£18 million Sellafield office building opens

The Albion Square development in Whitehaven, which cost £18 million to build, opened on Friday.

The office space allows 1000 Sellafield workers to be based in Whitehaven town centre rather than on site.

Professor John Fyfe and Cllr Elaine Woodburn opened the site. Professor Fyfe said: “This is not just a centre of nuclear excellence but also economic development.

“Nuclear is a nugget that other things can develop around.

“What you’ve got is a rollercoaster for the future, I think this building is incredible, and at the heart of something incredible.”

Tony Price, managing director of Sellafield Ltd, admitted he had concerns about how the local community’s reaction to the development.

He said: “I thought this would be a nightmare but it wasn’t.

“We are already seeing hundreds of people in the shops.

“This development is significant in two ways, firstly is shows a culture of change from us, and also it gives great savings in terms of all the security checks you need for the main Sellafield site.”

Cllr Woodburn, leader of Copeland District Council, said: “There is no reason that this cant be done again in other places like Workington.

“The workers here are happy as Larry, it has had a really positive impact.”