Published: 21/09/2018
Sellafield Ltd has commissioned and published a report, by Oxford Economics, entitled 'The Economic Impact of Sellafield', which highlights key issues affecting Copeland's economy.
The report has been received and considered by Copeland Borough Council and Mike Starkie, Mayor of Copeland, has made the following statement:
“The Oxford Economics report sets the baseline for transformation activity at Sellafield, and it clearly demonstrates the huge impact the changes at Sellafield Ltd will have on Copeland’s economy over the coming years, that is, if the transformation programme is unsuccessful.
“As the borough that hosts Sellafield, there is no doubt that Copeland’s community and economy will feel the impact of the changes far more than any other local authority area.
“We applaud Sellafield Ltd for commissioning the report as it helps the Government, industry and Copeland Council to understand the impact of the move away from reprocessing and to demonstrate the need to actively plan and manage what happens next.
“This is in terms of acting positively and proactively to mitigate the impact of the reduction in spend; ensuring Sellafield Ltd’s transformation plan delivers opportunities for growth and diversification of the supply chain and wider economy; extracting maximum value of the amount that Sellafield Ltd puts into the community, and making sure our community continues to benefit from hosting the site.
“The report shows that Sellafield sustains almost 55 per cent of all jobs in Copeland. The skills and capability here in Copeland are a national asset and the Government’s own Industrial Strategy and Nuclear Sector Deal both set out how we can grow the local and national economy though the nuclear industry. Any responsible government uses its assets to its advantage.
“We call upon all the Government, the NDA and Sellafield Ltd to play their part in driving the changes needed to grow the local and national economy.”
The full report can be be found at https://copeland.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s7001/Oxford%20Appendix.pdf
