Wiltshire Council knew about radioactive contamination at a former military base in January – but did nothing to alert the public, papers show.
The secrecy surrounding the discovery has been slammed by the council’s division representative, Nick Holder, who, until May’s election, was a member of the Conservative cabinet.
Last week, the Local Democracy Reporting Service wrote that contractors at the former RAF Melksham base in Bowerhill “identified radiation dose rates that were slightly higher than the normal background dose rates expected in the UK.”
While the council insisted there was “no elevated risk to the general public,” Cllr Holder said he was not told about the find – a move he called “shocking”.
The contamination was found at the former camp gymnasium and cinema, which was housed in a hangar-sized building on the base, which is now owned by Wiltshire Council.
The former Christie Miller sports centre is being demolished and redeveloped by Wiltshire Council as a depot for its highways operations. Contractors had already found asbestos as part of the demolition work.
During the Second World War, radium paint was used on instrument dials so that they could be seen in the dark. Local reports suggest there was an explosion in the paint store, which could be the cause of the contamination.
Papers seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service say that radiological surveys identified the contamination in January 2025.
But an application by Wiltshire Council for a permit to deal with the contamination was only published by the Environment Agency on 3rd June – the first that elected councillors at both parish and county levels knew about it.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service approached Wiltshire Council for comment on June 9, and an official statement was issued by the authority on 12th June.
The undated papers include a full explanation from Wiltshire Council to the Environment Agency about what exactly has been found, and how the council intends to deal with it.
The papers say: “Radiological surveys undertaken in January 2025 identified locations on the former RAF Melksham site contaminated with Ra-226.
“This is likely due to luminising activities undertaken by the RAF when they used the site as an engineering and instrument school.”
In the papers, Wiltshire Council tells the Environment Agency it intends to employ specialist contractors to remove the “unsealed waste” and “radium contaminated soil, rubble, and artefacts” and put the waste into sealed drums.
The waste would then be incinerated or disposed of at a landfill site near Peterborough, which is permitted to deal with radioactive waste.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service contacted Cllr Holder for comment after it became clear that the council had known about the contamination for up to six months.
Despite holding a cabinet position and sitting on the steering group overseeing the works at the council-owned site, Cllr Holder said he was not informed about the discovery of contaminated material by the council, and only found out when the permit application to the Environment Agency was filed by Wiltshire Council, followed soon after by “reports in the press.”
“I’m concerned that we should find out in such a roundabout way,” he said. “It appears Wiltshire Council was reluctant to go through the normal process of notification.
“It is unacceptable that the public found out about it first through the press.
“What annoys me more than anything is that they’ve known since January. Why weren’t we told?
“Since the discovery, members of the public have had access to the site. People walk their dogs there. Hundreds of kids play football at the nearby playing field. A site nearby is earmarked for new housing.”
Cllr Holder, who said he had been approached by concerned residents since the news became public, said he would be writing to Wiltshire Council officers asking for an explanation, and would be raising the matter with the new Liberal Democrat cabinet at its meeting next Tuesday 24th June.
Cllr Helen Belcher, cabinet member for economic development, regeneration and assets, said: “This is merely a precautionary measure, and these surveys are part of the process that any potential construction site has to go through.
“There is no elevated risk to the public. If a person was to sit for one hour every week for a whole year in the spot with the highest levels, they would get the same radiation exposure as having a single dental x-ray, and people are likely to receive more radiation by just being in sitting in their homes or taking a single flight to Spain.”
