www.britainsenergycoast.com

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APRIL 2009 ISSUE 2INCORPORATING NUCLEAR OPPORTUNITIES NEWS

CONTENT2 COMMERCIAL OPERATOR

FOR NUCLEAR LAB

3 PUBLIC SEE PLANS

4 AIRPORT TAKES OFF

5 RWE SECURES LAND

6 NEW VISION BOARD

7 GOVERNMENT BACKSCUMBRIA

8-9 UPDATE - MASTERPLAN PROGRAMME

10 ONET ACQUIRES GRAVATOM

11 NORTHWEST SUPPLY CHAIN

12 eboc’09

With such deep-rooted ties to the nuclear industrySellafield is in a strongposition to benefit.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown

“”

A consortium led by Serco andincluding Battelle and The Universityof Manchester has emerged as thepreferred bidder following a nine-month competition to find acommercial operator for theGovernment-owned National NuclearLaboratory (NNL), based at theSellafield site near Whitehaven.

The NNL, formerly Nexia Solutions, willbecome an international centre ofexcellence in nuclear research anddevelopment, playing a vital role incleaning up both the UK's nuclear wastelegacy, and also contributing to theprogramme of nuclear new build.

The consortium will be responsible forputting the NNL on a firm commercialfooting by making the most of an

emerging domestic and internationalmarket for nuclear technology andresearch services.

The contract will be for an initial threeyear period with options to extend by up to two years.

DECC has been engaged in competitivedialogue with the Recommended Bidderand QQEST, a joint venture betweenQinetiQ and EnergySolutions, sinceOctober 2008.For more information go to:www.decc.gov.uk

2

Around 40 new jobs could be createdin new, high-quality, managed work-space being built on the site of theformer British Industrial Plasticsfactory in Maryport.

The new business centre will provide1421m2 of lettable space for small tomedium-sized businesses.

Funding the scheme is £650K from theNorthwest Regional Development Agencythrough West Lakes Renaissance,

£950K from the European RegionalDevelopment Fund and £300K from the West Cumbria Development Fund. The landowners, Cumbria CountyCouncil, will own the business centre.The council is looking for a partnerorganisation to manage the work-space,which includes studies and a small workshop.

The Prime Minister and theEnergy Minister have publiclyendorsed West Cumbria asBritain's Energy Coast andstated that Sellafield is home to 'our nuclear skills...nuclearexpertise...and many of our key facilities'.

Foresight, planning andcommitment from many Cumbriaand Northwest-basedorganisations and individuals haspositioned the Sellafield site as aserious contender as a location for one or even two of the UK'snew nuclear power stations.

Now it looks as if we may have three potential sites for newnuclear build in the running. Whileall eyes have been focussed onthe NDA's decision to releaseparcels of land around itsinstallations, RWE npower hasagreed with the debate and itsconclusions and enthusiasticallyplaced its marker in the groundright next to the centre of the UK'snuclear industry - supported by theNational Grid.

Britain's Energy Coast creates afirm foundation for an energyeconomy in West Cumbria andFurness. It will be delivered by the WestCumbria Masterplan and theBarrow Masterplan.

EDITORIALCOMMENT

JOBS AND BUSINESSCENTRE FOR MARYPORT

Jamie ReedChair, Cumbria Partners of the West CumbriaStrategic Forum

Member of Parliament for Copeland

Representatives gather for the cutting of the first sod at the site of the new Maryport Business CentreBack; Dick Cuckson, Cumbria County Council, Ron Simpson, West Lakes Renaissance,

Front; Linda Doyle and Steve Broomhead, both from the Northwest Regional Development Agency Pic

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Front cover: The UK’s Prime Minister visits Sellafield, Left to right: George Beveridge (Deputy MD ofSellafield Ltd), Bill Poulson (MD of Sellafield Ltd), UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Mike O'Brien,Minister of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Jamie Reed, (Member ofParliament for Copeland)

SERCO CONSORTIUM WINS NATIONAL NUCLEAR LABORATORY

3www.britainsenergycoast.com

Residents and businesses in WestCumbria have heard more about therequirements and timescales for a newnuclear reactor on a 250 hectare siteowned by the Nuclear DecommissioningAuthority north of Sellafield.

