On 8th September 2003 Southampton City Council reluctantly agreed to go ahead with a nuclear safety plan to allow nuclear powered submarines into the docks at a Z Berth.
The Cabinet Committee did not accept that the practice must be justified before a safety plan could be approved. The legal team for campaign group SCANS (Solent Coalition Against Nuclear Ships) made clear that local government is obliged under European Commission regulations to treat military and civil nuclear risk to the public alike.
SCANS is to make a complaint to the European Commission demanding that a risk assessment is made to balance the risks and benefit of using Southampton docks for nuclear submarines when a nearby military Z Berth is available in Portsmouth.
Read SCANS press release here
Also: external link to Southampton Daily Echo
Nuclear subs urged to keep away
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/hampshire/southampton/news/SOTON_NEWS_NEWS2.html