AMBITIONS to build nuclear reactors in Copeland have taken another step forward as organisations with skin in the game have met with the borough’s MP to strategise.

Copeland MP Trudy Harrison has met with chief executives and senior representatives of Rolls Royce, Sellafield Limited, the NDA; BEIS and Copeland Council to discuss plans for Small Modular Reactors at Moorside.

Electricity North West; the National Grid and Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership also joined the discussion about the site neighbouring Sellafield and its potential to host the ground-breaking technology.

Mrs Harrison and Copeland Council’s nuclear and corporate services portfolio holder David Moore are ardent supporters of plans for new nuclear at Moorside.

They celebrated the news last month that Moorside is on Copeland’s list of eight sites cherry picked by Government for nuclear projects in the coming years.

The news followed an announcement from Central Government pledging to produce 25 per cent of the UK’s electricity through low carbon solutions by 2050.

As part of this target, the Government will build eight more reactors this decade, the recent meeting of political and business leaders was designed to ensure Copeland is at the top of the list.

Mrs Harrison said: “Hearing the enthusiasm from all partners on Friday’s call to bring Rolls Royce’s new small modular reactor (SMR) to Copeland was fantastic. 

“We agreed to pursue a specific site, planning application and infrastructure requirements for electricity generation and transmission.  Rolls Royce SMR have set out their ambitions for the tightest of timescales, to be on the bars by 2029.

“Nowhere stands a better chance of success than Copeland.  That’s because we are one of a handful of suitably, licensed sites, with supportive neighbours at Sellafield and a qualified, experienced workforce across our local supply chain. 

“No other council has as much planning experience, over many decades, as Copeland Borough Council and never have we needed UK energy security more than today.

She said: “The next step is a formal proposal to Government to put forward my case for the first Rolls-Royce 470MW SMR power station to be sited at Fellside, on NDA-owned land next to Sellafield.”