Powerful decision-makers are being urged to think of the greater good so all of Cumbria can cash in on its biggest investment in history.

And they have been urged to do everything possible to ensure the county is given the best possible chance to secure major opportunities.

Hundreds of major economic players have been hearing about the prospects for the nuclear industry at a conference in Carlisle.

They heard a promise from Energy Minister Greg Clark that the Government is committed to playing its part in pursuing plans for a new nuclear plant at Moorside, near Sellafield – and that he has held talks with potential investors, including the Japanese government.

Meanwhile, the man at the helm of the company behind those proposals say the development will offer lucrative chances for the whole county.

It was a point echoed by Carlisle MP John Stevenson, who organised Cumbria’s first Cumbria Nuclear Conference.

He described Cumbria as “a nuclear county”, telling the audience at Carlisle Racecourse yesterday: “I am acutely aware of the machinations of our county’s politics. What is good for Barrow, good for Whitehaven, good for Carlisle and good for Cleator Moor is good for all of us.”

Businesses in north Cumbria are among those being urged to develop skills that will see them cash in on any development in the west, with chances for massive construction and engineering deals a serious possibility.

Speaking at the reception, which opened the two-day conference, Mr Clark said Britain was at the “dawning of a new age of nuclear” and high-quality jobs in Cumbria.

And Lord Hutton, former Barrow MP and Defence Secretary, said: “The prospects for the nuclear industry in the UK are the best they have been for a generation. That is good news for the UK and it is good news for Cumbria.”

But Professor John Fyfe, who has been involved in economic partnerships in Cumbria since the 1980s sounded a word of caution about the good words.

He said: “I am delighted that they are committing but I have been through governments before.”

Other speakers yesterday included Tom Samson, the chief executive of NuGen, the alliance behind the Moorside proposals.

He praised the Government’s decision last week to back the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant in Somerset.

He said: “Across the UK the Government is encouraging development of nuclear new build and we are hoping to do our part.”

When asked whether his company remained committed to Moorside, he replied: “Absolutely. We are clear with what we need to achieve.”

He pointed out that Moorside could create new jobs but called for changes within Cumbria.

“We have to improve the infrastructure on offer to ensure those opportunities on the west coast are available to all of the people,” he said.

“Infrastructure development has to go alongside development of the site to that it is not a difficult place to get to.”

He added: “Across Cumbria there are opportunities to attract the Cumbrian youth that might otherwise have gone elsewhere to develop their careers”.

Meanwhile, Paul Howarth, chief executive of the National Nuclear Laboratory, who also chairs the Centre of Nuclear Excellence praised the event’s aim of pulling Cumbria together.

He said: “I think this is a really good conference to bring the capabilities in Cumbria together and I think it is great that this is being held in Carlisle.

“It shows the benefit of nuclear in Carlisle is more than just what is going on on the sites.”

“The backbone of nuclear is based here in Cumbria.”

Clive Anderson, director and global head of major projects with event sponsor WYG, which owns Carlisle-based North Associates, told people at the event that the supply chain for nuclear should not just look locally for business opportunities, pointing out that several countries around the world are developing their own nuclear new builds..

“Cumbria has become an incubator for a homegrown nuclear workforce,” he said.

“Look at the world from a global perspective, not just a Cumbrian one.”