Womble Bond Dickinson secures £250k+ contract to advise council on nuclear power

The council has appointed the law firm on a retained basis for a period of four years (plus two potential extension).

Copeland said that, specifically, it might require legal advice and support for the following areas of activity:

• nuclear decommissioning of redundant facilities on the Sellafield site;
• radioactive waste management at Sellafield and the low level waste repository;
• proposals from developers for new nuclear projects;
• interaction between the council and the planning inspectorate regarding applications for development consent for major infrastructure projects;
• geological disposal infrastructure for management of the UK’s high and intermediate level radioactive waste;
• research and development activities related to disposition of the UK’s Plutonium stockpile and the development of small modular reactor;
• development management, including but not limited to: negotiation of strategic planning agreements and planning performance agreements, negotiation of community benefits related to new nuclear developments and applications for new nuclear/energy related developments under the Town and Country Planning Act;
• national (UK Government) and international nuclear energy and radioactive waste-related policy developments/consultations,
• internal and external governance arrangements related to the nuclear industry, radioactive waste management and energy matters,
• other new and emerging energy technologies, infrastructure and models for example, electric vehicle infrastructure, etc.

Four tenders were received. The contract was awarded on the basis of quality (weighting: 70%) and price (weighting: 30%).