Agenda item

(To receive a report from Justin Brown – Assistant Director – Growth, which provides a 6-monthly update on the progress of the Theddlethorpe Geological Disposal Facility Working Group. Edward Wright, Senior Adviser for Energy Opportunities – Infrastructure Investment, will also be in attendance for this item)

Consideration was given to a report from the Assistant Director – Growth, which provided a biannual update on the progress on the progress of the Theddlethorpe Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) Working Group. The Senior Adviser for Energy Opportunities – Infrastructure Investment was also in attendance for this item. It was reported that Councillor M Hill OBE represented the County Council on the Working Group, and the Councils membership did not indicate support of the GDF. Three key developments were reported:

·         Firstly, the Community Visioning Programme for Mablethorpe, Withern and Theddlethorpe was established and sought to develop the evidence base of strategic infrastructure investments required from government if the GDF development went ahead. The key themes of the programme included place, economy, environment, and education. The Programme Team was established in the County Council to ensure oversight, and that infrastructure requirements were accurately analysed.

·         Secondly, Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) had undertaken a community opinion survey comprising of 250 respondents, and Members were directed to page 37 of the report where the findings were listed. It was summarised that respondents generally would welcome more information on safety considerations, impacts on house prices and more generally, the overall impact the GDF would have on the community.

·         Thirdly, the Council continued to liaise with STEP fusion as they implemented their siting programme in West Burton, Nottinghamshire to learn good practice for the Theddlethorpe site. It was reported that STEP fusion’s engagement had led to strategic work with education providers to promote relevant skills in the community to encourage employment at the GDF. Transport analysis and work on business supply chain had also been undertaken as part of the engagement activity which would be advantageous to replicate in Theddlethorpe.

The Assistant Director – Growth gave assurance that the progress of the Working Group and the development as a whole was positive.

[note: Councillor K Cooke left the meeting at 11:15am]

During consideration of the report, the following matters were noted:

·         Some concern was expressed in regard to the emotive impact of the word ‘nuclear’ when raised with residents, and that they may misunderstand that it posed a significant threat. It was agreed that this demonstrated the importance of sufficient communication to provide assurance and accurate information to residents.

·         There were around 20 similar GDFs being developed, and it was imperative lessons were learned and adopted at Theddlethorpe.

·         The Council was looking for manufacturing plants and engineering businesses to support the Theddlethorpe development. The Assistant Director – Growth assured this would be analysed, as well as the associated opportunities for the manufacturing sector in Lincolnshire. Members welcomed the active pursuit of modular nuclear reactor programmes.

·         The community survey was welcomed by the Committee, and it was subsequently questioned how the Council could support NSW to ensure residents were fully informed. It was noted that the government policy for siting GDFs placed responsibility to inform on organisations, in this case, NWS as the developers, and the community partnerships in each area, not the Local Authority. Additionally, the Council contacted NWS on a monthly basis to communicate its expectations and was active in the community partnership where it maintained membership on the working group. It was paramount to ensure technical knowledge was communicated and held by the County Council at the working group to ensure it played a strong scrutinising role on the group.

·         Some Members were sympathetic to residents who did not want nuclear waste near their homes, but acknowledged it was theoretically safe due to heavy monitoring and regulation.

·         The community partnership was comprised of local community representatives, business representatives, and residents; membership was determined via open allocation process.

·         It was the aim of the partnership to ensure suitable information was shared with residents to inform a community vote in 2027 as to whether the development would go ahead.

·         It was highlighted that the survey hosted by NWS was one of many engagement exercises; it was also noted that surveys had also been developed by those who opposed developments which reduced the likelihood of bias from any particular group running a survey.

·         Members emphasised that it was vital that any nuclear material was managed with the utmost care and responsibility to ensure materials were adequately stabilised and stored.

·         The Chairman encouraged Members to research Geological Disposal Facility in Finland (Onkalo Spent Nuclear Fuel Repository).

·         Government policy stated that two sites were proposed for a GDF site which would eventually be narrowed down to a single site, and a binary and binding public vote would determine whether developments continued. Members subsequently questioned the process if both communities at the proposed sites declined developments and were informed this would be a matter for national government to consider.

·         The Assistant Director – Growth informed Members that the government had proposed a number of sites for the development of a GDF at South Copeland, Mid Copeland and East Lincolnshire; South Copeland formed a working group but it disbanded without explanation, although government policy on GDF siting gave power for any relevant principal local authority to form and disband community partnerships. It was assured this would not occur at the Theddlethorpe WG due to the Council’s neutrality and membership on the working group.

·         It was questioned whether the Council was monitoring the use of its staff and resources to aid the GDF development. It was noted that the Council recorded the time and priority spent, and a planning agreement had stated that the Council would be fully funded for direct costs associated with the GDF. It was assured that the Council was working to keep costs at a minimum and continued to explore infrastructure opportunities to continue to attract investment.

·         The Committee requested updates on the development and Working Group where appropriate,

RESOLVED

1)      That the satisfaction of the Committee be noted in relation to the update provided from the ongoing engagement with the Theddlethorpe Community Partnership

2)      That the Committee’s comments be taken under consideration by relevant officers when planning future engagement and participation in activities undertaken by the Partnership.

3)      That the Committee requests an update on progress be submitted in six months.