A public meeting held in Whitehaven on 18 March, prior to the Government's StrategicSites Assessment deadline of the 31 March,was staged by the Nuclear New BuildNomination Team, led by urban regenerationcompany West Lakes Renaissance andhosted by the West Cumbria SitesStakeholder Group.

Councillor David Moore, Chairman of the WestCumbria Sites Stakeholder Group said:"Nuclear power is an important part of theenergy mix. There is a green industrialrevolution and Cumbria has an important partto play."

Addressing infrastructureRosie Mathisen, Energy Opportunities Directorat West Lakes Renaissance explained theimportance of nuclear new build in WestCumbria to Britain's' Energy Coast vision,saying: "It's not just about nuclear energy andcarbon emissions. Gaps in Cumbria'sinfrastructure must be addressed and thecultural offer has to be good for peoplewanting to live and work in the area."

Councillor Elaine Woodburn, Leader ofCopeland Borough Council, presented thetimetable for nuclear new build emphasisingthat it would be a long process with acompletion date of 2018. She explained that innominating NDA owned land at Sellafield, the

Nuclear New Build Nomination Team hadmade the best case scenario. Twelve toeighteen months ago, West Cumbria did notappear on the Government's list of suggestedsites; now it was high on the agenda.

Two to three hundred members of the publicattended the meeting. Concerns ranged fromNational Grid capacity to emergency planningand the role of the NDA.

Increased land valueBill Hamilton, NDA Head of Communicationssaid: "NDA land being nominated, and not justat Sellafield, has increased in value becauseof the change in government policy towardsnuclear new build. That money will help fundthe UK's decommissioning programme whichwill relax the financial burden on the tax payer."

Paul Fleming, Project Manager for the NuclearNew Build Nomination Team explained that, indiscussion with the National Grid, the LakeDistrict National Park Authority, the localcouncils and utility companies, a suitable planfor a new grid connection was emerging whichcould accommodate the 8970MW of potentialor proposed electricity generation.

Throughout, the audience appeared interestedand generally supportive although severalpeople expressed concern about plans for twoother sites, one north of Sellafield atGreystones and one south at Kirksantontowards Millom, being nominated by RWE.Questions were asked whether the sites hadsocio-economic plans in place. An RWEspokesperson said that the efforts to retainnuclear skills and expertise in West Cumbriamade the area attractive to RWE. If the site it

was nominating near Kirksanton wasaccepted, community facilities could bedeveloped to benefit that area.

Submit your argumentsJamie Reed closed the meeting by saying thata thriving economy in West Cumbria would nothappen by accident and that it was down tochoices made now by the community: "The level of investment that West Cumbriahas received to date will be wasted if we don'tcreate a sustainable economy. People livingnear nominated sites will have questions but Iwill ensure that their voices are heard."

He added: "Be robust, be honest, strong andsubmit your arguments. The longer we delayin making our choices, the more likely we willdeter investment and erode our future. TheBEC Masterplan is the best we've had in thiscommunity. It's the best chance we have toachieve a future for our children."

A new nuclear reactorwould create 10,000 jobsduring its construction phase.During operation as many as1000-1200 jobs could becreated as well as 1000-3000indirect jobs.

- Elaine Woodburn, Leader ofCopeland Borough Council

‘’

PUBLIC SEE PLANS FOR NUCLEAR NEW BUILD

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Passenger and commercial flights areset to resume at Carlisle Airport witha £19 million investment by StobartAir Limited.

Carlisle City Council has approved theplans, subject to a Section 106 agreement,leaving the company clear to moveStobart Group headquarters to theairport and improve its facilities.

A study - The Economic Impact Appraisalfor Carlisle Airport - commissioned byCumbria Vision to support Stobart AirLimited's application, revealed that if theplan went ahead, it could create andsafeguard 1,500 jobs, contribute £38million to the County's economy eachyear, help grow Cumbria-basedcompanies, attract inward investmentand draw more high value visitors fromLondon, the South East and Europe.

Improving access to new marketsWest Lakes Renaissance - the UrbanRegeneration Company for Furness andWest Cumbria - has also lobbied CarlisleCity Council to approve the CarlisleAirport development as a keycomponent of the Britain's Energy CoastMasterplan. The airport is one of 29regeneration projects contained in themasterplan - which aims to transformWest Cumbria into a major low carbonenergy production hub for the UK.

