RESIDENTS near the Dounreay nuclear site have been offered a £4 million community fund as part of plans to build a waste dump close to their homes.
But householders who have campaigned against the dump described the offer yesterday as "pathetic".
The Scottish Government decided this week not to call in plans for the £110 million underground low-level radioactive waste store, and formal appr
oval is expected shortly.
Up to six shallow storage vaults are proposed for a possible 175,000 cubic metres of low-level waste, made up of material already stored on site and more created during the £2.9 billion decommissioning of the site.
The money on offer will be used for social projects in the Dounreay "travel-to-work area". But residents in Buldoo, Caithness, are concerned that the dump will be created outside Dounreay's licensed site on farmland. Dounreay says that location is necessary because of a lack of space on site and the threat of coastal erosion.
John Webster, a Buldoo resident, said: "Those who have the misfortune to have their homes immediately adjoining a low-level waste store get all the noise, inconvenience and decreased property values.
"Those who live in the Dounreay travel-to-work area will have a fund, although it's unclear how it will be dispersed. There will be no special recognition for those who stay in Buldoo."
But Bob Earnshaw, chairman of the Dounreay Stakeholder Group, which helped to secure the package, said: "The working group worked for over 18 months to explore the potential for community funding for the facility, and we believe this is a good result for the area."
