The public's chance to have a say on a proposed new £10 billion nuclear power station begins on Saturday.

NuGen, the firm behind plans for the three-reactor Moorside plant, is hosting 28 public drop-in sessions over the next 11 weeks to gauge public opinion to the scheme.

They begin at the Moorside Information Centre at Whitehaven Civic Hall, which opens at 10am on Saturday and remains open (10am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to noon on Saturdays) for the duration of the consultation.

Fergus McMorrow, NuGen's planning lead in Cumbria, said: "It is extremely important that everyone gets an opportunity to come and have their say.

“This consultation is the second of two public consultations. The first took place over 10 weeks from May 2015 and we welcomed over 1,800 people through the doors of our events. 

"The second stage is an opportunity for the public to see how the project has developed, taking into account the feedback that we received last year.”

Included in the plans is likely to be further information on the layout of the site itself, plus its associated accommodation and transport schemes. 

The project is set to have widespread impacts, with the potential for property and land to be compulsory purchased by the NuGen consortium to make way for developments. 

Last month, it was revealed that residents of areas including Parton, Hensingham and Thornhill could be affected by plans to widen the A595, while those in St Bees and Corkickle may be impact by its rail plans.

To house the incoming workers during the construction period, new accommodation has been earmarked for Mirehouse, Corkickle and Egremont, and a new train station is planned for Mirehouse.

The firm hopes construction will begin on land next to Sellafield in 2020 and the first of the three reactors would go on stream four years later. A total of 21,000 jobs will be created during the lifetime of the plant.

After the launch day at the Moorside Information Centre, the following drop-in sessions will be held from 11am to 7.30pm: 

  • Egremont Market Hall, May 17
  • The Whitelaw Building, St Bees, May 18, 
  • Beckermet Reading Rooms, May 19
  • Methodist Church Hall, Seascale, May 23, 
  • Gosforth Village Hall, May 24 
  • Cleator Moor Civic Hall, May 25
  • Muncaster Parish Hall, Ravenglass, June 1
  • Tarnside Caravan Park, Braystones, June 2
  • Mirehouse Community Centre, June 7
  • Westlakes Science Park, June 8 
  • Distington Community Centre, June 9
  • Mirehouse Labour Club, June 23
  • Energus, Lillyhall, July 6 
  • Millom Pensioner's Hall, July 13
  • Millstones Centre, Bootle, July 14
  • Moorside Information Centre, Whitehaven, July 27