Transformation of Harwell site

February 14, 2007

The programme to clean up the Harwell site and transform it into a world-class centre for excellence in science and innovation entered a new era in February.

On 9 February, Sir Anthony Cleaver, Chairman of the NDA, visited the site and together with Lady Barbara Thomas Judge, Chairman of the UKAEA, unveiled a commemorative stone beside Harwell’s Hangar 9 lagoon to mark the delicensing of a large area of land.

“This is an historic occasion and the first of many steps to transform the site,” Sir Anthony told a gathering of local stakeholders and UKAEA staff. “On this area there used to stand 43 buildings. All have now been decommissioned and the land deemed appropriate for delicensing by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, a very rigorous process.”

“Decommissioning is a complex technical process. To reach this point has required hard work in planning and implementation, for which Head of Site John Wilkins and his team are to be commended. This is a day of significant celebration.”

The delicensed land – some seven hectares in all – will be released for redevelopment as part of the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus. The Campus is already home to the Diamond Light Source synchrotron project and other new facilities such as ISIS TS2 and Electron Business and Innovation Centre due to open summer 2007.

Ends

Note to Editors:

  • The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is a world-leader in managing nuclear decommissioning and environmental restoration. UKAEA has reached a significant milestone in the decommissioning of the former nuclear research site at Harwell in Oxfordshire.
  • UKAEA’s task at Harwell is to manage its environmental restoration programmes on site. This includes the decommissioning of redundant nuclear facilities, the management of radioactive wastes from past programmes of work and decommissioning projects, the remediation of any contaminated land, and the management and development of land and property assets on site.
  • One million square feet of buildings and nuclear research facilities, an area approximately the size of 21 football fields, have now been demolished since decommissioning work started in 1991. The UKAEA, which owns and operates the site, has put in place a comprehensive plan to develop Harwell as an international business centre so that it can provide quality accommodation and facilities for all sizes of companies working in the fields of science and technology – from start-up companies to fully developed international organisations. The 750-acre (296 hectares) site has an overall development ceiling of 2.5 million sq. ft of new and existing space.
  • The site currently houses organisations such as the Medical Research Council, AEA Technology, NUKEM, SERCo, Harwell Dosimeters, Scientifics, Oxford Drying Restoration Services, G E Healthcare, and REVISS Services (UK). Adjacent to the site is the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory as well as the Diamond synchrotron facility, the largest scientific facility to be built in the UK for 30 years.

For more information please contact: Angela Vincent, Harwell Communcations Manager