Last updated at 10:27, Saturday, 30 January 2010

CUMBRIA is primed to play a pivotal role in Britain’s nuclear renaissance as part of the government’s new Low Carbon Economic Area for Nuclear.

By Jon Simpson

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills announced that the North West and Yorkshire have become Britain’s Low Carbon Economic Area for nuclear.

LCEA status is not only recognition of the nuclear industry’s unique assets and capabilities in the region, but also reflects the government’s desire for the nominated geographical hub to play an important leadership and coordination role to accelerate nuclear developments across the whole of Britain.

West Cumbria is the country’s most important location for advanced nuclear engineering, fuel reprocessing and decommissioning.

It is home to Sellafield; Britain’s only Low Level Waste Repository; the National Nuclear Laboratory and National Skills Academy for Nuclear, based at Energus in Workington; and the University of Central Lancashire’s recently revamped campus UCLan@Westlakes based at Westlakes Science and Technology Park, which is one of the most important clusters of nuclear-related businesses in Europe.

These sites will be bolstered by the University of Manchester’s £20m teaching and education centre, the Dalton Cumbria Facility.

Cumbria also has three of the 10 sites proposed for new nuclear power stations, with public sector partners behind the Britain’s Energy Coast™ initiative leading the nomination of a site adjacent to Sellafield.

All three sites are currently going through the first stage of a public consultation.

First published at 12:55, Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk