Political and business support for Severn Edge STEP bid
Leading politicians and businesses from the across the Western Gateway area gathered in Westminster to support the partnership's bid to bring STEP to the Severn Edge site.
The Western Gateway partnership’s Severn Edge bid for a proposed £220 million fusion energy plant has received strong political and business support.
MPs and key business leaders from the South West and Wales recently came together to back the bid at a special House of Lords reception.
The bid for the plant – at Oldbury in South Gloucestershire, with an associated Science Park and Skills Centre at Berkeley in Gloucestershire – is now in the last five sites nationally being considered by government and would bring huge investment to communities across both sides of the Severn and use local skills to ensure the UK leads globally in developing this technology.
Baroness Debbie Wilcox of Newport hosted the Lords’ reception.
She said: “It augurs well for the future dynamic of the project if the changemakers in this room can put their collective strength behind this exciting, unique and powerful initiative.”
Among the MPs present was Stroud’s Siobhan Baillie who commented:
Siobhan Baillie, MP for Stroud, said: “Our site is ready to go. We have the expertise and we have nearly 12,000 nuclear businesses in our area with an amazing number of construction workers ready to build.
“We have the ability to deliver - you only have to look at Hinkley Point C”.
She said the Severn Edge bid was the only one which brings in another country with Wales as part of the Western Gateway powerhouse partnership.
Katherine Bennett, chair of the Western Gateway partnership, said:
“We are the first pan-regional partnership to bridge two countries in our great nation.
“We are the economic powerhouse of South Wales and West of England. We go from Swansea to Swindon to covering the core cities of Bristol and Cardiff.
“We are very excited to be part of the Severn Edge bid and is a unique opportunity to strengthen the union. We estimate that 31000 jobs could be created and bring value of about £2.8 billion in GVA”.
Will Lee, Chief Executive of Renishaw, was one of the business leaders supporting the bid.
Will Lee, Chief Executive of Renishaw, said: “As a company at the forefront of innovation in manufacturing technologies and healthcare, which is also committed to a Net Zero future, we see this as a unique opportunity to enthuse young people in our region about the ways that science and engineering can tackle real-world challenges and provide rewarding career options.”
The plant is part of a government programme for the UK to be the first in the world to prove the commercial viability of fusion which recreates the reaction that takes place within the Sun on earth to produce almost unlimited energy.
The Western Gateway partnership represents the economic powerhouse of South Wales and Western England, stretching from Swansea to Swindon. The partnership brings together business with academia and research alongside local authorities and governments on both sides of the Severn to tackle shared problems and level up communities.
To register comments and support, head to www.western-gateway.co.uk/severnedge