CUMBRIAN residents are to be asked their views on whether the west of the county should take part in the search to find a suitable site for a deep underground disposal facility for higher-activity radioactive waste.

The West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely (MRWS) Partnership has produced a consultation document setting out its initial opinions on a range of issues involved in deciding whether the area should participate in the Government’s search for a suitable location to engineer a repository. These issues include geology, safety, what would go into a repository, what impacts a repository might have on the area and what additional community benefits there might be.

The Partnership will on Monday launch a major consultation to find out people’s views.The consultation will continue until March 23 next year.

The Partnership will review the feedback it receives from the public before finalising a report setting out its opinions on key issues to Allerdale Borough Council, Copeland Borough Council and Cumbria County Council, who will make the formal decision about whether the area should take part in the search for a site for a repository.

Coun Alan Smith, the current chair of the West Cumbria MRWS Partnership and the leader of Allerdale Borough Council, said: “We have now reached a very important part of the process where the public can have their say on all the important issues relating to whether West Cumbria should take part in the search for somewhere to put a deep geological disposal facility for higher-activity radioactive waste.

“The Partnership has spent more than two years looking at a wide range of issues, including bringing in independent experts and commissioning our own research. However, it is very important that the Partnership and the Councils understand what members of the public think about the possibility of taking part in the search for a site, so now is the time to make your voice heard.

“This consultation is mainly aimed at members of the public and stakeholders in or around West Cumbria. However, we recognise that it will be of interest to a wider range of people and we welcome responses from people living elsewhere in Cumbria and beyond, including visitors to the area and those with an interest in the Lake District National Park.”

The West Cumbria MRWS Partnership includes representatives of all the Cumbrian councils as well as organisations such as the Lake District National Park Authority, Cumbria Tourism, the National Farmers’ Union, trade unions and Churches Together in Cumbria.

Robert Morris Eyton, who is the National Farmers Union representative on the Partnership, said: “It is quite a long time until a repository could be built. However, the decision we need to make now - about whether to take part in the search for a site – is still very important. Members of the Partnership have spent a considerable amount of time looking at these issues involved and now we want everyone else to take some time to find out what is being discussed and consider what it might mean for them and their families.” The Partnership’s full consultation document and a DVD are available on its website at www.westcumbriamrws.org.uk. A shorter overview document will be sent to all homes in West Cumbria in January, as well as to public buildings such as libraries and leisure centres.

The Rev Dr Lindsay Gray from Churches Together in Cumbria, who is a member of the Partnership, said: “We hope that as many people as possible will read the full consultation document and complete the response form that comes with it. The Partnership has also prepared a shorter overview document as well as a DVD to help people understand the issues we have been looking at.

“A repository would affect people in the area for many generations into the future so everyone needs to take time to find out more about the issues involved and decide what they think would be best for the area.”

The Partnership will be hosting a series of consultation events across Cumbria in the New Year and information will be available for schools. A webinar (an online seminar) event will be organised and information will be sent out via e-bulletins and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

As this decision would particularly affect people in Allerdale and Copeland there will also be a large, representative opinion poll to see whether people in these areas are in favour of or against entering the siting process, without a commitment to have the facility.

To help raise awareness of the process the Partnership is placing advertorials in the county’s local newspapers and there will also be advertising placed on buses, telephone boxes and billboards.

Should the area decide to participate in the Government’s process it is likely that the search for a suitable site would take around 15 years following detailed assessments and investigations on issues such as geology. The Councils would have a right to withdraw from the process up until the point where construction could start. The councils would need to show that there is credible support for a decision to accept a repository.