THE MP for Barrow has secured a significant commitment from the Government towards his campaign to secure a positive lasting legacy for a pharmaceutical production site in Ulverston.
Taking part in Business Questions in the House of Commons this week, Simon Fell MP pressed the Government’s Life Sciences Minister to commit to back a Life Science Cluster at the site of the GSK plant in Ulverston.
This follows on from the Ulverston-based MP asking Prime Minister Boris Johnson to commit to securing a positive lasting legacy for this site.
Local pharmaceutical company, Lakes BioScience, are the front runner to set up a new Life Science base at the Ulverston site, potentially creating hundreds of well paid, highly skilled jobs in Furness.
During an exchange in the House of Commons, the MP asked Minister George Freeman MP if he would visit the ‘Sunlit Uplands of Ulverston’ to see the potential for a life sciences cluster at the current GSK site. The Minister agreed and said that his “officials are working on this now”.
SUPPORT: Simon Fell MP
Making the case for Lakes Bioscience, Mr Fell said: “(Life Science) clusters are going to be crucial to improving UK resilience and building our manufacturing capacity.
“In Ulverston we've got an established base with GSK, but I want to see that grow, with new entrants like Lakes Bioscience coming in, building high skills jobs and the supply chain.
“With that in mind can I ask him how the strategy will apply to South Cumbria, and may I also invite him to Ulverston to visit (the site) and see for himself?
The Minister responded to the Furness MP stating that it is his “ambition to create a life science opportunity zone in Ulverston” and that he “very much looks forward to coming up to visit Ulverston.”
Commenting after the debate, Mr Fell said: “Following on from the Prime Minister’s enthusiastic and supportive response last week, the Life Sciences Minister has followed up with a firm commitment to exploring all of the possibilities to secure a positive lasting legacy for the Ulverston site.
“As chair of the GSK Task Force I continue to make the case across all levels of the Government. Working together with the Task Force, I am determined to achieve the positive lasting legacy of hundreds of well paid, highly skilled jobs in the life sciences sector, all based in Furness.”
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