Playing sports all year round has become much easier in Cleator Moor thanks to the addition of a new £350,000 3G pitch.
The new 3G pitch has been installed at Cleator Moor Activity Centre and was funded from the £500,000 accelerated Towns Fund grant Copeland Council and Cleator Moor Town Fund Board successfully secured last year.
The facility is run by GLL on Copeland Borough Council’s behalf and the pitch was installed by Maryport-based SIS Pitches.
Mayor Mike Starkie went to inspect the new pitch with members of the Cleator Moor Town Fund Board. He said: “This all weather facility is a great addition to Cleator Moor. We had typical changeable Cumbrian weather for our visit and it was great to see that it didn’t disrupt play.
“Chatting to those using the pitch, we’ve had some fantastic feedback and the teams that use the it are pleased that this is hopefully just the start of incoming investment in sport facilities for the town. The town has a great track record of producing homegrown sports stars and we want to help nurture that.”
Working with the council , the Cleator Moor Town Deal Board secured an offer of £22.5 million from the Government’s £3.6 billion Towns Fund initiative in June for a series of schemes which are set to ensure the town and its communities thrive now and into the future.
The proposal aims to help people to improve their health and wellbeing while also generating more reasons for people to visit and spend time in the town.
Bob Metcalfe, Chair of the Cleator Moor Towns Fund Board, said: “The team are working really hard to make sure our business cases are water tight so that we can get that government money for Cleator Moor.
“It will really bring great change to the town, change that is deserved by the community. We currently have a tender out looking for a partner to deliver the leisure side of our bid and we should have them appointed by the end of November.
“Being at the 3G pitch and seeing how it is well used is a real boost.”
Cleator Moor was one of 101 towns invited to bid for a share of the Government’s Towns Fund in 2019 – part of its Levelling Up agenda.
Healthy Town is one of five projects that made up Cleator Moor’s successful submission. All aim to help maximise inclusive economic growth and better connectivity for the area while developing a welcoming arts, culture and tourism offer, thriving independent businesses and healthy, active people.
The other four Cleator Moor Town Deal projects are:
– Enterprising Town – a project to develop an enterprise campus on the Leconfield Industrial Estate aimed at leveraging the economic growth potential of the Sellafield supply chain by growing and diversifying the West Cumbria economy.
– Revitalised Town – to increase activity and footfall around the Town Square by bringing vacant and under-utilised buildings back into active use while creating an attractive new public realm. Uses will include a new cultural community hub and enhanced business space.
– Campus Town – a scheme to provide flexible, fit for purpose student accommodation to facilitate planned growth at the University of Central Lancashire’s Westlakes Campus using vacant or derelict sites in Cleator Moor. This will support vitality and footfall in the town centre.
– Connected Town – this scheme will deliver a high-quality integrated and sustainable transport network to improve connections between employment, education, amenities and leisure in Cleator Moor.
Business cases supporting each project will be subject to a rigorous assurance process next year before high level summaries are submitted back to the Government for approval.
It is hoped a design partner for the Healthy Town project will be appointed by November.
The remainder of the accelerated funding has been used for cycleway improvements and an upgrade of the Jacktrees Road play area.
