Crunch Vote on Nuclear Dump in Lake District UK by Mike Glover

(Source)

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/crunch-vote-on-nuclear-dump-in-lake-district-8468420.html　Jan. 27, 2013

Proposals to store nuclear waste under England’s largest national park and other areas of outstanding natural beauty will face stormy opposition this week. A decision to abandon or press on with a nuclear waste dump in Cumbria will be made by three councils on Wednesday. The result will have major implications for energy policy, experts warn.
Copeland and Allerdale borough councils and Cumbria County Council will separately vote whether to advance to detailed geological surveysfor the dump. Three possible sites – Ennerdale, Eskdale and the Solway Plain – have been identified. All three delayed a vote last November after councillors sought and got government assurances that they could reject the deal later.

But the delay has allowed a dramatic escalation in opposition. Yesterday protesters from Spand (Solway Plain Against Nuclear Dump) presented a 3,600-signature petition to county councillor Tony Markley, who wants the proposals to go to the next stage. In December an online petition attracted more than 6,000 signatories and a series of public meetings has seen a groundswell of opposition. At one meeting, in Keswick this month, 600 people voted to stop the process.