To provide clarity to the aptly named ‘Sid Bogie’ comment on the possibilities of any West Coast rail transportation for the 750 containers (each 24.4m by 3.7m by 3.7m) required to build the 3 off AP1000 reactors proposed at Sellafield I received the following reply in March 2009 from the rail company saying “NO - due to the gauge restrictions”. This NO was backed up by a 2012 reply from Direct Rail Services (an NDA subsidiary) saying “Should we acquire a wagon with a max bogie centre of 19m at a length of 24.4m due to overthrow we would be restricted to a width of 2.565m.” indicating the limited clearances on the rail route that would need to be modified before NDA use.
Perhaps a W-H News reporter could extract a reply from Cllr Knowles as to the proposed method of transporting these units from the new £5.7m NDA funded container crane in Workington to Sellafield and the proposed route. Isn’t this why the bypass (BEC supported) is ‘back on the cards’? I hope his reply is quicker than the time spent in the traffic jams on the bypass.

@Sam. I'm sure Councillor Woodburn is a very nice person and she does work hard but that doesn't mean she is doing a good job. We can't have her as the leader just because she's a nice person.

Yes, get on with it quickly, none of the usual two men and a dog taking 3 years. Also make it a dual carriageway, a proper dual carriageway unlike the distington bypass which apparently is just a main road with an overtaking lane.

The road is a bypass around Whitehaven coz with the loss of the new stadium there's not much point visiting the town. The Whitehaven News should call for the head of the council to be given the boot.

This scheme isn't a joke. Though it's maybe not as big an investment as it first appears either. The road will link the Howgate roundabout to the road in front of Rosehill theatre. The 'new bypass' will then consist of the existing road past the golf course, up to the roundabout at the Fish Factory. The new road will then be built from there to a new link ( a roundabout?) near to Westlakes Science Park, to link up with the existing A595. Probably achievable, even with Copeland Council's input.

As for bringing stuff to Whitehaven harbour from Workington's, that's an absolute non-starter. Virtually everything is now freighted by shipping container. Workington is a container port, but Whitehaven can't be as the boats wouldn't fit (well, maybe just, but only at high tide) and there's no infrastructure to unload containers. If things arrive by sea to West Cumbria they'll have to arrive via Workington or Barrow (as a lot of nuclear material does already). Then it will have to travel by either road or rail to its destination.

I believe (though I stand to be corrected on this) that there is some reason why nuclear material can't go through part of the rail network at or north of Whitehaven (could even be Bransty tunnel), hence all the nuclear stuff gets to Sellafield via Barrow's docks.

So, if Workington is to be used as a major port for the delivery of material for the nuclear new build it would seem sensible to upgrade West Cumbria's roads to cope with the lorries hauling these containers. Which makes the 'Whitehaven bypass' an eminently sensible plan in my eyes.

Hey Sam, are you aka Elaine Woodburn? I am a Whitehaven expat living in Australia and think this is the first comment that I've read in support of Elaine Woodburn. And as for the stadium, the council should hang their heads in shame for wasting time and so much money.
Marie

Why don't they spend £40 million fixing our current roads? There is plenty of pot holes and new road is an absolute state, hope it's sorted for festival.

This is a joke yes? After the debacle with the RL World Cup games and stadium this will never happen. Please stop wasting everyone's time with all this pie in the sky stuff.

My god why would anybody ever want to do anything in Copeland? U are all people who knock from the sidelines and don't check out facts before you make comments. The facts will become known and those who knock Elaine Woodburn and CBC will have to look for another to blame. I have worked with Elaine on projects and I can say that there is nobody more committed and who works harder than Elaine and anybody who she has worked with will say the same. If I was her I would think hard about the job, not because she should leave but because whatever she and the council does, always gets a negative reaction. I have attended the Copeland pride awards which she organises and celebrates businesses in Copeland, she doesn't have to do it but does but what thanks? I don't think she wants it but I will say thanks and don't fold because of those who make comments without knowing the facts. David Moore you will always be opposition because you can't lead , you are too set in your ways of criticising, calling yet happy to take freebies from the nuclear industry. You are my ward cllr but not selected by me.

Build it through Cleator Moor and have done with then place - kill two birds with one stone :)