Penrith’s Strategic Transport Links Could Make It an Ideal Location for Government’s New Munitions Factory

The Penrith area's strategic transport links with the A66, M6 and Westcoast Mainline could make it an ideal location to become one of the government new munitions factories to make munitions and military explosives to boost the UK’s warfighting readiness with Cumbria identified as one of 13 locations by government as it moves to the next phase of building the factories of the future.

Although the exact location in Cumbria has yet to be announced, In a speech in Westminster on Wednesday, the Defence Secretary announced that 13 sites across the UK including one in Cumbria have now been identified and will invite industry to submit proposals to meet the government’s requirements for energetics production. He committed to “building the factories of the future in Britain” and expects industry to break ground on the first energetics factory in the next year.

Defence Secretary John Healey MP speech in Westminster said:

“For too long our proud industrial heartlands saw jobs go away and not come back. We are changing that. Bringing new hope. This is a fundamental shift from the failed approach of the past.

“This is a new era of threat, but the opportunity of this new era is a defence dividend from our record investment, measured in good jobs, thriving businesses, new skills for the British people.

“We are making defence an engine for growth, unambiguously backing British jobs and British skills as we make the UK better ready to fight and better able to deter future conflicts. This is the path that delivers national and economic security.”

The 13 areas for the identified sites creating at least 1,000 new jobs backed by £1.5BN of new defence investment this Parliament are:

Cumbria, Monmouthshire, Dumfriesshire, Ayrshire, Shropshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Essex, Worcestershire, Hampshire. Pembrokeshire, Stirlingshire

In response to the announcement by the Defence Secretary, MP for Penrith and Solway Markus Campbell-Savours said:

“Cumbria has a long proud manufacturing history. I said my number one priority was to bring jobs and investment to our area. That’s exactly what Labour’s defence investment will deliver. The Government delivering jobs the length and breadth of this country is exactly what real levelling up looks like."