UK Government pledges 'multi-decade, multi-billion' renovation of Clyde nuclear base

THE UK Government has announced a £250 million fund to start a “multi-decade, multi-billion redevelopment” of the nuclear base on the River Clyde.

The Labour administration’s announcement came as Rachel Reeves confirmed £14.2 billion of investment into the Sizewell C nuclear plant in Sussex. 

In a press release, the UK Government said it would invest £4bn in the naval base at Plymouth over 10 years, as well as £6bn "over the Spending Review period to enable a transformation in the capacity, capability and productivity of the UK’s submarine industrial base".

This includes investment at BAE Systems in Barrow and Rolls-Royce Submarines in Derby.

The UK Government then added: “In addition, we will embark on a multi-decade, multi-billion redevelopment of HMNB Clyde, with an initial £250m of funding over three years, supporting jobs, skills and growth across the West of Scotland."

The Spending Review is due to be delivered by the Chancellor on Wednesday and will cover day-to-day spending until 2028/29 and investment till 2029/30.

HM Naval Base Clyde, at Faslane on the west coast of Scotland, is home to the UK’s nuclear submarines.

The nearby Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Coulport is responsible for storing, processing, maintaining and issuing key elements of the UK’s Trident nuclear missile system.

Last year, former Tory advisor Dominic Cummings alleged that there was a hidden "scandal of nuclear weapons infrastructure which is a dangerous disaster and a budget nightmare of hard-to-believe and highly classified proportions".

A Vanguard-class nuclear submarine pictured at FaslaneThe UK has four Vanguard-class submarines based at Faslane, which were each built with a 25-year lifespan – a limit imposed by the lifespan of major components.

The four submarines commenced sea trials or saw their reactor go critical in 1992, 1994, 1996, and 1999 respectively, meaning even the newest is now past its 25-year lifespan.

The UK Government noted in 2007 that it “should be possible” to extend these lifespans by five years to a total of 30.

In the 2030s, the Vanguard-class submarines are due to be replaced with new Dreadnought-class boats – which are currently being built by BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness.

The SNP are opposed the nuclear weaponry being based in Scotland, and on Tuesday criticised Labour for pouring money into "white elephants".

Claiming that Labour had allocated £36bn for energy projects in England since coming to power, the SNP the UK Government was “treating Scotland as an afterthought because of its prioritisation of English industries with a litany of investments made south of the Border over Scotland”.