No New Nuclear for Bristol City Council??

Bristol City Council could oppose the building of new nuclear reactors at nearby Oldbury and Hinkley Point.
A motion has been submitted for debate by Liberal Democrat councillor Dr Mark Wright (Cabot ward) that notes the many problems that nuclear power presents and that none of the public consultations on the new reactors have come to Bristol even though Oldbury is just 8 miles from the city boundary.

The motion would commit the Council to opposing the building of new reactors, and calls for all future rounds of consultation to come to Bristol so that residents can have their say too
"Nuclear power is hopelessly uneconomic once you factor in all the costs of decommissioning and radioactive waste disposal. No nuclear power plant has ever been built without considerable public subsidy and guarantee - without those, no company will touch it. If we are going to subside energy then we should develop the vast renewable resources we have here in the South-west instead," said Cllr Wright.
"Diverting our cash and attention to nuclear power will very likely cripple the fledgling renewable power industry. There will be no point in companies investing in developing technologies when multinationals are flooding the energy market with tax-payer subsidised power."
"Then there is the overlap between the technologies of nuclear weapons and nuclear-fission power, which allows countries to hide weapons programs inside civil power programs; the fact that nuclear power stations will arrive too late to fill a possible energy gap; the remaining uncertainties on health and safety issues; the lack of an agreed solution to nuclear waste - the list of problems goes on!"
Alan Pinder of Friends of the Earth said "This is really good news. There is growing anger about the nuclear proposals and the narrowness of the consultations. It is as if they were trying to keep it secret. There should have been exhibitions in Bristol about the proposals. These power stations will affect Bristol, so the City Council and people of Bristol should be closely involved at every stage."
Jim Duffy, Coordinator of Stop Hinkley said: "People from Bristol were very involved in the previous Hinkley C inquiry in 1988-89. It will be an important message if the City Council votes to oppose the new development. Being downwind from Hinkley and so close to Oldbury, Bristolians should not be excluded from deciding on something that could profoundly affect them."
Reg Illingworth of Shepperdine Against Nuclear Energy (SANE) a local group concerned at the development of a new nuclear power plant at Oldbury added, "This motion leads the way for Bristol to be a truly green city showing concern for the earth and its inhabitants."
The motion will be on the agenda at the Council meeting on 19th January 2010
Text of the Motion:



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New Nuclear Reactors



Council notes that:



1. The Government has announced plans to encourage the nuclear industry to build a new generation of nuclear power stations in Britain, including new reactors at Oldbury and Hinkley.

2. Preliminary "scoping" consultations are under way for those near both planned sites, but will not be coming to Bristol - despite Oldbury being just 8 miles from the city boundary.

3. The South-west has the best renewable sources of energy in the UK, little of which is currently used.

4. There has been - and always will be - considerable overlap between the technologies of nuclear weapons and nuclear-fission power, which allows countries to hide weapons programs inside civil power programs.

5. No nuclear power plant has ever been built without considerable public subsidy and guarantee.



Council believes that:



1. There is a real risk that focusing on new nuclear plants will undermine attempts to find a safer, cleaner, more sustainable and secure solution to our energy needs and that we should be concentrating our efforts by investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

2. New nuclear power stations will arrive too late to fill a possible energy gap.

3. There remain uncertainties on health and safety issues and there is no agreed solution to nuclear waste.

4. Putting pressure on foreign powers to limit their own nuclear programmes and halt nuclear weapons proliferation becomes much easier when we have demonstrated that civil nuclear power is not needed in the UK.



This Council therefore resolves to:



1. State its opposition to the development and expansion of nuclear fission power, and oppose the planned nuclear reactors at Oldbury and Hinkley where possible.

2. Request that the Chief Executive writes to the applicants and to the likely decision-making body, the Infrastructure Planning Commission, seeking assurances that Bristol City Council and the general public in Bristol are fully consulted in all future stages.


Dr Mark Wright

Liberal Democrat Councillor for Cabot, Bristol

Cabinet Member for Housing, Service Improvement and IT

www.cabot-liberals.org