Cllr Tim Knowles, Interim Chair of thenew West Cumbria Vision Board, said:"Carlisle Airport holds huge potential forWest Cumbria's future prosperity byimproving the area's access to new andexisting business and tourism markets.

"Not only will it help businesses alreadyin West Cumbria, but strengthen the

area's appeal to those companieslooking to capitalise on the manyopportunities that will arise from theEnergy Coast initative."

Major economic projectThe development of Carlisle Airport hasbeen identified as one of the majorregeneration projects in Cumbria. It isseen as a catalyst for other regenerationprojects in the county, such as CarlisleRenaissance and the Britain's EnergyCoast Masterplan - a £2 billion packageof regeneration projects that build onWest Cumbria's nuclear expertise todiversify into other energy technologies,including offshore wind, tidal, wave,biomass, oil and gas. Locally, theMasterplan could create 16,000 jobs andboost Cumbria's economic performanceby £800 million, while on a nationalscale it will help meet the Government'sresponse to the challenges of climatechange and energy security.

The Stobart Group already owns LondonSouthend Airport and provides road, rail,sea and inland waterway transport andlogistics solutions to its customers. It employs over 5,300 people andoperates more than 1,850 tractor unitsand drawbars, 3,000 trailers and around 6 million square feet of high specificationwarehousing at sought after locationsacross the UK.

CARLISLE AIRPORT TAKES OFF

Coming in to land at Carlisle Airport

Artist's impression of how Carlisle Airport may look in the future

5www.britainsenergycoast.com

RWE npower has secured options tobuy land for potential nuclear powergeneration on Britain's Energy Coast.The company has also received a gridconnection offer for one of the sites.

Both sites have coastal access and arecurrently farmland, one located in mid-Copeland near Sellafield and the otherin south Copeland in the Millom area.The 3.6GW grid connection for the mid-Copeland site would allow developmentof enough low carbon nuclear powercapacity to supply five million homes. A second grid connection offer for thesouthern site is expected in the spring.

Consultation firstRWE npower said its priority was now toconsult with local people before makingany firm plans and it had begundiscussions with local representativesand groups and took part in thestakeholder meeting arranged bySellafield on 18 March at WhitehavenCivic Hall. As this publication goes topress, it is anticipated that both sites willbe nominated into the Government'sStrategic Siting Assessment (SSA)process before the 31 March deadline.

Andrew Duff, CEO of RWE npower, said:"We are serious and committed to thedevelopment of new nuclear powerstations in the UK. We have alreadysecured land options and a gridconnection at Wylfa on the island ofAnglesey and, through our joint venturewith E.ON, we intend to secure at leasttwo sites in the NuclearDecommissioning Authority's auctionnext month. These sites in WestCumbria build our nuclear developmentportfolio even further. Cumbria's

established skills base and nuclearheritage makes it a very strong location.”

Faith in Energy CoastJamie Reed, MP for Copeland, said:"We have worked hard to showcase thedevelopment opportunities for newnuclear in Copeland, and now majorinternational utilities are demonstratingtheir faith in the ideas underpinning ourEnergy Coast Masterplan.

"Both sites could house at least two newreactors and it's now time for theseproposals to be presented to the localcommunities adjacent to the proposedsites so that all of the details can beunderstood and local opinions listened toand acted upon.

"This is a very welcome announcementfrom a major company - they clearlyshare our ambitions for the development

of Britain's Energy Coast. New nuclearbuild is a commitment to our economy,to our environment and to the security ofour energy supplies."

Councillor Elaine Woodburn, Leader ofCopeland Borough Council, said:"We are fully behind the NDA'snomination for the land adjacent toSellafield. RWE's interest in nucleardevelopment at sites in West Cumbria isalso excellent news for the area andshows how the partnership effort overthe last eighteen months in creatingmarket interest has borne fruit."

RWENPOWERSECURESLAND ONBRITAIN'SENERGYCOAST

6

One of the criticisms often leveledagainst the efforts to regenerate theeconomy in West Cumbria is thatthere is a confusing patchwork oforganisations all trying to achieve thesame thing. The formation of a newoverarching organisation, WestCumbria Vision, to really driveregeneration on Britain's EnergyCoast is aiming to address thatproblem and will be the new engine ofeconomic growth for the area.

