http://www.nwda.co.uk/pdf/NEW%20Nuclear%20brochure%20AW

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN ENGLAND’S NORTHWEST

ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST CENTRES OF NUCLEAR EXPERTISE

KEY STRENGTHS OF ENGLAND’S NORTHWEST

25,000 skilled professionals

300 companies

Strategic sites for new build

Expertise in the whole fuel cycle

Pioneering R&D centres

World class capabilities in nuclear technology Few places in the world can match the breadth of nuclear expertise in the Northwest England’s Northwest is home to one of the world’s largest concentrations of nuclear facilities, with a renowned skills base and world-class expertise in nuclear technology research and development.

The UK is one of only a few countries to close the nuclear fuel cycle – post-uranium mining – with the Northwest the only UK region to contain the whole fuel cycle capability.

It handles every aspect from uranium conversion and uranium enrichment to fuel manufacture, power generation, spent fuel reprocessing, and waste management and decommissioning.

For 60 years, the region has been at the heart of the nuclear industry and is currently home to over half of the UK’s 45,000 nuclear workforce.

This strength and depth of skills and experience ensures that the Northwest is extremely well positioned for the global nuclear renaissance. The region is key to the UK’s multi-billion pound nuclear new build programme, with strategic sites already identified.

Many of the organisations that have developed expertise in the UK’s decommissioning programme will also be applying their knowledge to decommissioning and new build programmes internationally.

The supply chain is well established, extensive and varied.

Northwest companies will play a pivotal role in the design, construction and operation of new nuclear power plants, and in providing the fuel cycle operations and technology

required to sustain the nuclear programme for many decades to come.

The technical expertise and experience is fundamental considering that Sellafield in Cumbria is one of the world’s most complex decommissioning programmes. The region is set to play a central role in the UK’s £70 billion decommissioning programme of civil nuclear sites.

Significant investment in skills is also underway, including ENERGUS, a new £20 million skills centre, and the National Skills Academy for Nuclear – both in Cumbria.

The region’s universities are pioneers in nuclear research and nuclear technology. Innovation has consistently driven the industry, including the National Nuclear Laboratory and the University of Manchester’s Dalton Nuclear Institute – the lead partner in the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in partnership with the University of Sheffield.

On top of its outstanding industrial, academic and research capability, the Northwest is home to many of the sector’s key government agencies – testimony to its position at the centre of the industry. Both the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the Nuclear Directorate of the Health and Safety Executive are headquartered in the region.

Add to this the multi-million pound investments by nuclear companies – strengthening their own facilities, skills and expertise in the region – and it’s clear that England’s Northwest is the ideal location for investors looking to capitalise on this exciting global industry.

‘‘THE NORTHWEST OF ENGLAND HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE HEART OF THE UK’S VIBRANT NUCLEAR INDUSTRY. THERE IS PERHAPS NOWHERE ON EARTH WITH A BROADER AND STRONGER BASE OF NUCLEAR CAPABILITY AND HERITAGE.” Mike Tynan, Chief Executive, Westinghouse UK

At the heart of the nuclear industry Few European regions can equal the capabilities, facilities, skilled specialists and opportunities The global civil nuclear market is worth £30 billion annually, with a forecast increase to £50 billion by 2023.

The UK new build programme plans to commission over 16GW of new nuclear generating capacity in the UK by 2025, involving the construction of perhaps 10-12 reactors. The cost of this programme could be around £40 billion. As the first European country to plan construction of a fleet of new nuclear power stations, the UK is an important market in the global new build programme and in prime position for investment opportunities.

The Northwest is poised to play an integral part in the nuclear resurgence, with more than half of the UK’s 45,000 skilled specialists based in the region, working with a varied and well established supply chain of more than 300 companies. These companies are able to tap into the potential associated with the £50 billion decommissioning programme at Sellafield, which is scheduled to last in excess of 100 years. With an annual spend of £1.3 billion, and a commitment to diversifying its supplier base, Sellafield and the decommissioning process offers incredible opportunities for companies with expertise in hazardous waste management and waste handling.

