“All they have done is antagonise the whole community” – Behind the failed Nuclear Waste site in Lincolnshire
- Daniel Madgin
- Apr 19
- 3 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
A battle between Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) and the locals on the east coast of Lincolnshire looks to be ending, but the war has not been won as far as the locals are concerned.
“I can firmly describe this as the worst PR exercise I have ever encountered with a community; they seem to have completely misunderstood the Lincolnshire way of life,” fumed East Lindsey councillor Travis Hesketh when asked about Nuclear Waste Services.
“When you turn up and you want to do an event and you bring your experts along and then on the door, you have three security guards, it just says a million things about your relationship with the local community.”
A firm 85% opposed the Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) that would arrive on the doorstep of those living around the seaside town of Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire.
The site would have seen nuclear waste stored up to 1,000m beneath the sea under solid rock until radioactivity had naturally decayed.
However, after substantial protests, the siting process will not proceed any further.
Simon Hughes, Communities Director of government agency Nuclear Waste Services, stated: “NWS has held many public events and produced dedicated websites, newsletters, and met regularly with local people and stakeholders. We have to date granted over £2 million to support local community projects for engaging in the process.
“The UK Government’s GDF siting process in England and Wales is consent-based and requires NWS to identify both a suitable site and a willing host community. This means if the community does not ultimately express support for a GDF, it won’t be built there.”
To manage the rise of nuclear power in the UK, the government agency states that the safest permanent solution to manage radioactive waste is to isolate it deep underground. There are currently no GDF facilities in the UK, but Sellafield continues to reprocesses nuclear waste.
And for the community, NWS says a GDF arriving in Lincolnshire would provide significant economic benefits to transport and tourism.
Therefore, what concerns led to the project’s collapse?
Mablethorpe is a popular seaside destination, with tourism contributing a healthy amount to the local economy.
Locals, such as independent councillor Travis Hesketh, had concerns about the knock-on impacts of a nuclear waste site in his district.
“When you come into a community and say you’re going to put in massive nuclear infrastructure, the whole of the community stalls,” began Cllr Hesketh.
“Businesses aren’t going to invest because of uncertainty, house prices are going to slump, and people have real issues, mental and physical health, because they’re constantly worrying about what’s going to arrive on their doorstep.
“They [NWS] are digging their own grave, and really, they have been since the beginning,” he alleged.
“They created a map and they labelled Skegness as ‘Skegross’ on a map. The level of incompetence is extraordinary. So, then you think, you’re meant to be handling nuclear waste.”
“They’ve been splashing money around, some on good causes, some that are nonsense. Free flying lessons with a gliding club – how is that helping deprivation in Mablethorpe?” added Cllr Hesketh.
Mablethorpe ranked second bottom in a Which? survey of seaside towns last year. Tourists ranked the areas based on the quality of beaches, food and drink offerings, tourist attractions and value for money.
‘The level of incompetence was staggering’
Amongst those outraged by NWS was Ken Smith, who lives in Mablethorpe.
He worries about the damage to the local economy and believes the area will suffer from nuclear waste nearby.
“Are you really going to go on holiday right next to it?" said Ken.
“We have been accused of being nimbies and as I say, it’s not a matter of not in my backyard. It’s a matter of what it will do to an area that I’ve grown to love."
NWS evaluates the suitability for sites through a research process that considers six factors: safety and security, community, environment, engineering feasibility, transport, and value for money.
Ken continued: “If I were in their position, I would have been looking for something that I could put into that community that I could point to later and say, ‘That’s what you got for inviting us in.’
“Instead of that, their whole system was geared to people coming up with fairy projects that they could spend money on, and they were sort of here today, gone tomorrow projects.”
“We don’t have any [nuclear projects] and they’re very thirsty, [but] we have a tourist business, and that doesn’t sit well with nuclear power; no one wants it.”
NWS is still assessing possible appropriate locations for a GDF, but the choices are becoming limited.
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