Sellafield Mox nuclear fuel plant to close
This article reminds us of how dependent some rural places are on a small number of employers. The article explains:
“The Mox nuclear fuel plant at Sellafield was closed on Wednesday , with the loss of around 600 jobs. The closure is a consequence of the Fukushima incident in Japan in March, which has closed down much of the nuclear industry there and led to a rethink of nuclear power around the world. But the government said the move had “no implications” for the UK’s plans for new nuclear reactors.”
Wages in West Cumbria are amongst some of the highest in England but are heavily dependent on the nuclear industry – this will be a real body blow to the local economy with few other earning opportunities of this scale for those affected.
It leads me to reflect on the current discussions about the distribution of business rates to local authorities going forward. Allowing authorities to keep most or all of their local rates could cause a major redistribution of local authority resources in a potentially really challenging process making the status quo very hard to retain in any form over the next 3 years. Overall urban authorities will be gainers but for some individuals rural authorities which host big bits of infrastructure like this might be winners in this particular lottery
Food for thought?