On the welcome page of their latest newsletter (February 2023) the chair of the Community Partnership tells us “This discussion is happening in communities across England” then goes on to say four Community Partnerships have been formed in four different areas. That is hardly across England especially as three of these are in Cumbria.
He tells us it is their “job to ensure a fair process, the voices of local people are heard, ask questions and raise concerns with the GDF developer, who we will hold to account. We need to be open to both the benefits and impacts of a GDF and this needs exploration with independent help as more details become clear over time.” Do you think the more they say this the more likely we are to believe that they mean it?
Our question is: “When do you intend to look at the impacts of a GDF?” “Will this happen once you have finished bribing everyone?” Stop giving the impression that you are going to answer our concerns when it seems pretty clear you have no intention of doing this otherwise why have you not done so by now?
The newsletter tells us many countries are moving forward with plans for GDFs and cites Sweden as having identified a site which is supported by two communities. Well, last night there was an international webinar at which a representative of the opposition in Sweden gave an overview of the situation there. It is quite clear from his comments that the communities in Sweden are far from supportive and have raised many similar issues we have identified and, like us, they have not been given any answers.