Consultation to take place for new nuclear power site in Cumbria

Anti nuclear campaigners have spent the day protesting against plans for a new power station in West Cumbria. The proposals by NuGen went on display this morning. Over the next ten weeks, members of the public will have the chance to have their say. Kate Walby reports.

Anti nuclear campaigners are to hold a protest this lunchtime on the opening day of 10 weeks of consultation over plans for a new power station in Cumbria.

Members of Radiation Free Lakeland (RFL) will gather outside Whitehaven Civic Hall where the plans for the project at Moorside near Sellafield, are on display.

NuGen, the company behind the scheme, says it's very keen to hear the public's views and is encouraging people to have their say.

This weekend a consultation into the building of a £10 billion nuclear power plant in West Cumbria gets underway.

It could bring 21,000 jobs to the region, but anti-nuclear campaigners are protesting against the plans.

Watch Samantha Parker's full report:

NuGen are entering into a ten-week consultation with people in West Cumbria, about the prospect of building Europe's largest new nuclear plant in the region.

Samantha Parker asked Sandy Rupprecht, the company's CEO, whether voices from the community will have any real impact on the decision:

Jill Perry, of the Green Party, says she'll be calling for plans for a new £10 billion nuclear power station in West Cumbria to be scrapped.

She says nuclear energy "makes no sense in the modern day", and that there are cheaper alternatives:

We've been asking people in Whitehaven what they think about the prospect of a nuclear power site - the largest new plant in Europe - being built at Moorside:

The response was largely positive, with people citing the potential benefits to the west Cumbrian economy.

However, there is also a large amount of opposition to the plans, and a petition called 'Stop Moorside: Biggest Nuclear Development in Europe' has more than 7,000 signatures.

Thousands of people have signed a petition against the proposed nuclear power plant development at Moorside, in West Cumbria.

The petition is called: 'Stop Moorside: Biggest Nuclear Development in Europe', and it currently has more than 7,000 signatures.

It reads:

The consultation into whether to build a new £10 billion nuclear power plant in West Cumbria gets underway this weekend.

NuGen, who will develop the project, have carried out surveys at the site in Mooreside, close to the existing Sellafield nuclear power site.

They have released footage of the site survey taking place.