The new Board, which is still in theprocess of appointing all its membersand a permanent project director, will beprivate sector led and will include privatesector representatives as well as thosefrom Cumbria County Council, Copelandand Allerdale Borough Councils,Cumbria Vision, Northwest RegionalDevelopment Agency, GovernmentOffice North West, Lake District NationalPark Authority and the NuclearDecommissioning Authority.

Councillor Tim Knowles, CumbriaCounty Council's Cabinet member withresponsibility for economic regeneration,has been the interim chair in the run-upto appointing a private sector chair. Hesaid: "West Cumbria Vision is an

exciting new prospect and has a singlegoal set before it - to improve theeconomic prosperity of businesses andcommunities in West Cumbria.

"We want to not only weather the currenteconomic crisis, but also lay thefoundations to help Cumbria becomeone of the fastest growing economies inthe UK. West Cumbria Vision will bebehind the projects which have thegreatest impact in terms of job creation,improving skills and attracting moreprivate sector investment.

"Its work follows on from the legacy leftby the West Cumbria Leadership Groupand I'd like to pay tribute to thefoundations laid by that group's chairJamie Reed MP and vice chair TonyCunningham MP. They have beentowers of strength in championing thecause of West Cumbria and gettingBritain's Energy Coast Masterplan firmlyon the political map. It's time now tobuild on all that hard work and take theplans to the next level," said CouncillorKnowles.

West Cumbria Vision will be one of fournew 'Vision Boards' in the county, alloperating under the umbrella of CumbriaVision. The others are for Carlisle(Carlisle Renaissance - which is alreadyup and running), Barrow and SouthLakeland & Eden, which are bothimminent. Each of these neworganisations will have a programmedirector, who will each have a team ofstaff to carry out their role.

NEW VISION BOARD FOR ENERGY COAST

Councillor Tim Knowles, Cumbria County Council's Cabinet member with responsibility for economic regeneration

We want to not only weather the currenteconomic crisis, but alsolay the foundations tohelp Cumbria becomeone of the fastestgrowing economies in the UK.

‘

’

7www.britainsenergycoast.com

Hot on the heels of Prime Minister GordonBrown's visit to Sellafield, BusinessSecretary Lord Mandelson has backedCumbria to play an important role inBritain's ‘green industrial revolution’.

Lord Mandelson, Secretary of State forBusiness, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform,was speaking at the 2009 Cumbria EconomicSummit and told more than 250 delegates thathe firmly believed the UK's move to a lowcarbon economy would be spearheaded byregions such as Cumbria.

He said: "Everyone recognises that drivingCumbria's low carbon future will take acombination of building on existing strengthsand attracting new investment - probably fromabroad. But you are starting from a goodbase."

Market-leader for the country Lord Mandelson welcomed the publication ofthe Cumbria Economic Strategy and SubRegional Action Plan. The documents havebeen produced by economic developmentagency Cumbria Vision and partnerorganisations in the public and private sectorto set a clear direction for the county'seconomic renaissance. He said: "What we areseeing here is a market-leader for the countryas a whole."

The Cumbria Sub Regional Action Plancontains 20 priority regeneration projects thatwill either progress or be completed over the

next three years, and in the long term couldcreate more than 11,000 new jobs. They willbe delivered by four new 'Vision Boards'based in: Carlisle; South Lakeland and Eden;West Cumbria; and Barrow.

Sellafield land offered for new buildLord Mandelson's visit to Cumbria waspreceded by that of Prime Minister GordonBrown which coincided with the NDAannouncement that it would be nominatingland it owned near the Sellafield site forconsideration under the Government'sStrategic Siting Assessment (SSA) process,set up to identify sites suitable for nuclear new build.

The Prime Minister said: "Nuclear is crucial toour low carbon future; it is crucial to ourenergy security and at the same time itrepresents a massive opportunity for the UKeconomy and jobs. Industry are investingbillions into the UK economy, jobs are beingcreated and supply chain opportunities aredeveloping."

Sellafield in strong position says BrownHe added: "During construction, each newstation would bring as many as 9,000 jobs,create up to 1,000 skilled long-term jobs whenoperational, and be worth about £2 billion($2.7 billion) to the surrounding region andwider economy. With such deep-rooted ties tothe nuclear industry Sellafield is in a strongposition to benefit."

