Ethics Complaint to Copeland over Seismic Blasting Continues to be Ignored

Another letter has been sent to the Standards and Ethics Committee of Copeland Borough Council regarding the non-declaration of interests by leading Copeland Councillor in dismissal of the Seismic Blasting Petition

The full letter sent today and previous correspondence is below:

Dear Standards and Ethics Committee

Radiation Free Lakeland have received no communication from you regarding our complaints sent on August 4th 2022:

1. Cllr David Moore’s statement on BBC North West in dismissing over 50,000 voices as “odd, few.” The 50,000 are backed by scientific fact rather than hyper-nuclear fantasies. 2. Secondly, Cllr David Moore’s failure to declare interests at the Executive meeting of 12th July at which the Petition of then nearly 50,000 signatures was presented. The petition now stands at 51.026 - a number approaching the equivalent of the population of Copeland at 68,000. We note that Councillor David Moore's register of interests has been amended since our complaint was sent in with a post it note "INFORMATION WITHHELD" over Mrs Moore's employment at the Civil Nuclear Constabulary. Cllr Moore's nuclear interests are many and varied. He has key roles on the Strategic Nuclear & Energy Board, NuLeAF, Mid Copeland GDF Community Partnership, South Copeland GDF Community Partnership, West Cumbria Sites Stakeholder Group - most of these involve pecuniary interests amounting to thousands of pounds.

We would alert you again to the fact that at the 12th July meeting where the petition opposing seismic blasting was dismissed, Cllr David Moore failed to declare interests.

It was voiced (and recorded) that supporters of the petition attending the 12th July meeting are from Copeland as are many of the petition signatories.

This issue is going to escalate with increasingly damaging and invasive investigation techniques planned by the GDF Partnerships in Copeland (represented by David Moore). In tandem with this escalation of planned nuclear blight there is an increasing lack of democratic oversight from Councillors with no vested nuclear interests, with Cllr Moore set to take over the seats of many Copeland Borough councillors in the new Cumberland Council.

Should there continue to be silence on our complaints to Copeland Borough Council we will be escalating this issue to the Local Government Ombudsman on the 16th September.

Yours sincerely,

signed on behalf of Radiation Free Lakeland

Marianne Birkby

Neil Wilson

Image: although we have not had a reply to our complaint, Cllr Moore's Registered Interests have been amended with a post it note following our complaint.

------- Original Message ------- On Monday, August 22nd, 2022 at 16:55, Wastwater <Wastwater@protonmail.com> wrote: Dear Chair of the Standards and Ethics Committee The Copeland Borough Council website says that the scheduled 25th August meeting of the Standards and Ethics Committee has been cancelled. Supporters of Radiation Free Lakeland including those resident in Copeland are keen to know when the two complaints sent in to the Committee on August the 4th will be discussed? Thank you Marianne Birkby on behalf of Radiation Free Lakeland ------- Original Message ------- On Thursday, August 4th, 2022 at 08:30, Wastwater <Wastwater@protonmail.com> wrote: To the Standards and Ethics Committee of Copeland Borough Council Lakes Against Nuclear Dump would like to make two complaints firstly: Cllr David Moore’s statement on BBC North West in dismissing over 50,000 voices as an “odd, few.” Secondly, Cllr David Moore’s failure to declare interests at the Executive meeting of 12th July at which the Petition of ( then ) nearly 50,000 signatures was presented. Background On the BBC North West broadcast on the 1st August 2022 Councillor Moore referred to over 50,000 people signing to oppose the seismic blasting taking place as "We have had the few odd people and they are in the minority of people that have expressed some concern. We've had the odd few people come in that were concerned and once we'd explained the process that's taking place, they're comfortable with it.” As well as representing The Partnership of Mid and South Copeland on the BBC Cllr Moore is one of the literally odd few people on the Council Executive who took Copeland Borough Council into the GDF Partnership and endorsed carrying out extremely harmful investigation techniques in the Council’s name such as seismic testing without any consultation with the public or debate and vote by the full council. Following the Seismic Blasting - Deep Boreholes Will the deep boreholes which are to follow the seismic blasting be carried out with the same indifference to the democratic process? Or will all Copeland Borough Councillors rather than the odd few of the Executive be debating and voting on whether or not this hugely damaging borehole investigation to facilitate a deep and very hot nuclear dump under the Irish Sea should go ahead? The BBC programme reiterated the GDF Partnership’s claim that the seismic blasting is merely the same as that carried out for wind farms. The difference is that other developments such as wind, gas, oil, have to go through the full regulatory process and cannot be carried out with an Exemption from the planning regime under the guise of “scientific research.” The area of seismic blasting being carried out in the name of Copeland Borough Council is of a scale far greater than any wind farm, oil or gas development in the North West and of an impact far greater with blasts of sound equivalent to the shuttle taking off every 5 seconds. Petition Dismissed by Executive Including those with Vested Interests. We asked for our petition of over 50,000 signatures to be discussed along with the independent report by marine pollution expert Tim Deere- Jones, by the full council. Instead the petition and overwhelming scientific evidence that the seismic blasting should be halted was dismissed on July 12th 2022 by the Executive Committee, as being of no worth. This is appalling behaviour from the Executive made even more so by the fact that David Moore, Deputy Mayor/Deputy Chair of the Executive Committee made no declarations of interest as representing the Council on the Mid Copeland GDF Community Partnership or that his wife works (or worked) for the Civil Nuclear Constabulary or that as Copeland’s Portfolio Holder for Nuclear he is actively working to bring new nuclear to Cumbria (without the consent of the public) ““We’ve now got a memorandum of agreement between Sellafield, NDA and Rolls Royce to attempt to bring the first-of-a-kind SMR to the Sellafield site, that will be on land possibly to the south of site, around the Fellside area." The Sellafield site is to be cleared of nuclear waste in order to make room for further new nuclear and new nuclear wastes. note: Fellside is the dedicated gas plant at Sellafield which buys in £25M of gas every year in order to keep the wastes cool and for other processes on the Sellafield site. HOT nuclear waste no longer cooled but buried under the Irish Sea. The nuclear waste which Copeland Borough Council has signed up to bury beneath the Irish Sea would no longer be looked after by millions of pounds worth of gas at Fellside and by millions of gallons of fresh water every day. The temperature of the buried waste would still be very hot and the thermal heating would escalate post closure (they hope "only" to 100 degrees C after 100 degrees the likelihood of disaster is increased) - this is the sole reason for the enormous footprint of the GDF of 25km. As key member of the GDF Partnership Copeland Borough Council have published the heat issue in a propagandistic Children’s book called “GDF’s Heroes” with Radioactive Ray: “I’m a nice kid, really. I just need a long time to cool off underground.” This inappropriate “nice kid” propaganda is in the Council’s name despite the full council never having had a vote on membership of the GDF Partnership. Of course the GDF Villains are not being published by The GDF Partnership for example: Seismic Syd: “Hi I’m a nice kid, really. I blast massive sound into the sea every five seconds to test the geology and deafen dolphins.” We would like to make two complaints firstly: Cllr David Moore’s statment on BBC North West in dismissing over 50,000 voices as “odd, few.” The 50,000 are backed by scientific fact rather than hyper-nuclear fantasies. Secondly, Cllr David Moore’s failure to declare interests at the Executive meeting of 12th July at which the Petition of then nearly 50,000 signatures was presented. The petition now stands at 51.026 - a number approaching the equivalent of the population of Copeland at 68,000. Yours sincerely Marianne Birkby On behalf Lakes Against Nuclear Dump - a Radiation Free Lakeland campaign