As a recognised centre for the nuclear industry and a base for the UK government’s new strategic sites, there are

several new build nominations proposed for the region, all within a relatively short drive.

It’s a hotbed of activity, from governmental agencies, which oversee the sector, to the skills academies and the R&D centres, which includes the National Nuclear Laboratory’s Central Laboratory, a flagship nuclear R&D facility located at Sellafield.

The Northwest also has a number of licensed sites, all key to the industry; BAE Systems Submarine Solutions at Barrow employs 5,000 people and retains the capability to design, construct and commission nuclear submarines.

Meanwhile, the UK’s largest nuclear generation site is located at Heysham, Lancashire.

Springfields Fuels employs 1,400 people from its site near Preston, where it manufactures nuclear fuel, intermediate uranium products and uranium hexafluoride, while Westinghouse UK, also located at Preston, is one of only two reactor vendors in the UK. Urenco, a leading global provider of enriched uranium and associated technologies, employs more than 350 people at its Capenhurst site.

Such formidable facilities, which includes significant operators, ensures a complete industry, with incredible capacity for growth as nuclear power moves forward.

The Northwest covers the full fuel cycle Uranium Enrichment Urenco Capenhurst, Cheshire

Fuel Fabrication Westinghouse/Springfields, Preston, Lancashire Sellafield, Cumbria

£1.3 billion

Uranium Conversion Springfields, Preston, Lancashire Power Generation British Energy, (Part of EDF Energy) Heysham, Lancashire

Waste Disposal/Storage Waste Disposal – Low Level Waste Repository, Cumbria Decommissioning – Sellafield, Cumbria

Spent Reprocessing Sellafield, Cumbria

Annual budget at Sellafield, Cumbria

100 years Length of time of Sellafield’s decommissioning programme

10,000

WESTINGHOUSE: ONE OF THE UK’S TWO REACTOR VENDORS Westinghouse is one of only two companies progressing a reactor (the AP1000 design, in Westinghouse’s case) through the generic design assessment process with UK regulators, enabling it to be built and operated in the UK. Based in Preston, Westinghouse UK also manages the Springfields nuclear fuel manufacturing plant on behalf of the NDA. Springfields

Sellafield: Long-term investment opportunities

was the first plant in the world to make nuclear fuel and to date has produced over 10 million fuel elements, which have prevented the emission of one billion tonnes of CO2. The site employs around 1,800 people.

Westinghouse is currently finalising arrangements to move to a long-term leasing arrangement for the Springfields site, which will open up the

Number of skilled staff working at Sellafield

opportunity for future investment in new facilities. This arrangement will cement Westinghouse’s position at the heart of the UK nuclear industry for many decades to come. Westinghouse is also actively seeking to grow its reactor services and decommissioning business in the UK.

Nuclear capability in England’s Northwest

CARLISLE

WORKINGTON WHITEHAVEN

SELLAFIELD

BARROW-IN-FURNESS

HEYSHAM

PRESTON

MANCHESTER LIVERPOOL RISLEY

Airport Port R&D — Dalton Nuclear Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester Westlakes Science Park, Whitehaven — National Nuclear Laboratory, Birchwood Park, Risley Central Laboratory, Sellafield Springfields, Preston Workington Laboratory, Cumbria — Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, Rotherham & Manchester Hub of technical consultancies Birchwood Park, Risley Various locations, Manchester Westlakes Science Park, Whitehaven Licensed sites — BAE Systems Submarine Solutions, Barrow-in-Furness — Heysham 1 & 2 — Low Level Waste Repository, Drigg, Cumbria — Sellafield Ltd, Cumbria — Springfields, Preston — Urenco, Capenhurst New build nominations* Bradwell, Essex Braystones, Cumbria Hartlepool, Co Durham Heysham, Cumbria Hinkley Point, Somerset Oldbury, Gloucestershire Kirksanton, Cumbria Sellafield, Cumbria Sizewell, Suffolk Wylfa, Anglesey Reactor vendor — Westinghouse UK, Preston Nuclear training — ENERGUS, Workington, Cumbria — Nuclear Skills Academy HQ, Cockermouth, Nr Workington — University of Manchester, Manchester Government agencies — Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Westlakes Science Park, Whitehaven — Nuclear Directorate of the Health & Safety Executive, Liverpool *As of draft National Policy Statement for Nuclear Power Generation, November 2009

