Grateful for what we've got? I don't think so!

Yesterday there was a debate in Parliament with Cumbria front & centre. The MP for Whitehaven and Workington, Josh MacAlister, obtained an Adjournment Debate to ask the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) Minister for support to ensure that the land at Moorside is best used to benefit the local community by being available for both decommissioning and new nuclear projects. You can see a video here giving an outline and highlights. About 4 minutes into the video he talks about some people in Whitehall who think his constituency should "think ourselves lucky to have what we've got" This is something I’ve heard from other sources and those who know me will know how I feel about this.

Putting my emotional response to “West Cumbria should be grateful for what it’s getting and keep quiet” aside there are some really important points I’d like to make.

First the money spent at Sellafield is not a charitable donation to our area. It is not a handout. It is money paid to deliver a nationally critical mission which involves developing solutions to complex problems in a highly regulated sector. This is not easy work and it’s not work that can be delivered by just any company. It requires skill, expertise and frankly commitment. That is worth paying for when you’re dealing with nuclear decommissioning, especially as it is exported around the world.

There is no doubt in my mind that, as other industries have left the area, the Sellafield work has saved this area from falling into economic deprivation. I’m very aware we still have areas that have high deprivation figures but these are localised pockets which we need to address, not the whole of our area which I fear could have been the case without Sellafield. This did, however, help this narrative develop of nuclear as a knight in shining armour & the community as the helpless damsel in distress which can lead to a dysfunctional relationship of dependency rather than effective partnership.

So let’s be clear the investment into Sellafield pays for expertise and problem solving on a scale that is internationally recognised, just unfortunately not always recognised in our own country perhaps. I'd like to say thank you to every person who's delivering on that mission for their expertise and efforts.

Secondly I’ve read articles recently that have talked about the major obstacle to new nuclear development being what’s often referred to as “social license to operate” This has been shown in some recent reactions to nuclear development in other areas. This community understands nuclear power and what it can deliver. Not just well paid jobs but also the potential for inward investment. You only have to look at recent moves by Google, Microsoft and Amazon to understand that businesses are starting to see nuclear power in a different way. As I said in a previous blog localised, reliable power can act as an attractor to inward investment and the appetite for that is strong here. As a community we should be able to use our nuclear heritage and the support of our community to deliver the future we want for our area where the level of private investment in our local community rises and the dependency I referred to earlier diminishes.

You can rest assured that here at BECBC we’ll continue to challenge anyone who says we should be grateful for the money that comes into this area and stop fighting for better for our area. We will remind them that they should be grateful for the skills, expertise and support of the supply chain community that deliver on a mission of national importance and leads to the UK being seen internationally as a leader in nuclear decommissioning.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash