Last updated at 12:21, Friday, 22 June 2012

WEST Cumbria stands on the threshold of a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity of realising its potential to attracting an incredible £90bn investment with thousands of new jobs.

LEADING THE WAY: Tom Gilroy, head of Britain’s Energy Coast Cumbria Kevin Murphy

Britain’s Energy Coast’s acting chief executive, Tom Gilroy, described how the objectives of the new Economic Blueprint will be key to unlocking Cumbria’s potential and helping the country’s pressing energy security needs.

Drawn up by Energy Coast public and private partners to build on the area’s unique nuclear experience and global position, the Blueprint aims to develop a dynamic, wealth-creating sustainable economic future for future generations.

Mr Gilroy detailed what will be needed if the area is to achieve its goals for economic and business renaissance over the next 15 years.

However, he stressed: “For the Blueprint to be successfully delivered everyone needs to their bit. This is an opportunity for the whole of the area to get behind an economic growth strategy. We have to make West Cumbria an even better place, an easy place for business to come to – and to grow.

“Bedrock is nuclear investment, but it’s also to do with seeking private sector investment – nuclear alone won’t give us everything we want.

“Yes, we need new money. At the same time we’re very, very fortunate to still have the Nuclear Management Partners funding.

“From Sellafield, NMP and from the NDA we have something in the order of £8-9m a year. However, that in itself is not enough. We need to do more.

“We’ve been very successful in the Regional Growth Fund (round two) securing £5.7m. That in its own right will unlock around another £30m of private sector investment which will help us support local businesses.”

During the interview, Mr Gilroy revealed Britain’s Energy Coast’s plans to generate future funding and investment.

He said: “We are talking to the city, looking at the possibility of setting up a Venture Capital Fund specifically for the area.

“We’ve to look at those businesses which need help to be able to grow – to position themselves to be able to take advantages of those opportunities coming our way. One may be an introduction to capital from another source. That’s why we are very keen to get this Venture Capital Fund sorted out from city financial institutions, convincing them that ours is a good place to invest in. City financiers are very excited about the prospect of working with an area that has potentially a £90bn opportunity facing it.

“We are rather confident we can bring something home. Nuclear partners’ funding gives us the base to run BEC business and to invest. We’ve got a successful Regional Growth Fund two round bid, we’ve put in one for round three, and we’re also talking to the City, while also looking at other sources of European funding.
“Take NuGen’s planned ‘Moorside’ power station – a predicted investment of £9bn alone, so if we have a new reactors we need a new Grid connection, which is going to be a significant investment. Then there’s a possibility of Mox 2 at Sellafield, coupled with a £45bn budget for decommissioning, so I suppose it’s relatively easy to get up to the magic £90bn number – not purely aspirational – there’s a lot of substance behind it all.

“A number of partners will contribute to the delivery – BEC will have a big part to play itself with funding, the local authorities, too, along with the private sector. If we can attract other funding through the examples I’ve mentioned that as well. But almost certainly there will be a part to play for government.

“We must articulate to the government in a clear way – and convince them that such an investment is necessary. This is a strategy that lays out clearly what we need to do to prepare West Cumbria to position itself to be able to take advantage of the opportunities coming our way.”

BEC communications manager Luke Dicicco added: “It’s a way of telling government that we are doing things for ourselves but it makes our argument a lot stronger when we are doing this for both local and national reasons.”

One of the key aspects of the Blueprint, Mr Gilroy explained, was the way in which the Cumbrian economy must continue to diversify in order to take advantage of the opportunities on offer.

He continued: “A key part of our strategy is to diversify the economy for the long-term future and we have some excellent examples of that happening already.

“It has to be something that people will be able to see, touch and feel.

“You can see evidence of that now: For example, Farmgen, the new anaerobic digestion plant now up and running (at Silloth). In addition we are funding the early work for two more similar plants at Silloth, that’s good in terms of energy security and generation but also for farmers in the area for securing contracts.

“There’s also the Port of Workington, Albion Square at Whitehaven, plus the new Construction Skills Centre at Lillyhall. Again we want to equip businesses to be in a position to be able to capitalise on any opportunities going forward.

“The businesses need the people so we have to educate the businesses to upskill. When you look at the campus we have now with Dalton, Manchester University, Liverpool University starting to knock on the door, Energus, Gen II, Lakes College, and the Construction Skills Centre fitting into it all, that’s a really healthy skills and education offer we have in this area.”

Mr Dicicco added: “There can’t be many other placed looking at £90bn worth of investment potential. The key for us is that West Cumbria – and the man in the street, benefits from these unprecedented levels of investment. BEC and its funding is there to help ensure this happens.

“The funding is there for the wider benefit of West Cumbria guided by the investment priorities set out in the Blueprint – it isn’t about splitting money between areas and towns, it is about the bigger picture and the greater good.”

Mr Gilroy has immense pride in the Blueprint, and understandably so, and is confident it can deliver on its promise of providing a long-term future for West Cumbria.
He added: “I think we will see significant changes in the next five years. If we get this right we will definitely see our towns starting to lift; hopefully we will also see businesses grow and new ones coming in.

“One of the projects we’ve invested in is technology transfer working with the unique Dalton Institute and NNL (National Nuclear Laboratory) to invest in new projects, ideas coming forward and developing them into real technology with spin-offs to diversify the economy.

“By then we want to see new businesses coming to fruition. If we are serious about diversifying the economy we’ve got to somehow unlock all this potential.
“Our Blueprint strapline says ‘Acting locally, thinking globally’.

“It’s not just about what opportunities are going to exist in West Cumbria but about what opportunity our businesses can access globally because we have a real skills pool in this area. There’s a huge amount of nuclear decommissioning to do on a world wide basis and we have those skills.

“We have to use this opportunity for the long-term future of West Cumbria; it won’t last forever so we owe it to future generations to use this money wisely to sow the seeds for a different future.”

Listing the opportunities, Mr Dicicco added: “A key part of the nuclear strategy is to maximise the nuclear investment that comes our way and then try and grasp opportunities for spin offs into the other areas of potential high growth, in particular clean technologies such as, wind, tidal, biomass and solar as well as exploring possibilities around electric cars and other pioneering types of low carbon transport.

“The genius of our vision for West Cumbria as a hub for low carbon energy generation is that Britain, and man, will always need energy.

“All of a sudden we’ve got this wonderful opportunity to reinvent ourselves and really take ourselves forward supplying energy to the nation, a captive market with jobs for life if we can pull it off.”

Reiterating his determination and commitment to the Blueprint, Mr Gilroy said: “I am confident we can but we will have to be harder and smarter.

“This is our plan for West Cumbria for the future, we are not sitting on our backsides, we are getting on with it but we will, ministers – we will need a bit of help.

Port of Workington will be an ever-increasing asset, a catalyst, Albion Square key to Whitehaven’s town centre regeneration accommodating up to a thousand workers being transferred from Sellafield, a catalyst or magnet for other businesses to follow.”

But, Mr Gilroy admitted, changes need to be made – particularly to infrastructure, in order to provide a bedrock for the Blueprint’s ambitions.

He added: “If some of those new nuclear projects come to fruition we couldn’t even begin to countenance the movement of materials and people that would be needed to furnish those new developments.”

“Investment in infrastructure will underpin business and job creation.

Infrastructure isn’t all about ports and roads, important as they are.

“Superfast broadband is going to be very important going forward and will go a long way towards bridging the gap.”

First published at 12:20, Friday, 22 June 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk