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CUMBRIAN MUSICIAN RECORDS NUCLEAR DUMP PROTEST SONG

First published at 14:03, Friday, 16 November 2012
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

It might not be Blowin’ in the Wind but a musician hopes his newly-recorded protest song will do its bit to stop a nuclear dump being built.

Songwriter Geoff Betsworth, who is also president of Silloth Rotary Club, is so incensed at the possibility of having nuclear waste stored underground in the Solway Plain that he has put pen to paper to vent his feelings.

Titled Wrong Rock Blues – the Other Road to Hell, the blues-tinged hard rock song features lyrics against the proposed developments.

A description on the song’s YouTube video notes that it was inspired by “scheming, conniving, gravy-training politicians.”

Mr Betsworth, 60, said: “I’ve never written a protest song before but I live at the epicentre of where this could go.

“What’s annoying is the fact that the geologists are saying it’s the wrong area to put it. If the geology was correct I would not feel so strongly. That’s why I felt so incensed.”

Currently the majority of nuclear waste in the area is stored above ground at Sellafield but the Government believes that the best solution is to store it underground.

An initial study from the British Geological Survey found that around a quarter of west Cumbria is geologically unsuitable as a location to store nuclear waste.

The Solway Plain, between Silloth, Abbeytown and Westnewton, has been identified as one of the possible locations for a repository.

Copeland, Allerdale and Cumbria County Council have shown interest in the idea of a new dump in Cumbria.

However, a decision about whether they will take this interest to another stage has been put off until January. This has been met by strong opposition from residents who do not want the repository to be constructed.

As well as Mr Betsworth’s protest song the proposals have attracted the ire of the SPAND campaign (Solway Plain Against Nuclear Dump) and a petition on the Government website.

SPAND is organising events featuring professors David Smythe and Stuart Haszeldine, who are sceptical about the plans, to discuss the issue with the public.

The Silloth meeting will be held at the town’s Community College on Thursday November 22 at 7pm.

http://www.in-cumbria.com/cumbrian-musician-records-nuclear-dump-protest-song-1.1014657?referrerPath=newsarchive/magazinearticles

November 16, 2012 - Posted by arclight2011 | Uncategorized