Minister of State for Energy Mike O'Brien, whoaccompanied the Prime Minister, said: "WestCumbria is already on the map as our EnergyCoast. With their management of our nuclearlegacy, with their interest in the GeologicalDisposal Facility, their interest in new nuclearand with their pioneering salt cavern gasstorage project in Barrow we know they willcontinue to be in the future."

For more information, or to read LordMandelson's speech in full, go to:www.cumbriavision.co.uk

A Q&A session involving Roger Liddle, Chair of CumbriaVision, Lord Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business,Enterprise and Regulatory Reform; and Bryan Gray,Chairman of the Northwest Regional Development Agency

GOVERNMENT BACKS CUMBRIA IN GREEN REVOLUTION

Major projects contained within Cumbria'sSub Regional Action Plan are:1) Carlisle Renaissance 2) Building the case of nuclear new build at Sellafield 3) Academy Schools - Barrow, Carlisle, West Cumbria

and Energus at Lillyhall 4) Waterfront Business Park, part of the Waterfront

Barrow-in-Furness 5) Marina Village, part of the Waterfront

Barrow-in-Furness 6) Windermere Necklace Programme 7) Penrith New Squares 8) Carlisle Airport 9) New hospital and health campus in West Cumbria 10) Port Derwent development 11) K Village, Kendal 12) Britain's Energy Coast

- Commercialisation programme 13) Housing Market Renewal - Barrow and West Cumbria 14) Carlisle Northern Development Route 15) Destination Cumbria

- International tourism marketing campaign 16) M6 Employment Sites - Junction 44 17) Roman Maryport and Camp Farm 18) Reducing Worklessness in Cumbria 19) Kendal Canal Head 20) Lowther Castle and Gardens

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EIGHT STRANDS TOREGENERATE WEST CUMBRIABritain's Energy Coast™ is undergoing a transformation and West CumbriaMasterplan projects are forging ahead in preparing the ground for a newvibrant economy.

There are eight strands to theWest Cumbria Masterplan, eachwith a separate programme ofwork:

Energy Industries;

Skills and Research andDevelopment (R&D);

Enterprise and Investment;

Key DevelopmentsProgramme;

Education;

Health;

Sustainable Communities;

Transport.

These pages give an update on theconsiderable progress made to dateand the significant events that willbe taking place in the comingmonths. For more information go to:www.britainsenergycoast.com orwww.westlakesrenaissance.co.uk

KEY MILESTONES

Energy IndustriesNuclear New Build: A nomination forNDA-owned land north of Sellafieldhas been completed by the dedicatedNuclear New Build Team for the NDAto submit to the Government.

Grid Connectivity: For a number ofmonths, work has been constructivelyunderway with the National Grid,planning authorities from across thecounty and independent consultantsfrom the Joule Centre, ManchesterUniversity, to find an innovative andagreeable way forward for new Gridtransmission capacity. Following thediscussions on Grid connection, whichincludes overland, underground andsub-sea cables, a preferable option isemerging.

Skills and Research andDevelopment (R&D)National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL):The Government has announced thata consortium led by Serco andincluding Battelle and the University ofManchester is the preferred bidder.

Dalton Cumbria Facility: The staffing ofacademic research teams andstudents is underway in RadiationSciences and Decommissioning

Engineering to enable work to begin inthe NNL facility at Sellafield. TheUniversity of Manchester has set up anoffice at Westlakes Science Park.

UCLan@Westlakes: Renovation and rebuilding of facilitiesat the University of Central Lancashirecampus at Westlakes Science andTechnology Park-based. The projectwill provide new higher education andpost graduate facilities, with coursesclosely linked to the nuclear industry.

Energus: A £19m state-of-the-arttraining facility based at LillyhallBusiness Park in Workington. It will bethe Cumbrian delivery arm and NorthWest flagship of the National SkillsAcademy for Nuclear

University of Cumbria: The Universitywill be delivering degree courses fromEnergus with 50 undergraduatesstarting in September.

