The Decommissioning Delivery Partnership wins the 2024 NDA group supply chain award for ‘best approach to achieving social value’

The Decommissioning Delivery Partnership, DDP, is delighted to announce that it has been recognised within the 2024 NDA group supply chain awards as winner of the ‘best approach to achieving social value’, following the investment the partners have made to the refurbishment of the Frizington Youth and Community Centre.

The Decommissioning Delivery Partnership (DDP) is a ten-year framework delivering significant hazard and risk reduction to Sellafield Limited. DDP undertakes some of the site’s most complex and iconic remediation and decommissioning activities, having commenced in April 2016 and concluding in March 2026.

This award, however, was about the value that the partners have delivered off site. DDP has always considered social value a key part of its purpose, holding a strong belief that investments made with the partners in the context of its technical work, should also flow through to benefit the local community both during and after the duration of the contract.

This specific story started with an engagement between DDP and the Phoenix Youth Project, which put forward a need for action around the current state and suitability of the Frizington Youth and Community Centre. The centre’s physical environment at the time meant it was under-used, under-resourced, and ultimately risked closure, so DDP collaborated with its partners to fund an extensive refurbishment and encourage increased use of the centre. The refurbishment was not only designed to enhance services for current users, but to open the door to additional groups including young parents, the elderly and those requiring specific support, alongside social enterprises.

In July 2023, a fully refurbished Youth and Community Centre opened as a result of this collaboration, representing nearly half a million pounds of investment from DDP alongside Sellafield Ltd, and months of work from local contractors, William King and team. DDP was keen to ensure that the project used local tradespeople within a six-mile radius of the centre, many of whom who had a sense of belonging with the centre, to take the lead in the delivery of a first-class community space.

Today, Frizington Youth and Community Centre is a modern, fully accessible and exciting youth and community hub, which has opened its doors to people of all ages across the community. In the context of the NDA Group’s award, the judges commented on DDP’s commitment, tenacity and collaboration that made this project happen.

Mike Lacey, one of DDP’s leads for the project said, ‘winning this award is less about the recognition we have received, but more about raising the profile of the impact investments like these, where communities and the nuclear decommissioning supply chain can come together to deliver not just social value, but social change. By targeting the areas that need it most, we all have the power to make a positive impact and to play our part in levelling up in our community. We are delighted to have delivered even just a small example of this and we hope that the recognition that this award brings will inspire others to consider what they can do to create a meaningful approach to achieving social value in the area local to Sellafield.’