Other key UK sites for new build

CAPENHURST

CHESTER

HARTLEPOOL

WYLFA ROTHERHAM SIZEWELL OLDBURY HINKLEY POINT

BRADWELL

World class skills With some of the finest facilities, research resources and academics, the region is well-placed to grow its knowledge base for the future of nuclear energy Skilled professionals are the lifeblood of the nuclear industry.

The region’s dynamic, skilled workforce boasts more than 15,000 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) graduates annually. It is home to one of Europe’s largest concentrations of universities – 12 in total – including the University of Manchester, top 10 in Europe and top 30 in the world. There are a further 60 education colleges.

British universities have been at the forefront of teaching in nuclear science and engineering for decades. Across the region, there are courses of the highest quality training the next generation of nuclear engineers in all aspects of nuclear energy and radioactivity, from nuclear reactors and astrophysics, to radiological protection and applications in medical and life sciences. Many of the universities are internationally renowned for the fundamental and applied research they undertake on nuclear science and engineering topics.

The Northwest is also a pioneer in nuclear training for 16-19 year olds, ensuring a healthy supply of skilled labour for businesses in the nuclear sector.

From its head office in Cumbria, the National Skills Academy for Nuclear (NSAN) helps to develop the world class skills required to support the future of the UK’s nuclear industry. Launched in 2008, it gives employers a stake in skills development by providing a means for hands-on involvement in the design and delivery of learning, so that training is tailored to the specific needs of businesses. It operates via a network of regional training bodies to create local ‘centres of excellence’ for nuclear training to fill the skills gaps identified by employers. Working closely with industry, NSAN focuses on vocational and technical skills and development and training, linking in to high education and higher level skills development.

NSAN’s flagship in the Northwest is ENERGUS, a stateof-the-art £20 million training academy, which exemplifies the strength of the Northwest’s capabilities and expertise in nuclear. Based at Workington, ENERGUS incorporates engineering workshops built to Formula One standard.

ENERGUS provides quality assured training for 250 apprentices and a range of industry programmes on the

£20 million state-of-the-art ENERGUS academy

Nuclear Skills Passport, and works with the University of Cumbria to deliver programmes to 200 undergraduates and postgraduates.

Nuclear and engineering training provider GEN II – which has been training apprentices in West Cumbria for nearly 10 years – has signed up to deliver its engineering apprenticeships at the ENERGUS Academy. Courses cover a wide range of skills spanning the entire spectrum of electrical and mechanical training, from welders and steel fabricators through to electrical and instrumentation engineers. It has trained more than 1,000 apprentices since 2000, and in 2009 applications for apprenticeships rose by 15 per cent, despite the recession.

The Nuclear Technology Education Consortium (NTEC), co-ordinated by the Dalton Nuclear Institute in Manchester, provides leading-edge training in decommissioning and clean-up, reactor technology, fusion and nuclear medicine.

NTEC comprises a number of leading universities and research centres across the UK, including the universities of Lancaster, Liverpool, Manchester and Central Lancashire.

Together, NTEC represents over 90 per cent of the UK’s nuclear postgraduate training.

The Northwest Universities Association operates a higher level skills partnership to fund the development of foundation and postgraduate degree courses at the University of Central Lancashire, and it funds, with NSAN, a Postgraduate Certificate of Nuclear Professionalism at the Open University.

