The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has confirmed it will provide £1 million to develop a masterplan for Pioneer Park, a proposed clean energy site on land adjacent to Sellafield in West Cumbria. Local developer BEC will lead the work to frame long-term growth and employment while reflecting the operational needs of the existing nuclear site.
The decision follows months of co-ordinated activity through the Cumberland Nuclear Futures Board, chaired by Whitehaven & Workington MP Josh MacAlister. The Board brings together the NDA, Cumberland Council, Sellafield Ltd and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to align decommissioning, regional development and national energy objectives.
According to the NDA announcement, the masterplan will set out how clean energy technologies could be integrated with artificial intelligence and data-centre infrastructure. The brief requires explicit regard for Sellafield’s requirements, acknowledging safety, security and access constraints and the potential for phased land release around the licensed site.
The £1 million allocation is drawn from the NDA’s socio-economic programme, which invests about £15 million annually in communities neighbouring its sites. The Pioneer Park funding is described as an enabling step to move proposals to a stage where formal consents, financing and delivery options can be considered by partners.
The masterplan is a planning and investment tool; it does not confer development consent. Any future projects emerging from it would need to proceed through the statutory planning system, including environmental assessment where relevant. Depending on scale, electricity generation assets could fall either under Cumberland Council’s decision-making or the Secretary of State’s regime for nationally significant infrastructure under the Planning Act 2008.
Institutional roles are delineated for clarity. The NDA is the landowner and regeneration sponsor; BEC will prepare the technical and spatial plan; Cumberland Council is the local planning authority; Sellafield Ltd remains responsible for operations on the licensed site; and DESNZ provides policy direction on energy security and decarbonisation. Future construction and operation would also be subject to oversight by the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency, depending on the technologies selected.
Local stakeholders have positioned the programme as building on West Cumbria’s nuclear skills base while widening the economy. Statements from Cumberland Council’s leadership and BEC’s chief executive point to opportunities in supply chains and high-value jobs, with the NDA emphasising benefits that extend beyond the decommissioning mission.
Implementation issues likely to be tested through the masterplan include grid connection and capacity, utilities and remediation, transport access and the co-location of data-centre demand with low-carbon power. Phasing will be important to ensure early activity does not disrupt Sellafield’s core operations or future decommissioning work.
No delivery timetable has been set out in the announcement. The immediate milestone will be publication of the masterplan, followed by any planning submissions, environmental permitting and commercial agreements for power and land. Key statutory consultations and decisions will be signposted as they are scheduled.