Nuclear waste disposal site would create thousands of jobs - report

The proposed Geological Disposal Facility would store waste under up to 1,000m of solid rock

Establishing an underground nuclear waste disposal site would create more than 4,000 jobs in its first 25 years of operation, a government report said.

Three potential locations are being considered in Cumbria along with a former gas terminal in Lincolnshire.

Nuclear Waste Services (NWS), a government agency, said it would create work for about 175 years.

Opponents said it would result in "the world's biggest construction site", affecting the environment and tourism.

NWS said "community partnerships" have been established in Mid Copeland, South Copeland and Allerdale in Cumbria along with Theddlethorpe on the Lincolnshire coast, to provide information to local residents about a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF).

The report said the facility would become "one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the UK", and said NWS would be "committed to recruiting locally where possible" after a site is selected.

The GDF would see waste stored under up to 1,000m (3,280ft) of solid rock until its radioactivity had naturally decayed.

Karen Wheeler, NWS deputy chief executive, said: "The long-term nature of the project provides a unique opportunity to develop skills, expertise and sustainable jobs for a local community.

"We are now making real progress and having conversations with a number of communities about the potential for them to host a GDF."

Some local residents in Lincolnshire have held protests against a Geological Disposal Facility

The Guardians of the East Coast community group says constructing the site in Lincolnshire would be harmful to both coastal wildlife and the tourist industry.

Ken Smith, from the group, said: "This place exists from tourism, and to keep the tourists coming we have to keep investing.

"No one's going to invest money if they think that in five years' time there's going to be the world's biggest construction site on their doorstep and in 15 years' time there's going to be a nuclear waste dump."