There are other specialist courses including DIAMOND (Decommissioning, Immobilisation and Management of Nuclear waste for Disposal) bringing together nuclear expertise from six of the UK’s leading universities, including Manchester, with a focus on nuclear waste management and decommissioning. The Nuclear Engineering Doctorate Programme, led by the Dalton Nuclear Institute, is a programme which combines academic research with industry experience at the highest level. It aims to prepare outstanding young nuclear research engineers for senior roles in the nuclear industry.

National Skills Academy for Nuclear HQ

15,000 STEM graduates a year

Growing apprenticeship base

‘‘BEING BASED IN THE NORTHWEST HAS ALLOWED URENCO UK TO CAPITALISE ON A POOL OF WELL EDUCATED GRADUATES FROM LOCAL UNIVERSITIES AND TO DRAW ON ENTHUSIASTIC APPRENTICES FROM THE LOCAL TECHNICAL COLLEGES.” Neil Fagan, Communications Manager, Urenco UK Image courtesy of GEN II

URENCO: AT THE CORE OF NUCLEAR POWER

Urenco UK, based at Capenhurst, near Chester, supplies enriched uranium to enable nuclear power stations around the world to generate electricity.

The site is part of Urenco

Limited, a European energy company which supplies the international nuclear industry with uranium enrichment services and advanced enrichment technologies and expertise. There are three plants on the site, producing enriched uranium using state-of-the-art enrichment technology based on the gas centrifuge process – the cleanest and most energy efficient system.

The site employs over 350 people and provides the local community with long term jobs in a technical environment, as well as opportunities for young people to pursue engineering and scientific careers in the nuclear industry.

Image courtesy of GEN II

THE NORTHWEST IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF NUCLEAR TRAINING FOR16-19 YEAR OLDS. Funding the future workforce The Community Apprenticeship Scheme is a core part of the training strategy for the region. Funded by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), it enables companies in the nuclear supply chain to obtain additional funding to take on apprentices for the first time, or to further develop existing apprentice skills for their business.

The scheme aims to initially provide up to 75 apprenticeships from companies across the UK, with training provided at a number of regional centres, including ENERGUS. Skills covered include design, IT, administration, laboratory technician and new areas such as decommissioning and radiation protection, as well as more traditional engineering disciplines, such as fabrication and welding, maintenance, electrical, electronics, and instrumentation and controls.

Image courtesy of GEN II

Funding is provided direct to the employer to help cover wage costs for the apprentices, and bureaucracy is deliberately minimised to make the scheme more accessible for small and medium-sized employers.

The NDA funding is on top of financial support available from the Learning and Skills Council for apprenticeship training costs.

Technical expertise Safety is key to the operation and growth of the nuclear industry with the Northwest the obvious choice for government agencies and consultancies The nuclear industry is large, complex and always evolving alongside new technology. The material and management of all elements involves rigorous safety regulation and monitoring, while the decommissioning process also requires a sophisticated structure to ensure the best systems and processes are adopted and implemented competently.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is the public body responsible for the clean-up of the UK’s civil nuclear sites, with a budget of £8.44 billion over three years, it is central to the nuclear future. The NDA is headquartered at Westlakes Science Park in Whitehaven, close to its most significant project, Sellafield.

The 262 hectare site, which accounts for around twothirds of the NDA’s annual budget, has been part of the UK’s nuclear power programme since the 1940s, with Calder Hall – located on Sellafield – the world’s first commercial nuclear power station. It generated electricity from 1956 until 2003.

The decommissioning process at Sellafield presents a wide range of opportunities in hazardous waste handling, storing and packaging. As such a wealth of expertise has developed in West Cumbria.

Another fundamental government agency for nuclear is the Nuclear Directorate of the Health & Safety Executive (ND), which is based in Liverpool. The Directorate’s 250 skilled staff, most of which have been in the industry for at least 10 years, is responsible for the granting of site licences.

