Elected officials spoke of their hopes for future growth in Cumbria at a meeting of business minds in Carlisle.

MP for Copeland Trudy Harrison and elected mayor of Copeland Mike Starkie were in attendance at the Invest in Cumbria launch event on Friday.

The event saw representation from Sellafield Limited, Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster and the SMR nuclear consortium.

Trudy Harrison made her first appearance after being appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary for Transport the night before.

The minister spoke of the opportunities for nuclear developments in the county: “It’s about to get a little bit better in Cumbria because rather than having to deal with six councils and a Lake District National Park Authority, it’ll be two councils and a Lake District National Park Authority.”

Mayor Starkie said: “I think we’ve got a clear field to grasp all the opportunities that levelling up is going to bring. We’ve got to take responsibility to make sure levelling up happens here in Cumbria.”