South West England - Subregion 4
National Geological Screening for a GDF - South West England region
The screening report hosted on this site is a technical exercise across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. No specific location in England, Wales or Northern Ireland has been identified as a potential GDF site. Any future decision on geological disposal would be subject to community agreement and planning and environmental consents.
Details
Our work shows that we may find a suitable geological setting for a GDF in most of this subregion, but the properties of the potential host rocks present may not be suitable.
South West England - Subregion 4
Rock can be seen at the surface over much of the subregion including the extensive sea cliffs, inland rock tors on Bodmin and Dartmoor and man-made excavations such as quarries or road cuttings. Combined with deep boreholes and geophysical investigations, this gives us an understanding of the rocks present and their distribution.
There are various types of gaps in our understanding of geology and we deal with these gaps in a number of ways.
There are granites, slates and similar strong rocks under most of the subregion in which we may be able to site a GDF. We would need to do more work to find out whether these rocks have suitable properties and thicknesses.
Some of the subregion has been mined to depths below 100m for tin, copper, arsenic, lead and other metal resources in particular West Penwith, north of Lands End, between Penzance and Truro, around St Austell and north of Liskeard. In these areas the mining is likely to have affected the way in which water moves through the rock. Also possible exploration in the future in these areas means that it is more likely that future generations may disturb a facility.
For further information, read the report below.
We have also produced a summary of the geological attributes of the South West England Region.