West Lakes Science Park: Where Innovation Meets the Fells

If you drive along the A595 in West Cumbria, past the rugged beauty of the fells, you might be surprised to stumble upon one of the most concentrated hubs of scientific expertise in the North of England, at Moor Row. 

West Lakes Science Park isn’t your typical concrete jungle business park. It is a place where high-level nuclear physics and robotics engineering happen just a stone’s throw from grazing Herdwick sheep.

For anyone interested in the future of energy or the economic heartbeat of West Cumbria, this site is essential ground.

Moor Row West Lakes Science Park Illustration
West Lakes Science Park Illustration

From Iron Ore to Isotopes
To understand West Lakes, you have to understand the land it sits on. The village of Moor Row has a deep industrial lineage. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, this area was dominated by iron ore mining - the "red gold" that built the railways and towns of West Cumbria.

However, the Science Park itself is a relatively modern addition to the landscape. Established in the early 1990s, the park was developed as a direct response to the changing needs of the nuclear industry.

For decades, the colossal Sellafield site (just a few miles down the road) did almost everything "in-house." As the industry evolved, there was a push to move non-active research and technical work off the main nuclear site. The vision was to create a "centre of excellence" where scientists and engineers could collaborate in a safer, more accessible environment.

Originally heavily funded by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL), the park was built on the greenfield lands of the Ingwell estate, marking a shift from the heavy extraction industries of the past to the knowledge economy of the future. 

The Park Today
West Lakes Science Park is owned and managed by BEC (formerly Britain’s Energy Coast). It has grown far beyond a simple overflow car park for Sellafield. It is now a thriving ecosystem of over 2,000 professionals working in some of the most technically demanding sectors in the world.

The site is a cluster of modern office buildings - with names like Galemire Court, Pillar House, and Rutherford House - interspersed with landscaped greenery and views of the Lake District National Park.

Here is what is actually happening behind those glass fronts:
  1. The Nuclear Supply Chain: Naturally, nuclear is still king here. The park is the headquarters for many major companies in the Sellafield supply chain. You will find global engineering giants like Jacobs, Costain, and Assystem here. They use the park as a base to plan the complex decommissioning projects required to clean up the UK’s nuclear legacy.
  2. World-Class Research: It is not just corporate offices; it is a serious academic hub.
  3. Robotics and Tech: Perhaps the most exciting development in recent years is the growth of robotics. Companies like Createc (whose radiation-mapping robots were used at Fukushima) and Delkia (systems integration) have a presence here. 
  • The University of Manchester operates the Dalton Cumbrian Facility (DCF) at West Lakes. This is a top-tier research centre where academia and industry use particle accelerators to study how radiation affects materials.
  • UCLan (University of Central Lancashire) also has a campus on-site, focusing on medical solutions, fire safety, and nuclear education, helping to train the next generation of Cumbrian scientists.
The park has become a testbed for autonomous systems that can go where humans cannot - whether that is inside a nuclear reactor or on a drone survey.

Why It Matters
West Lakes Science Park is a prime example of how West Cumbria is reinventing itself. It proves that you don't need to be in London or Manchester to be at the cutting edge of science. 

The collaboration here is unique. You might have a PhD student from the Dalton Facility grabbing coffee with a civil engineer from Jacobs, discussing a problem that could save millions of pounds in decommissioning costs. It is this density of talent - tucked away in the quiet Cumbrian countryside - that makes the site so special.

Visiting
If you are visiting for business, the park is located at Moor Row, Cumbria, CA24 3HY. It is easily accessible from the A595.

While it is a working business park, the atmosphere is open and collegiate, with central facilities for conferences and meetings.

​Green Spaces and Nature Trails
​One of the unique aspects of West Lakes is that it doesn't feel like a standard industrial estate; it has retained much of the character of the old Ingwell Hall estate it replaced.

The developers made a conscious effort to keep the parkland feel, and today it is arguably as famous locally for its walking routes as it is for its laboratories.
​
The grounds are open to the public, and you will often find locals and employees alike taking advantage of the network of footpaths.

There is a scenic nature trail that winds through the site, taking you past mature woodland, landscaped ponds, and well-kept lawns. It is a common sight to see physicists and engineers taking "walking meetings" along the paths, or simply clearing their heads with a stroll during lunch.

​The trail connects well with the surrounding area, including a public footpath leading in from "Goose Butts" to the north, making it an accessible green lung for the community, not just a place for business.

Moor Row Nature Trail West Lakes Science Park Illustration
Nature Trail Science Park Illustration
Location: Moor Row CA24, UK

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