UK National Nuclear Archive to be built in Scotland

11 February 2008

A UK National Nuclear Archive (NNA) is to be created in Caithness, Scotland, at a cost of £20 million ($39 million). The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) said that it will invest £8 million ($15.6 million) over three years to help create the archive.

The archive will potentially hold between 20 and 30 million digital, paper and photographic records primarily concerning the history, development and decommissioning of the UK's civil nuclear industry since the 1940s. The building will feature a two-story temperature-controlled warehouse and office space. It will also contain reading rooms, conference facilities and visitor facilities.

The NNA is being proposed in response to the NDA's statutory obligation to manage public records, keeping them safe and making them more accessible to the public and the nuclear community. Around 20 specialist jobs will be created by the project and the building will also provide a new home for the Wick-based North Highland Archive.

Dr Ian Roxburgh, NDA Chief Executive, said: "This will be the first time that this amount of valuable information - useful to researchers, academics and businesses - will be brought together under one roof. We want to create a world-class, internationally renowned facility for records archiving and, ultimately, knowledge management."

The NDA has been working closely with both the Highland Council and the Highlands and Islands Enterprise on the project. The archive is expected to take about four years to build. Land near Caithness airport, currently owned by the local authority, has been earmarked as a potential site. A private sector partner will be sought to construct the archive and the building will be leased back over a number of years.