Local opinion is divided – not necessarily evenly – following a decision by councillors on East Riding Council to dramatically pull the plug on proposals for a possible underground nuclear waste facility in South Holderness, just weeks after a process that could have taken years had formally started.
The vote to withdraw the council from a working group it had previously agreed to join to oversee the initial phase of consultation was taken at a full meeting of the authority in Beverley. After a 14-minute debate, all but one councillor voted in support of a motion to immediately walk away from the working group. Under the terms of consultation set by the government, it effectively ended the process before it had really begun.
Campaigners celebrate decision to drop nuclear waste disposal plans
For campaigners who had mobilised quickly to protest against it, the vote was a victory. Lynn Massey-Davis, chairperson for the South Holderness Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) Action Group, said the fact that just over 1,300 people had joined the group in just over four weeks reflected wider opposition in communities across the area. She said:
“The first time I went into the village centre after it was announced, someone came up to me with tears in their eyes. I hugged her and I knew we had to work hard to end this uncertainty for everyone.
“I am really proud that we started this group and website and that other people joined in and worked so very hard over such a short period of time to turn the tide of opinion towards considering removing this threat to us all.
“This is an unprecedented level of community action in such a small place and shows why we are unique and special.”
Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) – part of the government’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority – said it “fully respected” the council’s decision and would now start winding down the working group having staged a series of informal village hall drop-in events over the last month.
Consultation continues on nuclear waste sites in Cumbria and Lincolnshire
With the option of South Holderness now off the table, a consultation process involving three other previously identified potential sites – two in Cumbria and one in Lincolnshire – will continue. In a statement, NWS added:
“Since the launch, NWS has met with over 1,200 people and would like to thank those that have given up their time to learn more about the GDF programme. NWS 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.”
However, as the events in South Holderness have proved, the explicit government policy requiring community consent for a GDF seems self-defeating. Like turkeys voting for Christmas, is there ever likely to be a majority anywhere in favour of one?
Graham Stuart MP shifts position
In South Holderness, the promised incentives weren’t enough to convince East Riding politicians. These incentives included an annual £1mn community grant scheme during the consultation process before any final decision, together with the potential economic benefits of creating 4,000 skilled jobs, boosting the local supply chain and delivering huge physical infrastructure improvements.
These politicians included the local Conservative MP Graham Stuart, who just happens to be part of the ministerial team in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero – the same department responsible for the decommissioning of nuclear waste. Along with senior East Riding councillors, Stuart was briefed in advance on the proposal and the protracted process around the consultation (before it was publicly announced on January 25). He initially called for a referendum on the idea, even though carrying out a so-called ‘test of public support’ was already a requirement of the process as laid down by his department.
He then switched to supporting two local Conservative councillors in their ultimately successful motion calling on the council to withdraw immediately. All three, along with Conservative council leader Anne Handley, cited public opposition to the idea even though their evidence was largely anecdotal.
Withdrawing from the democratic consultation process
While the vote might not qualify as a U-turn, the council had initially invited NWS to form a working group after the latter had approached the authority having identified the area as a potential location for a GDF. As such, the council initially treated it as an inward investment inquiry.
In that context, some have questioned the rush to pull out of a process specifically intended to take a long and very detailed look into some very complex issues. The answer to that might well be a lot of nervous politicians in a general election year.