Enterprise and InvestmentSupply Chain Spend: A study by theCentre for Regional EconomicDevelopment at the University ofCumbria has revealed that, of a totalSellafield supply chain spend of£706m in financial year 2007/08,

Date Programme Project MilestoneMarch 2009 Skills and R&D Dalton Cumbria Facility Planning approval sought

Health New Hospital New site agreedEnergy Industries Nuclear New Build Submission of NDA nomination for land adjacent to Sellafield

April 2009 Forward Plan Completion of detailed forward programme plan for West Cumbria Vision

Enterprise & Investment Supply Chain Spend Publication of Sellafield Lifetime PlanEducation Building Schools for the Future The proposal for Building Schools for the Future in West Cumbria

invited by Government to proceed with its Project Initiation Phase.Skills and R&D Energus Completion of buildingKey Developments Programme Maryport Harbour Reconfiguration Publication of report and recommendations

July 2009 Skills and R&D Energus First students accommodated in the new facilitySep 2009 Skills and R&D UCLan@Westlakes Redevelopment of HE facility complete

Skills and R&D Energus Apprentices startNov 2009 Key Developments Programme Maryport Business Centre Completion of 1421m2 of high-quality mixed accommodation2010/2011 Skills and R&D Dalton Cumbria Facility Completion of building

Transport Port of Workington International Completion of new freight handling infrastructureFreight Terminal

Early 2010 Energy Industries Nuclear New Build Publication of National Nuclear Policy Statement approving recommended sites for new build

9www.britainsenergycoast.com

£183m (almost 26 per cent) wasundertaken in West Cumbria with afurther six per cent of worksubcontracted to local companies.

The aim is to realise the full potential ofthis contracting spend for West Cumbria.

Commercialisation: Consultants haverecommended a New Ventures Group iscreated to commercialise intellectualassets in West Cumbria and overseeintegrated diversification and incubationprogrammes.

Industrial Liaison: A visit programme isbeing developed to work with those Tier2 companies most likely to bid forSellafield contracts to ensure support istargeted to the most relevant companies.

Public Sector Relocations: HM Revenueand Customs is opening a new contactcentre at Lillyhall. It safeguards the futureof 50 staff at the existing Whitehaven taxoffice and will create 350 new jobs.

Key Developments ProgrammeBridge End Industrial Estate, Egremont:The planned James Fisher Nuclear Ltd.Rig Hall will be used for trials,demonstrations, commissioning and theworks testing of remote handlingtechniques and equipment required fornuclear decommissioning.

Whitehaven Town Centre: There areproposals are for a high quality hoteldevelopment on the harbour. High-qualityemployment space in Albion Square

could be let to a blue-chip tenant byMarch 2012.

Significant milestones will be reached inthe Port of Workington InternationalFreight Terminal, Maryport BusinessCentre and the reconfiguration ofMaryport Harbour, during the coming months.

EducationBuilding Schools for the Future: An £80mbid has been submitted by CumbriaCounty Council to the Department ofChildren, Schools and Families toimprove four existing schools and createa new school for Workington. Thepotential investment is complemented bya programme of enterprise trainingacross schools in West Cumbria.

HealthNew Acute Services Hospital: The NorthCumbria University Hospitals NHS Trusthas chosen the existing WestCumberland Hospital site in Whitehaven.Partners are exploring the potential forthe development of a cluster of health services.

Sustainable CommunitiesHousing Market Renewal(HMR): The first £9m programme is complete.The Furness and West Cumbria HMRprogramme 2008-11 includes: SenhouseGateway; Phase 2 of Derwentside,Woodhouse Evolution; and North CentralBarrow Renewal Area.

Public Realm Investment: New projectsare underway in Workington town centre

and others will start in Whitehaven in the spring.

Cultural, Sporting & Leisure: TalentedMinds is a three-year programme oflifestyle improvement projects to retainlocal skilled people and attract talentedpeople from outside the area.

TransportStrategic Transport Improvements:Schemes and priorities reflect LocalTransport Plan objectives and encourageproposals for links to our ports.

Timetable Connectivity: Through liaisingwith Trans Pennine Express andNorthern Rail, there have beensubstantial timetable improvements withfaster connections to and from London.

Port Investment: The Port of Workingtonis attracting substantial new business. Its10-year Development Framework andInvestment Plan includes floodprotection, port infrastructure,replacement plant and equipment andtown quay/marina development.

West Cumbria VisionThe new West Cumbria Vision Board willprovide support across the programme incommunications and advice as well asleading the overall coordination of theprogramme and delivery of key elements.

