
The first phase of work to create Barrow’s Marina Village has been given the go-ahead.
Barrow Borough Council, working with Cumbria County Council, has secured planning approval for the remediation work of the site.
Cumbria County Council has £5.5 million from the Government’s Getting Building Fund, administered by Cumbria LEP, to deliver the work.
The county council has appointed Thomas Armstrong Ltd, based in Flimby, near Maryport, to clear and decontaminate the first six hectares of the 26-hectare former industrial site in the heart of the town, unlocking it for development so that it can go on to accommodate up to 650 homes.
Work is expected to start in the spring and be completed in the winter.
Further phases of Marina Village will be funded through #BrilliantBarrow – an ambitious programme which has secured an offer of £25 million in regeneration funding from the Government’s Towns Fund for seven ambitious projects in the town.
Ann Thomson, the leader of Barrow Borough Council and a member of the #BrilliantBarrow board, said: “Preparing a site like the Marina Village is a lengthy and complicated process.
“Having this planning permission in place is a significant milestone on the journey of this location from derelict land to a thriving community in the heart of the town.”
Councillor David Southward, Cumbria County Council’s cabinet member for economic development, said: “I’m delighted that the county council is supporting Barrow Borough Council to progress with the clean up and enabling works on the first phase of this key strategic housing site in Barrow.
“This work will make a six-hectare section of the site ripe and ready for development for new homes to be built. Marina Village is a popular area of the town and ideally located close to major employers, schools and colleges and sustainable transport links.”
The planning consent in place will allow the demolition of existing buildings on the site while structures below ground level can also be removed.
A suitable platform for future construction can be created, oil and groundwater testing can take place and areas of landscaping and planting can be installed.
Work to relocate species such as slow worms and common lizards to designated conservation areas has also been undertaken ahead of the remediation works.
As each phase of the site is completed, it will be marketed to private developers who will be able to bring forward proposals for new homes.
Barrow Borough Council is working with Homes England, the Government’s housing agency and wider partners to identify funding for phase two of the work.