Landmark Eastern Entrance Opens New Doors

May 18, 2010

Staff, contractors and visitors at RSRL Harwell are getting used to an unfamiliar scene – no police officers guarding the former main gate at the front of the site.

The opening up on 10 May 2010 of 23 acres of land in the eastern area represents a major sign of RSRL’s progress in the decommissioning of the Harwell site, readying the land for commercial redevelopment in the future.

This means that, for the first time in decades, there are no police officers standing at the former main gate. Instead, they will be positioned at the new eastern entrance and visitors will be welcomed at a new reception building.

Speaking about this achievement, Alan Neal, RSRL Managing Director said: “The task of cleaning up and releasing the land in the eastern area began in the early 1990s. Two decades later we welcome this important step in the return of the Harwell site to conventional use. I would like to thank everyone involved in this achievement and to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority whose additional funding made this possible”

Commenting on RSRL’s performance, Malcolm Barents, the NDA Site Programme Manager, said: “This is a real achievement, the culmination of many years of hard work. Everyone involved is to be congratulated on realising this significant milestone.”

Although the opening of the eastern gate and the moving of the fence are obvious signs of decommissioning progress, over the years the transformation of the Harwell site has entailed many other clean-up projects, including the decommissioning, demolition and disposal of a number of legacy facilities and historically important reactors.

Notable among them were the Tandem generator, a 40-metre high facility built in 1958, and GLEEP (Graphite Low Energy Experimental Pile), built in 1946 - the first reactor in Western Europe.

The clean-up has also involved the demolition of former RAF buildings dating back to the 1930s, the last of which included a water tower and early radiochemical laboratories.

For more information please contact Angela Vincent, RSRL Communications Manager