High-quality employment space for Albion Square, Whitehaven

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The French-owned ONET Group,which has its UK headquarters atWestlakes Science Park, has acquiredGravatom Engineering SystemsLimited, which employs 130 people atsites at Bishops Waltham, Farehamand Workington.

Gravatom's Managing Director DaveBarker has handed his role to PierreBertet, who runs ONET TechnologiesUK. Mr Bertet said: "To achieve its goals,ONET Technologies is keen to tap intoGravatom's proven expertise in nuclearsystems, nuclear medicine and contractmanufacturing. The goal is to become amajor player in the UK nuclear industryby bringing together Gravatom'sexpertise with ONET Technologiestechnical know-how and experience inengineering, dismantling,decontamination, waste treatment,robotics and bespoke tools."

Diversification with globalopportunitiesIn recent years, Gravatom hasdiversified into nuclear medicines toextend its niche nuclear capabilities into

other nuclear related markets whichhave global opportunities. ONETTechnologies says that diversification isalso part of its strategy for the next fewyears, as long as the diversification isconsistent with its capabilities andwillingness to deliver projects to a highstandard.

ONET Technologies says that it will berecruiting an additional 20-30 staff thisyear, from apprentices to charteredengineers. Recruitment will be focussedon Cumbria initially, then on national andEuropean resources to build a strongand reliable team in the UK. Part of thisstrategy is to build a long-termpartnership with Energus in Workington,so that the company can help providetraining periods and workshops forEnergus students.

West Cumbria expertiseGravatom supports the Windscaleproject in mechanical, electrical andinstrumentation engineering design aspart of the Windscale Western AreaDecommissioning Design Framework.Recently, the company provided project

management support for the retrievaland encapsulation of Intermediate LevelWaste located in shielded caves withinthe building.

In the period ending May 31st 2008,Gravatom held revenues of £9.7 millionand, under the terms of the deal, is nowpart of ONET Technologies, thespecialist nuclear and engineeringdivision of ONET Group which has itsUK headquarters at Westlakes SciencePark. ONET Technologies, which has a€167 million turnover, employs 2,000staff across Europe and claims to be thedecommissioning market leader inFrance and the number two, afterAREVA, in reactor maintenance.

ONET ACQUIRES BRITISH EXPERTISE

Dave Barker, former Managing Director, Gravatom; Dominique Mouillot, President, ONET Technologies; Pierre Bertet, Managing Director of ONET Technologies UKLimited and new Managing Director of Gravatom

11www.britainsenergycoast.com

The North West Supply Chain (NWSC)programme has added three newfeatures to the tender notificationsystem on its portal website.

The features will help users to reach theinformation of most relevance to them:Channels, My Channel, and Contracts &Tenders Library. The tender notificationsystem draws from around 8,000contract opportunities per week andallows users to set up their own emailalerts for Invitations to Tender, tailored totheir precise requirements.

ChannelsRelevant tenders have been filtered intoeight channels that correspond to tendergroupings being developed by theNuclear Decommissioning Authority's(NDA) Supply Chain ImprovementProject. These channels reflect thebroad range of goods and servicespublicly procured in UK civil nucleardecommissioning. As well as nuclearopportunities, the channels also containInvitations to Tender in other engineeringand service sectors.

My ChannelMy Channel enables users to tailor theirown daily bulletin of tender opportunities,contract award notifications, etc. Onceset up, users receive a daily email fromNWSC with information that matchestheir requirements.

Contracts & Tenders LibraryWhile the Channels and My Channelfeatures present current procurementinformation, the Contracts & TendersLibrary allows users to search EUprocurement information (includingtenders and contract award notifications)back to 1999. This enables the user toknow who buys what, from whom, whenand for how much, providing a powerfulmarket research tool.

Using the tender notification system isfree but a login and password arerequired: registration is quick and freevia the NWSC homepage atwww.nwdsc.com. To access the system,click the “Tender Opportunities” button atthe top right of the homepage, thenscroll-down to and click “Contracts and Tenders”.

SUPPLY CHAIN TENDER SYSTEM UPGRADED

NWSC provides free technicaland business support toNorth West based companies.The programme is funded bythe Northwest RegionalDevelopment Agency andmanaged in West Cumbria bythe West CumbriaDevelopment Agency. In thefirst 18 months of the projectto the end of February 2009,WCDA helped create 37 newjobs and safeguard 78. It also helped West Cumbriacompanies to increaseturnover by £1.8 million andsafeguard turnover by £3.75 million.

