CONTRACTORS building a proposed new nuclear power station near Sellafield must live in Copeland’s towns and cannot be housed closer to the site, a meeting has heard.

Some concern was raised at the Whitehaven meeting, chaired by Copeland mayor Mike Starkie, about the impact on towns of the 4,000 contractors bound for the area if the Moorside new-build gets the go-ahead.

Glenn Taylor, who has worked at Sellafield for 35 years and farms in St Bees, asked the meeting if the contractors “could be based at Moorside” rather than building housing for them elsewhere.

Pat Graham, Copeland Council’s director of economic growth and a panelist at the meeting, responded: “For site evacuation and security reasons, contractors are not permitted to live on the other side of the fence.

“In addition, we actively want people to be in our towns to boost their regeneration. We are not planning temporary worker accommodation, and instead are planning for a permanent workforce that stays in the area to offer lasting benefits.”

Sites at Mirehouse/Hensingham, Corkickle, Egremont, Cleator Moor and Millom are currently being considered to house the contractors. NuGen – the consortium behind the plans – says that the workers could be housed in one large site or they could be potentially spread across a number.

Millom has recently been added to the list and Mr Starkie last week spent a “positive” day in the town with NuGen chief executive Tom Samson to show the firm what the town can offer.

Mrs Graham added that NuGen has identified a “vast search area” to locate its housing.

“It has identified far more land than it will ever need – and investigations are needed to work out where is the most suitable,” she said.