Cumbria's cash-strapped local authorities could miss out on a multi-million pound windfall from nuclear new build at Sellafield.

At present, local authorities receive 50 per cent of the business rates from the nuclear industry in Cumbria, with the rest going to central government.

But ministers are proposing that Whitehall keeps all the rates received from Moorside, Sellafield, where NuGen plans to build the UK’s biggest nuclear power plant. This would amount to many millions of pounds – Sellafield’s annual rates bill is £32 million.

Workington Labour MP Sue Hayman is demanding a rethink.

She said: “One of the areas that our local community gets the most funding from is the nuclear industry, in order to fund vital public services in Cumbria.

“With the swingeing cuts being imposed upon local government, it is more important than ever that we receive assurances that the services that our local councils can provide will not have to be cut further.

“One way to offset the cut to central government funding would be to allow our local community to retain the business rates from the nuclear new-build at Moorside. During the last parliament, the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee produced a report that recommended that the Government allowed local authorities hosting nuclear new-build to retain business rates, bringing nuclear in line with communities hosting renewable energy projects.

“I spoke in a Parliamentary debate last week on the funding of local government in rural areas, where I pressed ministers at the Department for Communities and Local Government to review this proposal as part of their funding formula.

“I urge the government to look again and ensure that public services used by my constituents in Cumbria are properly funded.”

In response, the Communities Minister Marcus Jones said the Government was “looking at the whole of the funding that comes from business rates”.

NuGen is due to make a decision on whether to proceed with the Moorside project in 2018.