For more information, contact Deb Lines on 01900 65656 or email: enquiry@wcda.co.uk

12www.britainsenergycoast.com

EDITORIAL CONTACTSPlease send news and stories to:The Editor: Liz McGillivray, Resource Marketing LimitedEmail: liz@resourcemarketing.co.ukTelephone: 01229 400210

Margaret Clayton, Head of Programme office, Britain's Energy CoastTM

West Lakes Renaissance, Tanyard Suite, Fleswick Court, Westlakes Science and Technology Park, Moor Row, Cumbria, CA24 3HZ Email: margaret@westlakesrenaissance.co.ukTelephone: 01946 693241 Britain's Energy CoastTM News provides a roundup of relevant news for businesses, private and public sectorbodies and Government officials involved or interested in Britain's Energy CoastTM.

On the 7 and 8 July, world-classsuppliers and energy businesses willgather to share information on nationaland international contract and marketopportunities from across the entireenergy sector.

The conference, eboc'09, is being stagedat the newly constructed conference andnuclear skills training centre Energus, atLillyhall, near Workington in Cumbria toshowcase products and services to atargeted audience of industry specialistsinvolved in developing supply chainopportunities.

The two-day programme will include arange of high-profile speakers, a B2B

Exhibition area and Business SupportZone, where help and advice will beavailable from business support agencies,including information about breaking intonew markets.

The event is led by the social enterpriseWest Cumbria Business Cluster Ltd andsupported by a number of partnerorganisations and private sectorbusinesses including the Britain's EnergyCoast team at West Lakes Renaissanceand the Northwest Regional DevelopmentAgency. Individual sponsorship packagesare being offered as well as exhibitionspace to be located in the Energus centralatrium. Early registration is advised asdelegate places are limited to 200.

For information on sponsorship andexhibition opportunities, contact Nu-techAssociates at sales@nu-techassoc.co.ukor telephone 01946-695554. For details ofprices and registration go to:www.westcumbriabusinesscluster.org.uk

Three major pieces of legislation: theClimate Change; Energy; and PlanningBills - have received Royal Assent. TheGovernment says that together, thethree Acts will help facilitate the UK'stransition to a low-carbon economy,deliver a long-term, secure energysupply, and enshrine in law ambitioustargets to reduce our greenhouse gasemissions by 80 per cent. Under the Climate Change Act 2008, theUK will introduce five-yearly 'carbonbudgets' outlining how emissions targetswill be met, bring in plans on corporate reporting for businesses, and eliminatefree single-use carrier bags.

The Energy Act 2008 underpins thedevelopment of new civil nuclear power,the expansion of renewables, and pavesthe way for new technologies such ascarbon capture and storage and smartmeters. The Planning Act 2008 addressesenergy efficiency in homes and simplifiesplanning permission for all large energyinfrastructure projects.

For more information go to:www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/index.htm andwww.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/energy/act/page40931.html

eboc'09 HIGHLIGHTS OPPORTUNITIES

NEW LAWS ON ENERGY ANDCARBON EMISSIONS

MEET THE BUYER- 7 MAYThe North West Supply Chainproject is staging a Meet the Buyerevent at Sellafield Centre on the 7 May, focussing on opportunities in nuclear decommissioning. The event will include presentations,workshops, an exhibition and one-to-one buyer appointments. For more details email:mtb@resourcemarketing.co.uk

NEW BUILDCONTRACTS FORVT NUCLEARVT Nuclear Services hassecured two five-year frameworkcontracts to support the NuclearInstallations Inspectorate (NII) inthe licensing of new reactors inthe UK.

The company will provide servicesin the areas of Safety and QualityAssurance Management and inRadioactive Waste andDecommissioning to help enablethe NII's Generic DesignAssessment process and thesubsequent site specific licensingprocess for nuclear new build.

VT Nuclear Services say thattechnical assessment support mayalso be required for the delivery ofthe NII's programme of work withexisting licensees. The companywas formed when VT Group plcacquired British Nuclear GroupProject Services from BNFL inJanuary 2008.www.vtnuclearservices.co.uk