A LEADING Cornwall councillor has vowed to hold further discussions on whether Cornwall should house the country's nuclear waste, despite a formal debate being scuppered.

Liberal Democrat county councillor Bryan Rawlins sparked controversy when he called-in a decision by the council's executive not to "express an interest" in hosting a planned underground repository for high level radioactive waste.

Coun Rawlins said it was "absurd" to reject the idea "out of hand" when the county could benefit from billions of pounds worth of investment.

But his bid to call-in the decision to the resources and performance committee, which he chairs, was defeated when fellow councillors George Edwards and Les Hunkin withdrew their support.

Undeterred, Coun Rawlins intends to exercise his rights as chairman to put the matter on the agenda for the next meeting.

He admitted he was "disappointed" after his colleagues withdrew their backing but was determined the issue should be aired again.

"I regret I was not able to achieve that (the call-in)," Coun Rawlins, who represents Mount Charles in St Austell, said. "However, I have put it on the agenda for the next resources and performance meeting and I have every right to do that."

He stressed he had sought the formal call-in debate because his committee had been omitted from discussions before the executive made its decision.

A bid to make an expression of interest to the Government was defeated by a casting vote by chairman and leader of the council David Whalley.

Coun Rawlins had said the "massive amounts" of money on offer for housing the nuclear storage facility could not simply be ignored.

"I will not reject out of hand something which says there is the prospect of billions of pounds coming to Cornwall," he argued. "If there is that possibility then it should be explored. The idea of rejecting it, without looking at it, to me is absurd."

One of the councillors who withdrew his support to call the issue in was Coun Edwards (Newquay). "It has been pulled by Les and myself," he said. "We don't want to know it. I gave my verbal support, not knowing the true facts of the story."

He admitted they had taken the issue in the "wrong direction" adding: "No way in the world would I support that for Cornwall."

A number of authorities, including those with existing nuclear sites, have already declared an interest – lured by the prospect of billions of pounds worth of investment.

The Government has said any community which does host the repository would enjoy substantial benefits in housing, public services, recreational facilities, transport infrastructure, healthcare and local environment improvements.

Ministers want to identify two candidate sites by April 2012 and announce the preferred site by 2025. The first waste would be deposited by 2040 and the first spent nuclear fuel by 2075. It would close by 2128.