Council votes to end Holderness nuclear waste talks

Councillors have voted to immediately pull out of talks over the siting of a nuclear waste disposal facility in East Yorkshire.

Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) had identified South Holderness as a potential area for a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF).

East Riding of Yorkshire Council said it had listened to the public and decided to withdraw.

NWS said it would now "wind down" the South Holderness proposal.

The proposal to pull out of the talks had been put forward by two Conservative councillors, Lyn Healing and Sean McMaster, and was voted through almost unanimously at a full council meeting on Wednesday.

Beverley and Holderness MP, Graham Stuart, said he was "delighted" at the result of the vote.

Ms Healing told the meeting she was concerned about safety and the impact on tourism and farming due to the area becoming industrialised.

She said both she and Mr McMaster had received hundreds of messages from concerned residents.

Speaking ahead of the vote, Councillor Denis Healy, Liberal Democrats, said local residents had "unequivocally" rejected the idea.

"So, let's just show our residents the respect they deserve and give them our verdict on this hare-brained idea right now," he added.

A GDF consists of a series of vaults and tunnels deep underground, or under the sea, where the material would be buried.

NWS, which had claimed a GDF would create thousands of jobs and opportunities for investment in infrastructure, said it "fully respected" any decision taken by the authority.

In less than a month, a hastily convened protest group has demolished a multibillion-pound proposal.

Campaigners against the proposed nuclear waste facility were highly organised and very angry, concerned that their beautiful corner of Yorkshire could be industrialised and left with a deadly radioactive legacy.

Not everyone held these fears. There are those who believe the area has now turned its back on a golden opportunity, thousands of jobs, and decades of inward investment.

But this proposal was not helped by how it was handled. East Riding Council formed a partnership with the government agency Nuclear Waste Services without any public consultation. Even ward councillors say they were unaware of what was going on. To some this felt undemocratic.

Campaigners feared that the longer any consultations continued, the more difficult they would become to withdraw from. But hundreds of Holderness residents have delivered a clear message - and their councillors have listened and acted.

Speaking after the vote, councillor Anne Handley, leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: "In the past few weeks, many people within the community have made it clear that they find this idea unpalatable and do not want South Holderness to be part of the conversation."

"Councillors have today considered all these views and decided that it is right to withdraw from this process," she added.

The proposed South Holderness site was one of three areas in England being considered.

The group UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities, which supports councils opposing nuclear dumps, said the vote was a victory for the efforts of local people.

In a statement, the group described the impact of the decision as "profound" and added: "It is clear that there will be little point NWS investing further money, time and staff resources on taking its plan forward without political support."

Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart told BBC Look North he was celebrating the decision: "Local people had to have the final say.

"It's clear people didn't want it... it's not going to happen."

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