Councillors block radioactive plans
Controversial plans to dump radioactive waste at a landfill site in Northamptonshire have been refused.
Waste management company Augean Plc had applied to store the low-level radioactive waste at the site in Kings Cliffe, in the north of the county.
The scheme could have seen as much as 250,000 tonnes of low-level radioactive waste dumped at the site each year until 2013.
But Northamptonshire County Council's development control committee unanimously voted against the proposed development yesterday.
Committee chairman, and former county council cabinet member for the environment, Councillor Ben Smith (Con, Greens Norton) said bringing waste from nuclear sites across the country to Kings Cliffe was not the 'best available technique'.
He added: "The treatment should be on the site where the problem arises and quite frankly this must send a message out to anybody contemplating nuclear energy.
"I am a great supporter of nuclear energy but you can't leave a legacy for future generations to deal with and that is basically what we are left with today."
The waste Augean proposed to dispose of at Kings Cliffe, near Corby, would have included construction and demolition waste from the decommissioning of nuclear power plant buildings.
It could also have included lightly-contaminated waste from maintenance and monitoring at nuclear facilities, science and research facilities and hospitals where radioactive materials are used.
During the meeting, councillors and residents voiced concerns about the unknown effects of dumping the waste, but representatives from Augean reassured them there was a negligible risk and said that stringent safety measures were in place.
Despite the reassurances, the plans were blocked by members of the council committee, a decision which was met with applause from Kings Cliffe residents, at County Hall.
Clare Langan, aged 45, said: "I feel so elated and relieved. It really is a victory for common sense."
After the meeting, Dr Gene Wilson from Augean said the company would now look at its proposals again.
He said: "Naturally, we are disappointed that Northamptonshire County Council was not able to support our application. We will now be considering how best to take these important proposals forward."
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