The ND’s specialists use their carefully developed Safety Assessment Principles to maintain and improve safety standards. It ensures the UK complies with its international

‘‘THE NORTHWEST IS A NATURAL LOCATION FOR THE HUB OF SERCO’S NUCLEAR BUSINESS. THE REGION HAS A WEALTH OF NUCLEARFOCUSED BUSINESSES AND AN ABUNDANCE OF NUCLEAR CAPABILITY.” Steve Wheeler, Director of Nuclear Development, Serco Defence, Science and Nuclear

safeguards obligations, but also gives special assistance to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) along with other international organisations. The quality of the individuals is key to its success, with technical expertise across a wide berth of engineering and science disciplines, with skills ranging from reactor physics and radiological protection to more specialised areas including pressure vessel technology, metallurgy, seismology and heat transfer. As the agency responsible for approving reactor design, the ND is integral to ensuring the success of the UK’s new build programme.

The Northwest was also the home to the UK Atomic Energy Authority in Warrington, before it was restructured and privatised in 2009. As such Birchwood Park, in Risley – is a flourishing nuclear hub with over 20 companies working in or servicing the nuclear sector. Birchwood, Greater Manchester and West Cumbria are attracting large numbers of recognised nuclear consultancies, with many firms specialising in areas ranging from design engineering to industry recruitment and decommissioning and liabilities management. Most recently Rolls-Royce announced the opening of a new technical office at Birchwood offering a broad range of nuclear expertise for the new build market.

“With such a wealth of nuclear expertise in the Northwest, Warrington was an obvious choice,” says Lawrie Haynes, President of Rolls-Royce Nuclear. The close proximity to the industry makes the region an attractive location for consultants, aided by the high level agency decision makers also operating from the Northwest.

SERCO: TECHNICAL SPECIALISTS Serco is a FTSE 100 company, operating internationally. Its Northwest office, located at Risley near Warrington, employs more than 400 specialists, focusing on the nuclear industry.

It provides technical services to the NDA, Sellafield Ltd and the Low Level Waste Repository among others. Its role is to improve safety, reduce risk and aid waste management, with the company contracted during the build of Sizewell B to test and sample the strength of materials in extreme environments – primarily to reduce the risk of issues later. Serco’s on-going service contracts involve certification every 18 months, building a priceless information database. This incredible experience in assessing and testing major licensed sites places Serco in prime position for the new build programme.

“The Northwest is a natural location for the hub of Serco’s nuclear business.

The region has a wealth of nuclearfocused businesses and it is important to us to be within such easy reach of so many customers, partners and suppliers, as well as an abundance of nuclear capability,” says Steve Wheeler, Director of Nuclear Development, Serco Defence, Science and Nuclear.

Initiatives to capitalise on the Northwest’s nuclear expertise Low carbon Britain

Britain’s Energy Coast – West Cumbria

The UK Low Carbon Industrial Strategy (LCIS), launched in July 2009, has the core objective of ensuring British businesses are equipped to maximise the economic opportunities and minimise the costs of transition to a low carbon economy. The National Policy Statement for nuclear, to be designated during 2010, will provide the framework to deliver early new nuclear power in the UK, increasing security of supplies to decarbonise our economy. To further develop low carbon economic activity across the country Low Carbon Economic Areas (LCEAs) are being established to capitalise on distinct regional strengths.

In West Cumbria, where the nuclear industry is the largest source of employment locally, and a probable location for early new nuclear build, it is important to ensure the community grasps the opportunities. New build and the nuclear decommissioning process taking place at Sellafield will add to Cumbria’s growing reputation as a place for innovation in renewable energy.

The Britain’s Energy Coast Masterplan sets out how this will be achieved and outlines how the area’s expertise in the nuclear sector can be used as a springboard for the regeneration of the area.

In December 2009 the Northwest and Yorkshire were announced as the UK’s LCEAs for nuclear based on the region’s unique assets and capabilities within the field of nuclear energy. The aim of the LCEA is to bring together knowledge, skills and investment within the sector, delivering benefits for the economy. The Northwest is the natural base from which to stimulate and develop UK economic activity for the nuclear sector and act as a gateway to the UK’s market and capability.

