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Copeland & Workington Liberal Democrat s
NUCLEAR PRESENTATION TO: Copeland & Workington Liberal Democrats by Barry Watkinson (Nuclear Development Director) Morgan Sindall
The Copeland & Workington Liberal democrats held their Annual AGM & Dinner at the
Hundith Hill Hotel on the evening of the 27th Nov 2014
Following the AGM Hundith Hill Hotel provided dinner for the Liberal Democrat members and guests.
Phill Roberts (Chair, Copeland and Workington Liberal Democrats) welcomed and introduced Barry Watkinson to the assembled members and guests for a presentation on the current planning and development for the new Nuclear Reactor at the Moorside Site adjacent to Sellafield.
Barry Watkinson informed the audience of the current planning and preparation for the Moorside site that was needed before work could actually start after 2017 including the infrastructure changes to roads leading to both the Sellafield and Moorside sites.
Barry provided an insight into the possible future developments of the Moorside site over the next 30 years and the scale of the current and future projects that would bring investment and jobs to West Cumbria
Barry’s vision went beyond current projects and provided an indication of the many possibilities and opportunities for the people of West Cumbria from the development of a National Nuclear Centre of Excellence based on the west coast of Cumbria.
He mapped out the considerable additional investment required in education and skills development that would be needed for Cumbria to take full advantage of the opportunities.
Following his presentation Barry was able to answer a number of questions from a very knowledgeable audience in regard to the generation of electricity from Nuclear Power including questions on nuclear waste and its safe storage.
Although Barry agreed with the Liberal Democrats that Cumbria’s geology may not be the best in the UK for safe storage of Nuclear Waste Barry was of the opinion that an engineering solution could be found to overcome the differences in geology and that any waste should be retrievable in the future.
Phill Roberts (Chair, Copeland & Workington Liberal democrats) in conclusion said
“I would like to thank Barry Watkinson for his presentation on future developments in the nuclear industry and all in the nuclear industry who have had the vision to prepare for this investment including the staff at UTC and the NNL in Workington
If the people of Cumbria and in particular West Cumbria are to take full advantage of all the opportunities in hosting the nuclear industry then we will need more investment in our infrastructure , roads, education and not least our hospital on the West Coast at Whitehaven
The safe storage of nuclear waste remains a challenge to all and wherever it is stored it must be retrievable. There is now general acceptance that Cumbria’s geology is in its self unsuitable for the development of a GDF and we therefore, as a party, remain opposed to the sitting of a GDF in Cumbria.
Whether an engineering solution can be found remains open to debate”
Ends
For further information please contact:
Phill Roberts 07730284529 or at [email protected] or on Twitter at phillrobertsli