A news article re our Appeal is in the News & Star / The Cumberland News
Extract from article below:
Anti-nuclear group to continue fight against Sellafield plan
By Gareth Cavanagh Data Reporter
ANTI-RADIATION activists will continue their fight against Sellafield Limited’s plans to extract water, despite their legal challenge being quashed in the High Court.
Lakes Against the Nuclear Dump (LAND) triggered its Judicial Review after the Environment Agency gave Sellafield permission to extract up to 77,077,224 gallons of water per year from its site.
Group spokesperson, Marriane Birkby, told the News & Star that an appeal has been lodged against the High Court’s decision to refuse a Judicial Review.
Marianne Birkby of Lakes Against Nuclear Dump. (Image: Supplied)
She said: “I think Sellafield was surprised to have a challenge on this and we’re going to continue the challenge because we think the environment deserves better, we think the rivers deserve better.”
LAND’s legal challenge was quashed by Deputy High Court Judge Karen Ridge at a hearing in November 2025. The decision to reject the legal challenge was confirmed publicly on March 31.
While Sellafield’s plans involve extracting water from the site, the anti-nuclear activist group argues that it may result in contaminated water entering the River Ehen and the River Calder.
The activists told the High Court that the EA had “failed to reasonably inform itself about the potential impacts on the Natterjack Toad population.”
It also claimed that the EA “made no assessment whatsoever as to whether there would be likely significant effects on the River Ehen Special Area of Conservation, as a result of the proposed water abstraction.”
But in her ruling, Ms Ridge said that she was not convinced “that there is a real or even feasible risk to a protected site.”
She said that “The discharge point was into the Irish Sea at an already permitted point” and that it was “not arguable” that potential impacts on the Natterjack Toad were not taken into account.
A spokesperson for Sellafield Limited said: “We’re pleased with the outcome of this hearing
Read in full here: https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/26003355.anti-nuclear-group-continue-fight-sellafield-plan/
What the article doesn’t say is that our lawyers are the brilliant Leigh Day. Also not mentioned is that while Sellafield told the Judge that the contaminated ground water will be going to the sea (as though thats a good thing) – their own application for the development to dig this massive tunnel 7 metres into the sandstone – says the contaminated water will also be going to the rivers Calder and Ehen via ‘outfalls’ and groundwater – so bottom line is some of the massive discharge would go to the Calder Interceptor Sewer (and out to sea) and the rest will go to the rivers. Apart from saying this is to prepare the ground for the Box Encapsulation Product Store 2 – there is no explanation made to the Environment Agency or the Judge for the actual reason for the over 7 metre deep tunnel which will release this contaminated groundwater – this is near the leaking Magnox Silos. Perhaps Sellafield could be pressed by journalists to explain the exact reason for the 7 metre deep tunnel?
Lakes Against Nuclear Dump 
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