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Futuristic plans for housing nuclear records approved for Caithness

Artist's impression of the NDA archive in Wick
Artist's impression of the NDA archive in Wick

Plans for a futuristic building to house the nation’s nuclear records have been approved by Highland councillors.

Members of the north planning committee welcomed the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s bold designs for facility at Wick, claiming that people from all over the world will visit.

The distinctive triangular-shaped building will house millions of documents telling the story of UK nuclear industry.

The items will include archives about the history of Caithness and the story of Dounreay.

Around 30 new jobs will be created at the £20million facility.

The building will hold between 20 and 30 million digital records and around 28,000 linear metres (17miles) of paper and photographic records.

These will primarily concern the history, development and decommissioning of the UK’s civil nuclear industry since the 1940s.

The existing Wick-based Caithness archive is also to be relocated to the new facility.

Councillor Bill Fernie said that the Wick archive was always “completely congested” in the summer as tourists from America and Australia flocked to the town to research their family history.

And Councillor Gillian Coghill said: “This is an absolutely great design. It is so unusual yet it fits into the landscape.

“I think it will provide a lot more jobs in the area.”

The 13-acre site on Ackergill Street is opposite Wick Airport, and was formerly used for RAF married quarters.

These buildings were demolished in 1986 and the area is now grassland. The entrance to the building will be sheltered by screens, creating the point of the triangle and inside the courtyard will be a small pond.

The building itself will include a public area, comprising a reception, community room, reading rooms, offices and space for conservation workshops.

There will also be a substantial section devoted entirely to storage of the archives.

This part of the building will be built from precast concrete to ensure the stable conditioned environment required for an archive.

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