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Nuleaf (Nuclear Legacy Advisory Forum) - annual report to LGA Board 2024

Special Interest Group annual report to LGA Board.


Contact information

Lead Member: Cllr David Moore, Cumberland Council
Lead Officer: Philip Matthews, Nuleaf

Email: [email protected]
Address: c/o Suffolk County Council, Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich, IP1 2BX
Telephone: 01473 264833
Website: www.nuleaf.org.uk

Membership

Contributing members

1. Cumberland Council
2. East Suffolk Council
3. Essex County Council
4. Folkestone & Hythe District Council
5. Gloucestershire County Council 
6. Gwynedd Council
7. Lincolnshire County Council
8. Manchester City Council
9. South Gloucestershire Council
10. Somerset County Council
11. Suffolk County Council
12. Westmorland & Furness Council
13. Ynys Mon County Council

Corresponding members

14. Arun District Council
15. Ashford District Council
16. Birmingham City Council
17. Blackpool Borough Council
18. Braintree Borough Council
19. Breckland District Council
20. Broadland District Council
21. Bromsgrove District Council
22. Carlisle City Council
23. Chelmsford Borough Council
24. Chesterfield Borough Council
25. Cheshire West and Chester Council
26. Colchester Borough Council
27. Cornwall Council
28. Dacorum District Council
29. Denbighshire County Council
30. Derby City Council
31. Derbyshire Dales District Council
32. Devon County Council
33. Dorset County Council
34. Durham County Council
35. Eden District Council
36. Flint District Council
37. Forest of Dean District Council
38. Forest Heath District Council
39. Fylde Borough Council
40. Great Yarmouth Borough Council
41. Greater London Authority
42. Halton Borough Council
43. Hampshire County Council
44. Harlow District Council
45. Hartlepool Borough Council
46. Hyndburn Borough Council
47. Kent County Council
48. Kings Lynn & West Norfolk District Council
49. Lancashire County Council
50. Lancaster City Council
51. Leeds City Council
52. Lewes District Council
53. Liverpool City Council
54. London Borough of Hackney
55. London Borough of Harrow
56. London Borough of Hillingdon
57. London Borough of Newham
58. London Borough of Tower Hamlets
59. Maldon District Council
60. Melton Borough Council
61. Merseyside Environmental Advisory Service
62. Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council
63. Norfolk County Council
64. Northamptonshire County Council
65. North East Derbyshire District Council
66. North London Waste Planning
67. North Norfolk District Council
68. Norwich City Council
69. Nottinghamshire County Council
70. Northumberland County Council
71. Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council
72. Oxfordshire County Council
73. Pembrokeshire County Council
74. Plymouth City Council
75. Rutland County Council
76. Scarborough District Council
77. Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
78. South Ribble Borough Council
79. Southampton City Council
80. South Norfolk District Council
81. Stroud District Council
82. Spelthorne Borough Council
83. Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council
84. Taunton Deane Borough Council
85. Tendring District Council
86. Tunbridge Wells District Council
87. Vale of the White Horse District Council
88. Wansbeck District Council
89. West Berkshire District Council
90. West Lindsey District Council
91. Worcestershire County Council

NFLA authorities

92. Caerphilly County Council
93. Cardiff City Council
94. Hull City Council
95. Leeds City Council

National Parks Authorities

96. Lake District National Park Authority 
97. North Yorkshire Moors National Park Authority
98. Snowdonia National Park Authority

Aim

Nuleaf’s Aims are set out in the Terms of Reference document:

“The Aims are:

  • to seek to ensure that all nuclear, waste management and decommissioning activities operate to the highest safety, security and environmental standards
  • to raise the profile of debate within local government on any issue with very significant implications for any area affected by future proposed radioactive waste development
  • to increase and aid ‘capacity building’ within local government and enable informed responses to Government and the NDA from a broader based local government grouping
  • to be an interface with government and the NDA on future strategic radioactive waste policy, decommissioning and liabilities management issues
  • to confer greater democratic legitimacy on Government and NDA engagement processes in the decommissioning and legacy management sphere
  • to add weight and credibility to the current local government input into the radioactive waste, decommissioning and liabilities engagement processes now in hand
  • to effectively utilise the democratic legitimacy of local government and increase influence over policy and strategy proposals that will be critical to national progress on nuclear industry legacy issues
  • to provide representatives on Government and NDA consultation, stakeholder and advisory bodies reporting back to local government through the SIG mechanism to lever resources, in addition to those conferred through the establishment of a SIG, to enable ‘capacity building’ within local government so that Government policy can develop with broad based democratic consent.”

Key activities/outcomes of work undertaken

General activities

  • Held three online and one in-person Steering Group meetings and 4=four online meetings of the Radioactive Waste Planning Group. Meeting topics included: Presentation and discussion on Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs); Discussion on the consultation on NDA Socio-economic Strategy; Presentation on AGR Decommissioning; Update on the work of CoRWM; Discussion on the Code of Practice for determining the timing and pace of decommissioning; Consultation on EIA and EIADR; Annual meeting on LLW management; update on NDA work on land use and waste planning; progress with the Winfrith Masterplan; and presentation on the NPS for the GDF.
  • Hosted our Annual Gathering for members in Workington, Cumberland. The event included a Steering Group meeting along with site visits to Sellafield and LLWR and a guest dinner. There was an excellent attendance of members and stakeholders.
  • Published 7 newsletters for contributing member authorities, issued 4 e-bulletins to our full mailing list and updated members through our Twitter and Linkedin feeds.
  • Responded to consultations on: NDA Draft Business Plan 2024-27, the NDA Social Impact and Communities Strategy; and the NPS for new Nuclear.

Geological Disposal Facility Siting Process

  • Held regular meetings with Simon Hughes, Community Engagement and Siting Director at Nuclear Waste Services and other key staff;
  • Participated in meetings of the EURAD Civil Society Group, focussed on the routes for radioactive waste management within Europe and the methodology for evaluating the research programme;
  • Held quarterly meetings of member authorities who are engaged in the siting process;
  • Spoke at the Theddlethorpe GDF Community Partnership on the invitation of the Partnership and Lincolnshire County Council.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

  • Participated in Theme Overview Group meetings and a range of other engagement events;
  • Continued engagement with government on work on in-situ disposal of radioactive waste for nuclear licensed sites; 
  • Invited a wide range of speakers from NRS, NWS, NDA, government, and the regulators to both Steering Group and Radioactive Waste Planning Group meetings to present on a range of issues of interest to the membership.
  • A number of Nuleaf member authorities joined the online NDA Stakeholder Summit. Nuleaf’s Chair and Executive Director participated in a panel discussions

Other activities:

  • Participated in international meetings held by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and GMF Europe. Was active in helping establish a Global Partnership of nuclear communities.
  • Commissioned a report on NDA engagement activities, looking at the scope to enhance these in future.