FUNDING is available to community projects in Copeland after council bosses agreed to join talks on underground nuclear waste disposal, meanwhile, the Cumbrian Green Party has taken a united stand against such a facility.

The formation of a Community Partnership in Copeland, to discuss the issue of nuclear waste disposal with the public, has released £1 million in investment funding for the area.

A Community Partnership can only be formed with the participation of the Local Authority.

By agreeing to join the Mid Copeland GDF Community Partnership, Copeland Council has facilitated the funding which can be spent on community projects in Gosforth, Seascale and Beckermet.

A Geological Disposal Facility is an underground facility designed to safely and securely dispose of higher activity radioactive waste. Community Partnerships are longer-term groups made up of a larger number of people to consider the possibilities of hosting a GDF within identified Search Areas in more detail.

Mark Cullinan, Interim Chair of the Mid Copeland GDF Community Partnership, said: “It’s fantastic that funding applications are coming in with projects being suggested to benefit people in the Search Area for Mid Copeland.

“This funding is provided to make a difference to local communities while they are part of this process and we invite groups and organisations to come forward and take a look at the opportunities on offer.”

Another Community Partnership has formed to discuss the potential to host a GDF in Millom and Scafell. Allerdale Borough Council also agreed recently to join a Community Partnership discussing GDF.

In a joint statement for the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Allerdale, Copeland and Carlisle Green Party members took a united stand on GDF.

The Cumbrian Greens called GDF "irredeemably unsafe."

Providing that the geology is suitable, Radioactive Waste Management maintains that GDF is a safe method of nuclear waste disposal.

Secretary to Allerdale and Copeland Green Party, Jill Perry, said: “We are told that the process will be community-led but there is no evidence of community support in any of the areas of search. All we know is that councillors are in favour.”

But nuclear waste bosses say the Mid Copeland GDF Community Partnership will be looking to recruit community members in the near future.

The initial membership includes the developer Radioactive Waste Management, Copeland Borough Council, Cumbria Association of Local Councils and elected councillors.

The Green Party said: "Local communities are being told that a 'GDF will only be built if it can be shown that it is safe to people and the environment' but the key problem is - it can’t. We know that high level nuclear waste has a lifespan of millions of years.

"If the proposed GDF goes ahead highly radioactive nuclear waste will buried under Cumbrian soil and permanently sealed in containers. There are no guarantees that this waste will remain adequately sealed over such a colossal time period - resistant to water ingress and movements of the earth."

"The next stage of the process will take 10 – 15 years, while communities across West Cumbria suffer the blight of potentially hosting a nuclear waste dump and no possibility of withdrawing themselves from the process."

Mrs Perry said that Cumbria is "gazing blindly into the mouth of a Venus Fly Trap.”

Further information about the Mid Copeland GDF Community Partnership or Community Investment Funding, can be found at: https://midcopeland.workinginpartnership.org.uk