facility aka nuclear dump.
Simon Hughes, Nuclear Waste Services Head of Siting, has stated, “The policy surrounding our search for a safe and suitable location for a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) in the UK is emphatic. It requires the express consent of the people who would be living alongside a GDF, and gives them influence over the pace at which discussions progress.”
Residents in the two areas of South Copeland who will be living alongside the focus area, i.e. Kirksanton and Bank Head housing estate, have resoundingly said they are NOT a willing community.
In 2023 Whicham Parish Council surveyed their residents and found 76% were opposed to a GDF being sited there. Now, the other area most affected, Bank Head housing estate near HMP Haverigg, have also rejected the idea and are asking Millom Town Council, Cumberland Council and their MP Michelle Scrogham, for help to stop it.
After meeting their MP, residents of Bank Head conducted the survey at her suggestion – Millom Town Council have refused to conduct a similar survey, so residents took it into their own hands. With a return rate of 68.3%, 78.7% have said no to a GDF, 11.7% yes and 5.2% don’t know.