Heysham could be site of new nuclear reactor

Heysham was named in a major new UK government energy strategy which has been published aiming to boost UK energy independence and tackle rising prices.

The government plans to reduce the UK's reliance on oil and gas by building as many as eight new nuclear reactors, including one at Heysham.

The government announced that a new body called Great British Nuclear will be launched to bolster the UK's nuclear capacity, with the hope that by 2050 up to 24 GW of electricity will come from that source - 25% of the projected electricity demand.

The government hopes to have a new reactor approved each year until 2030 with the aim to have them up and running by 2050.

David Morris MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale said: “There are eight sites in the UK that the government are looking at and we are one of them.

"Within two weeks we are meeting with Rolls Royce to get things moving.

"It’s a necessity due to the Ukraine crisis.

"The eight sites the government has mentioned including Heysham deliver 25% of the energy in the UK.

"The new nuclear modules will be built by Rolls Royce and hundreds of jobs will be created in the decommissioning and building of a new nuclear reactor.

"Having the Eden Project coming on the back of all this is all good.

"We don’t know when it is going to be but it will be within the next decade.

"Planning permission is granted so it will be sooner rather than later.”

A spokesman for EDF Energy said: “Heysham and our power station across at Hartlepool, is one of the best locations in the UK for the new generation of nuclear power stations.

"Not only does it have the right infrastructure, we have highly skilled professional people who have a long and proud history in generating electricity.

"And very importantly we also have a close relationship with our community which is vital for an industry such as ours.”