On the 26th June 2018, Folkestone & Hythe District (F&HDC) Council provided written evidence to the Draft National Policy Statement for Geological Disposal Infrastructure inquiry. In their evidence they said:
Looking to the future F&HDC “actively considers” options such as Geological Disposal, and the potential for initiatives such as continuous decommissioning to provide space at Dungeness A for new economic uses including Advanced Modular Reactors.
After63% of the district’s population said no in 2012to a Geological Disposal Facility within the district, why would F&HDC be actively considering options such as a Geological Disposal Facility? Have you the people changed your mind or is it the money on offer that is making them actively consider a Geological Disposal Facility?
Now for those of you who do not know, Cllr David Monk is our representative on the Nuclear Legacy Advisory Forum (NuLeAF),he is the Vice Chair. It is rather unsurprising then that our Council fully endorsed the views submitted by NuLeAF.
NuLeaf do though makes clear in their written evidence to the Geological Disposal Infrastructure inquiry:
The GDF has the potential to bring a significant number of direct operational jobs (around 550 on average) to an area. More importantly, there is scope for the GDF to support local skills development and supply chains and, through the significant investment promised to the community that hosts a GDF, to develop local infrastructure to wider benefit. The Industrial Strategy does recognise that, through Science and Innovation Audits and the Knowledge Exchange Framework, collaboration on research occurs across the UK and internationally. The GDF could therefore support and enhance local and regional economic growth if such opportunities are part of the project. To improve the social and economic benefits, the developer should be encouraged to work with local authorities and the Local Enterprise Partnership to establish the right strategy for the area if a GDF were consented.
So is having a Geological Disposal Facility and potentially a new Advanced Modular Reactor worth 550 jobs and more in the district? Or are the Council barking up the wrong tree again because the people of Folkestone & Hythe District wouldn’t want such a facility?
We know that our local MP Damian Collins (pictured at Dungeness A) has ‘been pressing for Dungeness to be included on the list of recommended sites for new power stations, after it was removed from that list by Labour.‘
So the question is do you the people of the district want a Geological Disposal Facility and a new Nuclear Reactor? We’ll leave you to decide that?
