RUMOURS from Westminster suggest that Cumbria was split down the middle to benefit plans for a nuclear disposal facility in the county as it would bring the two nuclear-sympathetic boroughs under one roof.

Plans were announced in the Summer to abolish the existing seven councils in Cumbria, replacing them with two for the entire county.

The east-west split, which was the most favourable option to the UK Government, sees Carlisle, Allerdale and Copeland governed by one authority: Cumberland Council.

The process known as local government reform is designed to cut costs which can then be redirected back into services, and reduce the number of organisations and tiers.

But the Government has been accused of choosing the east-west split for political motivations. The most recent claim is that LGR benefits the Government’s agenda to see an underground nuclear waste facility in Cumbria.

Talks are ongoing around the Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) with both Allerdale Borough Council and Copeland Borough Council voting to form a Community Partnership in recent months.

Community Partnerships are not necessarily a yes to GDF but take the conversation with the public forward. They are made up of one principal Local Authority, members of the community, Cumbria Association of Local Councils and Radioactive Waste Management.

David Moore, Copeland Council's Nuclear and Corporate Services boss said: "It's not about politics and I don't think Whitehall would be taking that into consideration when they did this review.

"It's reducing bureaucracy, it's about bringing services closer to people and about getting better services."

Cllr Moore said: "Any recommendations we made to Government when they made that decision made no mention of the GDF."

But councillor for Maryport Ian Greaney said that it is "fairly evident" Government is trying to "push through" plans for an underground nuclear disposal facility in Cumbria.

Cllr Greaney unsuccessfully proposed a motion at Allerdale's full council earlier this month which would have asked the leadership to withdraw from GDF discussions.

The motion raised concerns about a "political driven agenda by the conservative Allerdale executive" who had voted to participate in the GDF talks two weeks earlier.

Cllr Greaney said: "I did allude to that. It was obvious to me, it was fairly evident."

He said that the Government has "to push it through, they grouped Copeland in with Allerdale to give them the vote when it goes through.

"Copeland extends down to Barrow with Millom, that was probably the obvious choice to push it through."

Allerdale's executive members denied that they were involved in any collusion with the Conservative Government.

Cllr Greaney's call to withdraw from GDF talks were based on concerns that "approximately 50 per cent of the proposed designated search area is completely out of scope" and the perceived "lack of community participation."

Councillors across the council chamber opposed the motion, keen to have a yes or no answer from the public one and for all. They said to withdraw from the process would "kick the can down the road."

Cllr Greaney said: "I wasn't trying to kick the can down the road, there's nobody more keen to get the GDF done than me."

But he said: "If something isn't right, it shouldn't have been pushed forward. That was an opportunity to say 'let's take a step back, we know it hasn't been done correctly.'"

Deputy leader of Allerdale Council Marion Fitzgerald has said that previous investigations which found the geology in West Cumbria to be unsuitable were simply desk studies.

The leadership has also stressed that joining the Community Partnership is simply a decision to participate in GDF talks.