Call for ‘task force’ to be set up to bring Rolls Royce nuclear power jobs to Ferrybridge

In July, the company announced that Ferrybridge was one of six sites shortlisted as the potential base for a factory to build heavy vessels for its planned Small Modular Reactor (SMR) power station.

Rolls Royce has promised that up to 200 high-skilled permanent jobs will be brought to its chosen location.

Councillor Tom Gordon, Lib Dem councillor for Knottingley and Ferrybridge, said he has been left frustrated by the ‘lack of action’ from Wakefield Council since the announcement two months ago.

Coun Gordon has written an open letter to the Council’s Leader, Denise Jeffery, calling on the local authority to champion Ferrybridge as a contender for the venture.

The letter states: “I am writing to you in your position as the Leader of the Local Authority to call for a joint task force to be set up to see how the local authority and key stakeholders can support and showcase Ferrybridge as a perfect location for this venture.

“Our area has a strong and proud industrial heritage, whether it be over a century of glass making in Knottingley, decades of generating power in Ferrybridge, or what was home to Britain’s last deep coal mine up the road in Kellingley.

“Following the decommissioning and demolition of Ferrybridge Power Station, we are left with prime industrial space right at the crossroads of the A1(M) and M62, that already has rail and canal based infrastructure.”

Coun Gordon described Ferrybridge as a “prime location” to transport finished components to the rest of the country or nearby ports as it is centrally located, in the heart of Yorkshire and the UK.

The letter continues: “Bringing a prestigious employer such as Rolls Royce would be transformative to the local area.

“It would help to encourage a wide range of skilled employment, and not only to retain our local talent and youth, but also to attract the best and brightest from outside to our area.”

In response, Coun Denise Jeffery, said : “We are working proactively with our partners at the West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to bring the Rolls Royce SMR factory to Ferrybridge.

“Our Economic Growth team and the Trade and Investment team, at West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, have been dedicating their time to making sure the bid is as comprehensive as possible.

“We will be keeping ward members and the local community informed and seek their involvement as the project progresses and we know more about the next steps, and to ensure that we are able to secure employment opportunities and wider benefits for local people.”

Rolls Royce plans to build the SMR in either North Wales or Cumbria.

Other locations shortlisted as the location for the parts manufacturing factory are Catterick, in North Yorkshire, Grimsby and Stallingborough, in Lincolnshire, as well as Newton Aycliffe and Sunderland in the North East.

The factory will be around the size of three football pitches, valued at between £100m to £200m and is expected to create more than 200 permanent jobs.

It will supply a power station which will have the capacity to generate 470MW of low carbon energy, equivalent to more than 150 onshore wind turbines and enough to power a million homes.

Two further manufacturing factories to supply the power station will also be required but the heavy vessels’ site will be the largest and most complex facility.

The vessels are required for parts of the process such as acting as a containment unit for the reactor core.

Construction of the new factory will begin once Rolls-Royce receives the go-ahead to build a fleet of SMRs in the UK.

The shortlist was selected against a clear set of criteria, picked from over 100 submissions from Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and development agencies.

Rolls-Royce SMR Chief Executive, Tom Samson, said at the time of the announcement: “The response shows the ambition and appetite of the UK to build and operate a fleet of SMRs which will provide affordable, low-carbon electricity for generations to come.

“The final location will come from the shortlist and will result in significant investment, long-term high-skilled jobs and will support the Government’s aspirations for levelling-up.”