Nuclear waste dump group is urged to embrace threat to Mablethorpe too

A former gas terminal within the seaside village had been identified as one of three possible sites in England for the dump, known as a GDF (geological disposal facility), by the government agency, Nuclear Waste Services (NWS).

As a result, the Theddlethorpe GDF Community Partnership was created to work with NWS and help locals understand the proposal.

However, the search for a suitable location for the dump in the area has now been extended, according to the Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA), a group supporting a campaign against the plan.

Its secretary, Richard Outram, said: “The search area for the GDF incorporates the wards covering Withern, Theddlethorpe and Mablethorpe.

"NWS originally focused on the former gas terminal at Theddlethorpe as the most promising location. However, in recent months, other energy projects have pursued their interest in this site.

"Given that NWS is now looking to other locations across the whole search area as ‘areas of focus’, with the potential to host the site, the NFLA has written to NWS and the community partnership requesting a change of name to also incorporate Mablethorpe.

"This revisits a suggestion first made by our chairman, Coun David Blackburn, in June 2022.

"The current chairman, Coun Lawrence O’Neill, has written to Simon Hughes, siting and communities director of NWS, and David Fannin, community partnership chair, suggesting a name change is long overdue.”

Mr Hughes issued this statement: “Over the past year, competing interests in the former gas terminal site have matured, so it is important we factor these into our approach.

"We are undertaking a range of studies in the search area and are considering other options for the GDF site.”

The Theddlethorpe site, on Mablethorpe Road, opened in 1972 and was operated by US company Conoco Phillips to receive gas from the North Sea. It closed in 2018.

The nuclear waste proposal has sparked outrage and alarm among residents. At an estimated cost of between £20 billion and £53 billion, it would be the largest infrastructure project in the UK.

The other two England sites under consideration by NWS are both in Cumbria, which has a long-standing connection to the nuclear industry.