A leading Cumbrian politician has written to the Government to urge them to move on the Moorside site in West Cumbria.
Mark Fryer, leader of Cumberland Council, has penned a letter to the Minister for Nuclear and Networks, Andrew Bowie to urge him, and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to grant access to the Moorside site near Sellafield, with immediate effect.
Access to the site is needed for exploratory work that could lead to the UK’s first small modular nuclear reactor, known as an SMR, being built in West Cumbria.
The Solway Community Power Company, led by ex-Sellafield chief executive Paul Foster, has secured around £6 billion of international private investment for the proposed development and just needs agreement from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to start the investigations and survey work that would trigger the process to release the funding.
Mr Fryer said: “The development being proposed by SCPC will bring transformational private sector investment into our community. It’s not just about the build and operation of the reactors themselves, but equally importantly the potential spin off investment that they can bring if we can become the first community in the UK to welcome SMRs.
“The reactors can be used to provide clean energy for the future work at Sellafield, while attracting other clean energy technology such as hydrogen generation and distribution.
“We have a great opportunity here in Cumberland to regenerate ourselves as a clean energy cluster, with leading edge technology and innovation that would attract further investment from far and wide. But we must take the initiative and be the first.
“We were hoping that the minister would announce the initiation of the proposed development at Moorside at the Northern Nuclear Conference in Carlisle last week, but that was not to be.
“We are therefore urging him to support the NDA to sign the documentation ahead of the launch of Great British Nuclear in mid-July, where the Government has a great opportunity to announce the commencement of the UK’s first privately funded SMR project right here in Cumberland.”
- The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority said now Great British Nuclear had been established, Moorside is a matter for it and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The authority said any formal commitment of land it owned required approval from that government department and Great British Nuclear.