The Masterplan is an exciting package of projects that will establish West Cumbria as Britain’s Energy Coast’ – a centre of excellence for nuclear and other energy technologies, complemented with high quality local services. Projects range from the establishment of pioneering centres for nuclear skills and enterprise, to support for businesses, transport improvements and the development of West Cumbria as a tourism destination. The programme totals £2 billion in public and private sector investment over the next 20 years.

Developing a nuclear future The Northwest boasts world-leading centres of expertise in nuclear technology and R&D The National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), which has its headquarters in Cumbria boasts an unrivalled breadth of technology expertise, including many skills unique to the UK. NNL’s Central Laboratory at Sellafield is the flagship nuclear R&D facility in the UK, supporting new reactor build, reactor operation, fuel processing plants and decommissioning and clean-up. More than 500 staff at the £250 million purposebuilt facility run a wide range of radioactive and nonradioactive experimental programmes, as well as offering a wide range of analytical services. NNL places a strong emphasis on building links with academia and strengthening the quality of nuclear-related skills coming into the industry via a series of University Research Alliances (URAs). Current URAs include a radiochemistry collaboration with the University of Manchester’s Centre for Radiochemistry Research, and a URA on materials performance, also with the University of Manchester.

The University of Manchester itself has ambitious plans to become one of the world’s leading academic institutions and nuclear research is one of its major growth disciplines.

The University already has the UK’s largest concentration of nuclear research, training and educational activities and, in 2005, it established the Dalton Nuclear Institute (see panel) to drive forward its ambitions. The Dalton Nuclear Institute has helped to significantly ramp up the university’s portfolio of nuclear research, which now stands at around £100 million involving 200 researchers.

In July 2009 the Government announced plans to establish a Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC) in the north of England. The facility will combine the expertise of manufacturing companies and universities to allow suppliers to work together to develop new processes for the manufacture of nuclear components and assemblies, delivering training and workforce development programmes and achieving nuclear standards and accreditation.

The Dalton Nuclear Institute is a lead partner in the project, alongside the University of Sheffield, and will be responsible for the research, development and innovation that underpin’s the NAMRC’s work.

The Centre for Nuclear Energy Technology, including its reactor technology centre, is another centre of nuclear expertise at the University of Manchester.

In addition to the University of Manchester a number of other academic institutes boast internationally significant capabilities in nuclear science and engineering.

The University of Liverpool has an international reputation in the fields of condensed matter physics, nuclear physics, particle physics and accelerator science.

John Tyndall Institute for Nuclear Research at the University of Central Lancashire is split across two sites in Preston and at Cumbria, working in nuclear science, technology and engineering.

Lancaster University has a multi-disciplinary team of engineering researchers working in nuclear safety, robotics, nuclear instrumentation, energy policy and environment.

The university also co-ordinates the NDA-funded Nuclear Graduate Programme, which is backed by more than 20 leading nuclear companies and aims to plug a nationwide skills gap in decommissioning.

Cockcroft Institute of Accelerator Science and Technology at Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus in Cheshire, is one of the UK’s leading centres for particle accelerator research.

University of Salford’s Joule Physics Laboratory conducts research in atomic collisions and ion-beam physics. University of Bolton’s Centre for Materials Research and Innovation is a multi-disciplinary centre designed to cultivate research and innovation activities in collaboration with industry and other academic institutions.

National Nuclear Laboratory

Dalton Nuclear Institute

John Tyndall Institute for Nuclear Research

DALTON NUCLEAR INSTITUTE: INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED The opening of the Dalton Nuclear Institute in July 2005 signalled the University of Manchester’s intention to be the UK’s leading university in nuclear research and education and one of the principal international players in the field. After all, Manchester is where Nobel Prize winner Ernest Rutherford undertook his work on splitting the atom.

