Session I – Voice from Local Community (15.20 – 15.45)

Jamie Reed MP for Copeland

Mike Starkie Mayor of Copeland

The site is located in the in the north west of England. It is a remote and beautiful area with a population of 70,000 spread over 730 km2. Previously an industrial centre focussed on coal and iron ore extraction and chemical manufacturing, Copeland is now heavily dependent on the nuclear industry for employment.

Copeland constituency has been represented by Jamie Reed MP since 2005. Born and educated locally, Jamie’s family has deep roots in the community and have played an important part in local politics over several generations. He and his family live in , the largest town in the borough.

At local government level Copeland is represented by elected mayor Mike Starkie. Like Jamie, Mike was born and educated in the borough where he and his family still live.

Both men have experience working at Sellafield and understand perspectives from inside and outside the site. During their lifetimes the relationship between the nuclear industry and its community has moved from the “need to know” approach of the military era through to one based on greater openness and transparency.

During its first decades of operation, Sellafield’s lack of engagement with the community bred distrust. A series of high-profile events (including the Windscale Fire of 1957 and beach closures in 1983) gave West Cumbria unwelcome publicity and associated the area with radioactive pollution. This provided the impetus for a more open and honest relationship between the industry and its community.

Jamie has a unique personal perspective having worked in communications during the development of an innovative approach to engagement. Through a process of dialogue with citizens and community leaders in Norway concerned about the impact of Tc99 in the marine environment, the site operators invested in technology to greatly reduce discharges.

Sellafield is now approaching the end of reprocessing, which has underpinned employment for sixty years. Moving into full-scale decommissioning requires different skills and presents both challenges and opportunities for the local community. Engagement and trust will be key to a successful transition to the next phase in Sellafield’s mission.

Copeland and Fukushima have much in common. Both communities have lived alongside nuclear facilities for many years, and they each need to be able to engage effectively with the industry. This places many demands on the community in terms of access to information, technical understanding and time commitment. The communities can learn from each other, and closer community links can benefit both parties.