'Significant' changes due (From Gazette Series)

'Significant' changes due

THE MAN in charge of the Berkeley nuclear site has said that he expects to see the run down of the site having a significant impact within six months.

Mark Steele told a public meeting in Berkeley Town Hall on Monday evening that some of the 1,200 jobs that will go from the site will go sooner rather than later.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority will take control of the site in April 2005, but staff could start to go at any time.

Mr Steele said: "My expectation is that there will be significant changes within the next six to 12 months.

"The run down will start happening now and will have an impact by March.

"We are already helping the employees look at what there options for the future are."

With the power station having been closed in 1989 and the laboratories closing next month, the vast majority of the jobs at the site are in the engineering and technical departments of the Britisb Nuclear Group.

Some of these jobs are to be moved to other sites around the country, while some will simply be lost due to there being no more relevant work to do.

Of most concern to residents at the meeting were the impact on workers from the Berkeley area and also the future of the Nuclear Sports and Social Club.

Mr Steele told the meeting that the club was not under threat and would in fact be more likely to become a bigger part of the Berkeley community in the future than it already was.

He also assured residents that the Task Force, which has been set up to examine the future options for the site, met for the first time last week and established Berkeley residents working at the site as a priority.

The Task Force also set up a number of working groups to consider issues including existing skills and infrastructure, the local economy and future site users.

Members of the group aim to have a set of proposals to offer the NDA by February next year.

Chairman of the Task Force Bob Clayton said: "This is an amazing opportunity for local businesses to reap the benefits of the Berkeley site's enormous intellectual skills base and modern infrastructure.

"For the right business this could be a source of real brainpower."

Task Force member David Drew MP thought that the inaugural meeting gave everyone a sense of action.

He said: "There are many exciting possibilities for the Berkeley site and I am confident that the Task Force will deliver a positive set of outcomes."