The Dalton Nuclear Institute boasts some of the UK’s most advanced university-based nuclear research facilities, including the Centre for Radiochemistry Research, the only active chemistry laboratories in the UK. The University is also home to the Materials Performance Centre, the largest academic centre

addressing materials issues in nuclear in the UK. Such recognised centres and facilities have ensured that the Institute became a lead partner in the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre.

Dalton is collaborating with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to establish the Dalton Cumbria Facility, a £20 million joint investment to provide specialist research equipment and facilities.

Dalton also works with Rolls-Royce, Westinghouse, EDF/ British Energy and Serco.

Internationally, Dalton is establishing a global network of collaborations, across Europe, the US, China, India and South Africa.

The bigger picture With a larger economy than Hong Kong, more than a million graduates and a leader in R&D, the Northwest is an ideal location for investors The Northwest sits at the centre of the UK, stretching from Cumbria in the north to Cheshire in the south, with two of the most dynamic and cultural cities in Manchester and Liverpool.

The economy is both large in size – bigger than 15 EU countries, standing at £120 billion, with 252,000 businesses – and scale; being home to many of the world’s leading R&D investors. Annual private sector expenditure is over £2.2 billion; placing the region ahead of many European countries.

The region has more than seven million people – almost twice the population of Ireland. In terms of skills, there is a strong tradition of advanced engineering and scientific expertise, serving specialist areas including the biomedical, pharmaceutical, chemical, aerospace and automotive industries, as well as nuclear. It also provides essential skills for renewable energy and environmental technology.

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) leads the economic development of the Northwest and works with companies in a variety of industries and countries in attracting foreign direct investment. With over 3,000 foreign-owned businesses in the region, we have one of the UK’s strongest track records in assisting large companies and SMEs with location and expansion decisions.

Our Investment Services team offers a range of free and confidential services designed to assist businesses in making these choices. This includes information on: property type, legal and tax issues; recruitment support; availability and cost; financial assistance; and networking opportunities with potential supply chains and other relevant businesses.

We also operate a number of financial support programmes to support businesses with their investment and expansion plans in the region including grants, loans and venture capital finance.

The beautiful landscape of Wastwater, the Lake District.

Well connected The Northwest’s excellent transport connections are another major benefit for investors. In fact, the region is one of the best connected in the UK, whether by road, rail, sea or air. The road infrastructure is unrivalled. The Northwest boasts 70 per cent more motorways than the national average and is at the crossroads of the key North-South (M6) and East-West (M62/M56) motorway network, providing direct access to all British major cities within four hours.

There are three major international airports: Manchester International – the largest British airport outside London – as well as Liverpool John Lennon and Blackpool International.

It is equally well serviced by the rail network. Over 39 trains per day travel the route between Manchester and London, with journeys taking just two hours, making this one of Europe’s best served intercity routes.

Beautiful landscape The region is not only a great place to do business, but is an enviable location in terms of standard of living. It is home to England’s largest national park, the Lake District, and three areas of outstanding natural beauty: the Solway Coast in Cumbria, Arnside and Silverdale in Lancashire and the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire. There are two UNESCO World heritage sites, at Liverpool waterfront and Hadrian’s Wall, Cumbria, one heritage coast and 32 nature reserves. In fact, almost a third of the region is designated as national park or an area of outstanding beauty.

Coupled with its outstanding connectivity, superb landscape and long-standing commitment to nuclear technology, these strengths make the Northwest an ideal location for investors.

252,000 BUSINESSES £120 BILLION ECONOMY For further information about the investment opportunities in the region, visit englandsnorthwest.com or call our Investment Services team on +44 (0)1925 400 195.

Nuclear strengths of England’s Northwest

300 COMPANIES 25,000 SKILLED PROFESSIONALS PIONEERING R&D UK’S LARGEST FACILITY – SELLAFIELD STRATEGIC SITES FOR NEW BUILD EXPERTISE IN THE WHOLE FUEL CYCLE

Tel: +44 (0)1925 400 495 www.englandsnorthwest.com

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