Birchwood Park Occupier Opens Doors of Flagship Laboratory to UK Universities

The UK's National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), based here at Birchwood Park has opened its doors to leading academics from a host of universities, interested in bringing their own research to NNL's world-leading facilities. The open day at NNL's flagship Central Laboratory in Cumbria - a £250M state-of-the-art nuclear research facility - attracted around 25 representatives from 17 different universities.

Last month, NNL announced that access agreements to work in Central Laboratory had been signed, extending the existing agreement with The University of Manchester and opening up access for The University of Liverpool. These Licence to Occupy agreements have been made possible through an access agreement developed by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and The University of Manchester's Dalton Nuclear Institute, working with NNL. The longer-term intention is to broaden this access to any UK academic research groups who wish to do work with radioactive materials which they cannot do in their own university facilities. NNL's Central Laboratory combines with the new Dalton Cumbrian Facility, established by the Dalton Nuclear Institute and the NDA, to act as a national hub for active materials and chemistry research, with links to nuclear research facilities across the UK. This enhances the national capability and enables academics to access world-leading facilities in West Cumbria.

NNL's Central Laboratory is located on the Sellafield site in West Cumbria. It is managed by NNL and - like the rest of the Sellafield site - it is ultimately owned by the NDA. The access agreements with universities are possible as a result of agreement and support from NDA and The University of Manchester. In all, a total of 10% of the Central Laboratory is available for academic research and access can be made available to any UK universities.

Leigh Wakefield, NNL's Facilities and Safety Director, said: "I am delighted that so many academics have shown interest in following in the footsteps of Manchester and Liverpool. NNL has a specific remit from the Department of Energy and Climate Change to enable the use of our unique facilities by others and this open day is another major step towards that goal. We are looking forward to working with many of the attendees, and their colleagues, in the future as they bring their research work to the Central Laboratory."

Prof Andrew Sherry, Director of the Dalton Nuclear Institute, commented: "We have already had the chance to do some important work in the Central Laboratory and have found the experience to be very valuable. These facilities are comparable to anything in the world and it is a fantastic opportunity for UK universities to have access to the Central Laboratory available to us. It allows us to boost the quality, quantity and impact of the research work we do in the nuclear field. We have been very impressed with the level of training and supervision which our researchers have received from NNL, and the individuals who have worked here have gained an invaluable insight into what it is like to work in a real nuclear facility, with all of the safety, security and other issues involved."

Nuclear community continues to expand here at Birchwood Park

We are pleased to announce the opening of CSE controls new office at the heart of the nuclear community here at Birchwood Park, Warrington.

Now with five offices in the UK, CSE controls are the largest independent provider of safety, protection and control systems for the energy, oil and gas and utilities industries. Part of CSE-Global Limited, an international technology group with over 1700 employees worldwide and a turnover in excess of £230million, the company continue to grow and develop their business in the nuclear sector.

In order to be closer to their nuclear clients, and better positioned to meet their needs, CSE Controls have opened a fully self-contained and secure 2,700 square feet office which has capacity for thirty design & consultancy personnel.

Located on the ground floor of Chadwick House, the company provides a full range of technical consultancy, design and systems integration services backed by their independent and proven competent professional team. The office has been chosen to provide a key nuclear requirement in safety systems design and assurance. Their new base in Birchwood Park allows them to work more closely with their their based nuclear clients. CSE Controls are an accredited provider within the Control Systems Framework for Sellafield Limited.

Introducing the new office to the local business community, Divisional Director, Steve Hughes says: “Nuclear safety has always been the overriding component governing our industry and with the shift in current base workload to include new build there is a more pressing need for professional and technical advice and guidance in this critical area. The team at Warrington has a proven track record in nuclear safety and has been hand-picked for this knowledge and expertise.”

CSE recognise the skills gap that currently exists in the nuclear industry and it is the intention that the Birchwood office will become a centre of excellence within the area, developing new talent at all levels.

Birchwood Park is thrilled to welcome CSE Controls to their ever expanding nuclear cluster, says Sonya Laing: “Birchwood Park is widely regarded as the place to be in the nuclear industry and we are thrilled to welcome CSE Controls to join our growing community.”