Romney Marsh has always had an otherworldly quality, particularly when the morning mists hang low around its ancient churches. These 100 square miles on the Kent and East Sussex coast were identified for centuries with smugglers. Malaria, or marsh fever, was eradicated only in the 19th century. Now, Dungeness nuclear power station, built on a shingle spit beyond the marshes, dominates the views to sea - and yet Romney Marsh is home to so many species of bird, plant and insect that it is one of the most important nature conservation sites in Europe.
But now this largely unspoilt corner of England, uncomfortably close to the sprawling conurbations of the home counties, could become the dumping ground for Britain's nuclear waste. The local council has sent thousands of letters to residents asking if they would be willing to let their backyard be the nation's first Nuclear Research and Disposal Facility. Building would start in 2025 at the earliest and the first "pods" of waste, vitrified as glass and coated in concrete or clay, would go underground as early as 2040, to be stored in miles of tunnels more than 3,000ft deep.
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