Consultation

We held a major public consultation which ran from 21st November 2011 to 23rd March 2012.  The consultation asked for your views on our initial opinions about the key issues relating to a potential repository for higher activity radioactive waste in West Cumbria.

We are now using your responses to consider whether we should change these initial opinions and, if so, how.  This will shape the advice we give to the three Councils later in 2012, to help inform their decision about whether to take part in the search for a site for a repository or not.

Consultation materials

 

We produced a consultation document outlining our initial opinions on the key issues that we have been looking into over the last two years.  A large amount of information was condensed into the consultation document, and it was therefore primarily aimed at people who are keen to spend some time getting to grips with the issues involved.

To make it easier to understand, we also produced an accompanying DVD and an eight-page overview document summarising some of the issues in the full consultation document.  All of these materials can be downloaded/viewed by clicking on the links below.

A wide range of activity took place during the consultation to enable people to find out more and ask questions. These included:

  1. Copies of the overview leaflet were sent to all homes in West Cumbria and were also made available in places like libraries, council offices and leisure centres.  A further newsletter was also sent to all homes in late February.
  2. There were advertorials in papers across Cumbria providing details about our initial opinions and how to get more involved.
  3. The consultation DVD was sent out with all consultation packs and could also be viewed online.
  4. More than 800 people attended 12 Community events which were held across Cumbria.  There were information displays on the issues involved, and Partnership members, specialists from the Government (the Department of Energy and Climate Change), the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the regulators, and an independent geology expert, were available for people to talk to and ask questions.
  5. There was an article in Cumbria County Council’s Your Cumbria which was delivered to all homes in the county in February.
  6. Briefings about the consultation were run by groups and organisations across the county.
  7. We prepared special materials for young people which were made available to schools and youth groups to help them discuss the issues involved.
  8. We organised a competition for young people to produce a balanced news report on the issues involved. Nearly 40 schools or individuals took part.  You can see details of the winners here .
  9. We organised a webcast, an event that was shown live on the internet on the 6th of March, so that people who were unable to attend a community event could watch an event and ask questions.  This can be viewed online here and a transcript can be read here.

  10. We provided updates on our Facebook page at http://on.fb.me/fbZzir and on @westcumbriamrws on Twitter.
  11. We sent out our regular e-bulletin at the start of the consultation, early in January before the community events started, and another in early March to remind people of the closing date to send responses to the consultation.
  12. We also advertised on some buses, phone boxes and billboards between January and March to help further raise awareness of the consultation.

Opinion survey

A public opinion survey commenced on 8th March to test public opinion in a statistically representative way.  The results of the opinion survey will be considered alongside the results of this consultation.  See Appendix 3 of the consultation document for more information on how this will be done.

The public opinion survey is essential to understanding public views on the MRWS process in a statistically respresentative way.  The Partnership therefore took the unusal step of publishing the draft questionnaire for public comment between 6th and 20th February 2012.  A summary response document addressing the issues that were raised has now been published as Document 251.1. This document also contains details of the final questionnaire.