LAUNCHING OUR ONLINE SESSIONS:
We need to talk about Geological Disposal – exploring the future of Allerdale with the Allerdale GDF Working Group
For those not able to attend a community drop-in, we have arranged two online sessions open to anyone with a connection to Allerdale.
The events will be held on Zoom and will first explain what a GDF actually is and introduce you to the Allerdale GDF Working Group, before moving onto a series of ‘breakout rooms’ where you’ll be able to find out more information or meet others to discuss their thoughts.
The sessions will be hosted by Community Organisers – a national charity, and the membership body and training organisation for community organising in England – who are independent of the Working Group and here to bring the community together and support you to take the lead in shaping your area.
The sessions will take place on the following dates:
THURSBY, WIGTON AND BOTHEL SHARE THEIR VIEWS
We have now delivered the first three of our community drop-in sessions which took place in Thursby, Wigton and Bothel.
We talked to members of the public about the science and geology behind Geological Disposal, answered questions, listened to concerns and found out about your vision for Allerdale.
What you told us
We heard a wide range of views on geological disposal. Some people were open to the idea…
Some had concerns…
Some needed to know more…
All these comments, concerns and questions are important feedback and will shape our engagement going forward, so thank you for speaking to us so openly.
What happens now?
This is only the beginning of the conversation, and we will continue to listen and collect views. Once we have been able to get a fuller picture of public opinion, we will share our findings. In the meantime, we’ll continue to answer your many questions in future newsletters, on social media and directly, whenever you get in touch.
Upcoming Events
There are many more opportunities to share your views, and our upcoming events are listed below:
Community Drop-In sessions:
- Thu 5 Aug, 10.30-18.00 – Crosscanonby Community Centre
- Fri 6 Aug, 10.30-18.00 – Gilcrux Village Hall
- Sat 7 Aug, 10.00-17.30 – The Wave, Maryport
- Thu 12 Aug, 10.30-18.00 – Blindcrake Village Hall
- Fri 13 Aug, 10.30-18.00 – Broughton Village Hall
- Sat 14 Aug, 10.00-16.30 – United Reformed Church, Cockermouth
- Thu 19 Aug, 10.00-16.00 – Seaton Village Hall
- Fri 20 Aug, 10.00-18.00 – Northside Community Centre, Workington
- Sat 21 Aug, 10.30-17.00 – Carnegie Theatre, Workington
Online sessions:
We need to talk about Geological Disposal – exploring the future of Allerdale with the Allerdale GDF Working Group
WHY IT’S SO IMPORTANT TO HEAR YOUR VIEWS
AN INTERVIEW WITH EVA CHUA – RWM’S COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER
As the Working Group’s programme of community drop-ins gets underway, we asked our Community Engagement Manager, Eva Chua, about the part she plays on the Allerdale GDF Working Group and her hopes for the GDF project.
- Tell us a bit about yourself and how you came to be involved in the GDF Project? I started my early career in the oil and gas industry before taking some time off to start a family and later returning to work. I love working with people and an opportunity came up in rail nuclear transport where I got involved in major infrastructure programmes and led on many community relations projects. A few years ago, another timely opportunity presented itself and I moved to work on a nuclear interim storage project in a Stakeholder Liaison role. It was more recently I was offered an opportunity to work on the GDF project. I am fascinated by the lifecycle of nuclear waste and how much of it is around, and how the country will need to find long term disposal solutions, and my career so far has taken me through that lifecycle; from nuclear rail transport to interim nuclear storage solution to a final end point of disposal.
- What’s the job of the Community Engagement Manager? This role is multi-faceted and involves building relationships with people. I’m also the operational lead for the Working Group and am looking forward to going out to talk to the community about their concerns and understand their longer-term vision for their area through our drop-in sessions.
- What do you hope to bring to the Working Group in your role? Having worked in Cumbria for many years, I hope to add value to the Working Group by bringing my experience and knowledge of the local and business communities here. I want to continue to work with communities to build a sustainable future whether they choose to host a GDF or not.
- What do you see then as the biggest challenge facing the Working Group? Working within a Covid-19 constraint environment has been our biggest challenge. One of the Working Group’s main objectives is to ‘begin the conversation’ and this was difficult at first as we were unable to get out there to hold face-to-face conversations with communities. Until very recently, all conversations were conducted virtually. However, we are now meeting people to listen to their views in person at our community drop-ins.
- What do you see then as the Group’s priorities? Our current priority as a Working Group is to progress identifying a suitable search area within Allerdale. We are also liaising closely with Allerdale Borough Council to keep them informed, as they work to decide whether to support the formation of Community Partnership.
- If there was a message that you would like to give to the people of Allerdale what would it be? The future is in your hands. Your views matter and will help shape Allerdale for future generations. So please come and talk to us, we are listening.
Learn More
You can learn more about geological disposal on our website, where there are a range of informative and educational resources created by Radioactive Waste Management, including:
- An introduction to geological disposal
- Community Guidance – how we will work with communities in England
- Site evaluation in England
- What is radioactive waste?
- What will go into a GDF?
- Geological disposal: the multi-barrier approach
- What will a GDF look like?
There are also six, easy to follow, interactive e-learning modules to help you understand more about radioactive waste and the GDF process: