By Alan Irving

Last updated at 16:40, Wednesday, 02 December 2009

A HIGH-POWERED government nuclear task force will be put in the firing line over the “inadequate” state of Copeland’s roads which failed to cope with last week’s flooding chaos.

David Moore

The House of Commons has set up a new Select Committee inquiry into the impact of nuclear reactors at Sellafield, Braystones and Kirksanton.

But at the same time community leaders will flag up concerns over the main A595 road network and demand government action to upgrade the road.

The transport network was put under severe pressure for days, struggling to cope with the effects of the floods.

Government deputy minister for the north west, Copeland MP Jamie Reed, says he will take up issues first hand with Select Committee members on their West Cumbria visit. He is also pressing for road improvement funding.

A review of emergency plans for dealing with a major incident at Sellafield is also to be carried out urgently in the aftermath of the flooding.

David Moore, chairman of the West Cumbria Stakeholders Group, the independent health and safety watchdog for Sellafield, will next week urge Copeland Council to make a direct plea to government.

He said the emergency plan had failed “both north and south” after the closure of bridges at Holmrook and Egremont for safety checks. As far as the community was concerned, he said the plan had proved “a disaster” due to the traffic chaos which meant county roads having to be used in a real emergency.

A new safety case was required to support new nuclear build and also protect the area against similar major incidents possibly with evacuation of Sellafield.

“Single track country roads are not an acceptable part of an emergency plan for what could be up to nine nuclear reactors at Sellafield alone,” Mr Moore declared.

“We have to push hard right away to get the A595 south of Calderbridge re-trunked, it is the only way to get the investment we need for improvements.

“We warned what could happen when it was de-trunked and now it has been highlighted by the Irt bridge closure at Holmrook and the de-tour via the village of Santon Bridge.

“We were lucky, if the bridge at Calderbridge had gone the borough would have been cut in half. There would have been no escape route south. We should never have been put in this intolerable position, we have talked about it for long enough, it is up to the government now to act. It’s not only nuclear new-build but we also have to look at the possibility of an underground repository for nuclear waste, whether or not that comes remains to be seen but if it does we don’t want the benefits before as we move down the road, not after.”

Mr Reed added: “The flooding and the effect this has had on the roads around Sellafield will be discussed as well as other relevant issues.

“There is no doubt our road network must improve and this is the hardest investment to secure particularly because of our population level but this has to change.

“Discussions are ongoing with a number of agencies regarding funding of improvements for roads.”

Copeland council leader, Elaine Woodburn, said: “If Sellafield was being built now we would not accept the roads and infrastructure that are in place, and we can’t accept these as part of any nuclear future. It’s not just the roads but rail and other communication networks. The flooding problem has emphasised our over reliance on poor infrastructure which have cut off both the north and the south of the area from Sellafield. Work must go into ensuring that any new infrastructure as a result of flooding or nuclear is future-proofed for long term sustainability.”

First published at 15:39, Wednesday, 02 December 2009
Published by http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk