A US nuclear industry firm which wants to build a £1.3bn factory to make Small Modular Reactors in the UK has visited Carlisle.
The city’s Kingmoor Park has been shortlisted in a competition run by Holtec.
Professor Dame Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge and Gareth Davies, director of Holtec GB and Tom Lees, managing director of Bradshaw Advisory visited the Kingmoor Park site on Monday to see for themselves Carlisle and Cumberland’s offer.
The visit was part of an ongoing process to determine the best site for Holtec GB’s manufacturing facility, which will contribute approximately £1.5billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the economy of the chosen location, including creating around 3,600 jobs in construction and up to 400 manufacturing jobs, once the factory is operational.
Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership and Cumberland Council have been leading the effort alongside the Kingmoor Park Properties Ltd Team to attract Holtec GB to Carlisle, successfully reaching the final shortlist alongside South Yorkshire, Tees Valley, and the West Midlands.
Following a site tour, Mr Davies, Baroness Brown and Mr Lees met with local representatives including Lord Inglewood, chair of CLEP, Mark Fryer, leader of Cumberland Council, Julie Minns, Carlisle MP, Professor Julie Mennell, University of Cumbria, Chris Nattress principal, Lakes College and Craig Hatch, division president EUD, TetraTech.
The meeting was hosted at Story House by Emma Porter, managing director of Story Contracting.
Lord Inglewood said: “It is excellent news that Kingmoor Park is one of the shortlisted sites and confirms that Cumbria is recognised as one of the most serious players for both clean energy and advanced manufacturing capabilities
“Holtec GB has recognised that we have the necessary skills and expertise to meet their requirements and I hope that they were equally impressed when they saw the site at first hand.”
Mr Fryer said: “As a council, we are always open to discussing economic growth in Cumberland and the proposed Holtec GB manufacturing facility would certainly bring that to Carlisle.
“While Cumberland is rightly seen as the home of the UK civil nuclear industry, it is important to note that there would be no nuclear material on the proposed Kingmoor site.
“The factory would produce two to four reactors per year, valued at £1-2bn each, which would be deployed across the UK, Europe and the Middle East. This is therefore a great opportunity to further establish Cumberland’s capabilities in high precision engineering and manufacturing.
“We know that we are up against strong opposition but we genuinely believe that the Kingmoor site and all that Carlisle and Cumberland has to offer, make us a very strong contender to persuade Holtec GB to make us its home.”
Mrs Minns added: “I am fully supportive of Cumberland Council and Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership’s efforts to bring Holtec GB’s Small Modular Reactor factory to Kingmoor Park. Carlisle’s reputation as a centre for manufacturing skills and nuclear expertise is well established.
“Located in the centre of Britain, and well served by existing road and rail, Carlisle is perfectly positioned to meet all of Holtec GB’s siting requirements.
“Economic growth is at the forefront of Government’s plans to rebuild Britain, with investment in clean energy a fundamental part of this. I will therefore work with my colleagues and new Labour ministers to support this proposal and bring Holtec GB’s factory to Carlisle, which importantly will create high quality and sustainable employment for my constituents.”
Holtec’s senior adviser in the UK, Baroness Brown of Cambridge, said: “On behalf of Holtec, I extend our sincere gratitude to the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (CLEP) and Cumberland Council for their gracious hospitality during our visit to their proposed location for our UK SMR factory.
“My colleagues and I were highly impressed by the team’s passion, confidence and enthusiasm for attracting high quality jobs and investment, as well as the beauty of the area itself.
“The region’s long history of working on nuclear fills us with confidence as we move forward with our assessment of the shortlisted bids. We will come to a decision in due course.
“Holtec’s new UK SMR factory, wherever it is located, will be transformative – opening a new export market worth billions and generating highly skilled, unionised jobs during both its construction and operational phase for decades to come.”
Holtec is aiming to announce its chosen location in the autumn.
