A WEST CUMBRIAN MP has called on the government to release land at Moorside, near Sellafield, for new nuclear development - as he blasted the lack of progress made on the issue under previous administrations.

In the House of Commons on Monday evening, October 14, Whitehaven and Workington MP Josh MacAlister led a debate -  the first on nuclear power in the new Parliament - on west Cumbria's nuclear future.

During the session, Mr MacAlister addressed government ministers, calling for urgent action to resolve land issues at Moorside so that new nuclear power stations can be built.

He also hit out at the former Conservative government over a lack of progress made since the previous plan for a 3.4 GW nuclear power plant on the site collapsed in 2018.

"They promised a new process that would deliver small modular reactors and set up Great British Nuclear (GBN) to oversee it. That decision and others have allowed Conservative politicians to hide behind process for year after year, promising jam tomorrow," he said.

Addressing the current situation with the land, Mr MacAlister told MPs: "The crux of the issue lies in competing demands on the land designated for new nuclear at Moorside. In short, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) wants to use a large area of the land for the laydown of construction materials for future buildings that it hopes to construct on the Sellafield site as part of its decommissioning activity.

"Great British Nuclear needs to make a decision imminently about the site selection and, if Moorside is a contender, it needs to be confident that the land will be available for new nuclear plants."

He said that 'hypothetical, future' decommissioning work which puts plans for new nuclear in jeopardy "is simply unacceptable to me and to my community".

Stressing the importance of Sellafield, which directly employs 12,000 people, he added: "Our community needs and deserves more than simply decommissioning work into the future.

"In truth, I have met too many people in Whitehall who think that we in west Cumbria should consider ourselves lucky to have what we have. I have absolutely no time for that sentiment.

Sellafield in west Cumbria.

"It shows a complete lack of regard for the members of a community who have been custodians of one of Europe’s most hazardous sites and who want and deserve a diverse economic future that is not simply dependent on one employer."

In a direct request to Government, Mr MacAlister sought assurances that new nuclear would have 'primacy' on the Moorside land over other uses, and that the Government  would work with the NDA to come up with plans for laydown using other land available.

"Finally I’d like the department to instruct Great British Nuclear to assess the Moorside site as it stands and not on the basis of any other use of the land or hypothetical future decommissioning projects," he said.

"It is my hope that the new Government will support Cumbria in our ambitions, and remove the roadblocks that stand in our way."

Michael Shanks, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for energy security and net zero, said that looking to the future of Cumbria’s nuclear industry, there are 'exciting' opportunities and significant challenges - citing skills and recruitment as one area. "We must more than double our current recruitment rates to ensure we have the skilled workforce necessary to drive our nuclear ambitions forward," he said.

In direct response to Mr MacAlister's questions, Mr Shanks said: "GBN has considered a number of sites, including Moorside, from both a project delivery and a technical perspective.

"The fact is, however, that the location of the site adjacent to Sellafield does need to be factored into any consideration. Any interaction between existing or future projects could introduce additional complexity, potential pressures on supporting local infrastructure and increased delivery risk."