Tuesday 29 December 2009

‘We’ll pull out all stops to bring £300m plant to dale’


In an article in the Teesdale Mercury the future of the new Glaxo Plant is discussed.

We should be prepared for the likelihood that it won't come to Ulverston.

One of the main attractions of Ulverston in the early days with an emphasis on fermentation was that effluent from the plant could be put out to sea.

Maybe this new plant doesn't require heavily on fermentation.

Reading this article makes one aware of a completely different attitude of the Barnard Castle Town leaders to ours in Ulverston.

However we have so much to offer here that surely the presence of the Bay shouldn't be a factor - unless the threat of flooding lurks strongly in Glaxo thinking.

I'm not aware of a vibrant leadership here that will put up a fight over anything. Apathy abounds everywhere?

What do you think?

4 comments:

Dave Sankey said...

I think that you Geoff, a Chemical Engineer, an ex Glaxo employee should be advising us of the criteria required for a biopharmaceutical plant being built at the GSK Ulverston site. Do you think that the effluent disposal of a Bio plant is as enviromentally damagising as the fermentation and chemical process? Please advise

Geoff Dellow said...

Dave,

Why do you see the effluent disposal as the important issue?

As a former Glaxo employee I have a lot of confidence that if this an important problem then Glaxo will deal with it to people's satisfaction.


The important issue for Ulverston is whether they are going to continue to provide employment and if I am right, then we should be doing everything we can to persuade them that Ulverston is the place to develop their business.

What could be a far more important issue for us, for both housing and business, is how we are dealing with the increase threat of flooding; something that was totally bypassed in the recent Flood Summit.

Both local people and the politicians need to be far more focussed on achieving the best possible solution.

It would be good to feel that when the next potential flood happens we are better prepared. With the lack of change over the last twelve years, it seems that we need better leadership. At the moment I see no convincing movement on this issue. Do you?

Stranger said...

The chinless, brainless "wonders" who have influence in this town (that includes non-councillors and the Kendal/Carlisle mafia) have no desire whatsoever to attract meaningful, significant industry to Ulverston. To them it is anathema and directly contradicts their view that we are a "quaint historic traditional quirky individual lake district market town".


They'd rather have morris men, tea shoppes, some faintly ridiculous minority interest festivals, sycophantic devotion to any group or person remotely connected to "the arts" etc etc.

They'd be mortified at the prospect of more pharmaceutical plant spewing out nasty fumes and smells over the utopia they are trying to create here. Then there'll be the "green brigade" bleating on about potential danger to birds, shrimps and other minor crustacea in the open sewer that is the Bay. Then there'll be the be-sandalled environmental dix rabbiting on about increased traffic and so on and so on.

So tough luck all you potential fitters, welders, leccys and process staff out there - buy yourselves some bells and a white hanky - real jobs here just ain't going to happen.

Geoff Dellow said...

Good one,

Great comment.

How come I didn't detect a dig at me in there?

Is it that my brain is (becoming) addled.

However, is there a middle way that either satisfies everyone some some degree - or more likely satisfies no one?