This was a shock when a member of Cumbria County Council’s cabinet resigned following the crunch vote over whether or not to proceed to the next stage on whether or not to have an underground storage facility in west Cumbria.

His brief covered the nuclear industry and he felt he had no choice but to quit – it was nice to see a politician to have principles and that is more of a rarity these days it would appear.

Cabinet man at odds with county after vote

THE councillor in charge of Cumbria’s county’s nuclear brief has quit his cabinet role in protest at the shock decision that has stalled any moves to create an underground nuclear waste store.

Tim Knowles was responsible for the atomic energy industry as part of his role as the county council’s portfolio for transport and the environment.

He was a strong supporter of exploration continuing to see if Cumbria was suitable to host a repository and has been bitterly disappointed by his authority’s decision last week to pull out of the running to be considered.

Mr Knowles’s resignation was announced at a meeting of the council’s cabinet in Carlisle yesterday.

He told colleagues: “Given this cabinet’s decision on the key Managing Radioactive Waste Safely process, I believe it will no longer be possible for me to deliver the best outcomes for Cumbria from my areas of responsibility within this joint administration.

“As you know from the reaction to that decision, my proposal to exclude the national park from planned geological research and to concentrate investigations around the Sellafield site has substantial support in west Cumbria and elsewhere.”

Mr Knowles added that the decision not to carry out further research and the comments used to justify the move had led, he believed, to the perception that the authority was not a positive partner for the energy industries, investors, Government and residents.

He said: “Sadly, I believe that the unique events of last Wednesday left me no choice but to resign as this administration’s cabinet member for transport and environment with immediate effect.

“When a council leader makes comments such as ‘I am not prepared to prostitute our Cumbrian soul and heritage for a few silver coins’, apparently associating them with years of work by members, officers and Cumbrian partners, I think we are entitled to ask what sort of leadership he is providing?”

Last week the county council’s cabinet voted to withdraw from the process to host nuclear waste facility by seven members to three.

Both Copeland and Allerdale councils were in favour of the move to the next stage – but it needed a yes vote at both county and district level to move forward to find a suitable site.

This week Councillors Eddie Martin and Stewart Young, the county council’s leader and deputy leader, sent a four-page letter to Ed Davey MP, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, outlining the reasons for the decision.

They suggest that there was ambiguity in the original White Paper as to which tier of local government would be the decision making body.

They added that they did not take the decision lightly and were aware of west Cumbria’s dependence on the nuclear industry but the arguments against proceeding were considerable.

From The Cumberland News on Friday, February 8, 2013.