Contact information
- Lead Member: Cllr Joseph Ghayouba, Cumberland Council
- Lead Officer: Philip Matthews, Executive Director
- Email: [email protected]
- Address: C/o Suffolk County Council, 8 Russel Road, Ipswich IP1 2BX
- Telephone: 07949 209126
- Website: www.nuleaf.org.uk
Membership
Aims
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.”
Priorirties
Nuleaf contributed to all four of the Goals in the NDA Business Plan 25-28. This includes:
- Goal 1: Nuleaf’s guiding objectives are to build the capacity of local government to engage in nuclear issues and act as their voice to Government and the nuclear industry. Through our work we seek to maximise the influence of local authorities on government policy and industry practice, helping deliver the best economic, social and environmental outcomes for communities.
- Goal 2: Much of our work supports engagement with individual local authorities, building their capacity and promoting improvement. One current example is in land use and waste planning, where we are working with councils and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on Masterplans, Planning performance Agreements, Permitted Development Rights; and with DESNZ and MHCLG on policy. This will help streamline planning processes and ensure that industry supports local government capacity to engage.
- Goal 3: Nuleaf works increasingly with international partners through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and our position on the Board of the Global Partnership of Nuclear Communities and GMF Europe. Through this work we have been able to identify innovation and best practice that we are now lobbying for in the UK.
- Goal 4: We work to maximise community benefits and investment, and the support of local sustainability. As Nuleaf we continue to innovate and use new technology to enhance our support to LGA member authorities.
Key activities
General
- Held three online and 1 in-person Steering Group meetings and 4 online meetings of the Radioactive Waste Planning Group.
- Hosted our Annual Gathering for members in Llandudno. The event included a Steering Group meeting along with a seminar on socio-economics, a site visit to Trawsfynydd and a guest dinner. There was an excellent attendance of members and stakeholders.
- Published seven newsletters for contributing member authorities, issued four e-bulletins to our full mailing list and updated members through our Twitter and LinkedIn feeds.
- Responded to consultations on: NDA Draft Business Plan 2025-28, and consultations on EN& and a number of other topics.
Geological Disposal Facility Siting Process
- held regular meetings with Simon Hughes, Community Engagement and Siting Director at Nuclear Waste Services and other key staff.
- held quarterly meetings of member authorities who are engaged in the siting process.
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
- participated in the Strategy 5 Development Group, the key stakeholder forum developing the NDA’s next 5-year Strategy; also 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 NDA Stakeholder Summit. 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.
- Secured NDA funding to appoint a new officer to support our Scottish equivalent organisation, SCCORS. We are hosting the secretariat.