Plans to transform Carlisle’s historic Citadel buildings into a University of Cumbria campus took another step forward this week.
Carlisle City Council’s leadership met at the Civic Centre on Monday to discuss a number of items, among them a Compulsory Purchase Order for land on English Street and Victoria Viaduct.
Leaders approved the creation of a CPO to acquire land and rights for a section of the area. The move facilitates the redevelopment of the Grade I listed Citadel buildings into a new University of Cumbria campus.
The executive agreed to trigger the CPO as the report reveals that the only alternative would be not to go ahead with the regeneration project, risking the withdrawal of Borderlands and Town Deal Funding.
Transformation of the Citadels into the state-of-the-art campus is being delivered by the university in partnership with Cumbria County Council and the city council
£50 million has been allocated from the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal for the regeneration project as well as £23.5 million from the university’s funds, and a further £4 million will be provided by Carlisle Town Deal for the UofC Business Exchange Centre.
The Business Exchange Centre will be developed on Victoria Viaduct as part of the historic quarter’s renewal. It is set to bring 800 square metres of “hyper-fast digitally enabled business interaction and accommodation space”.
A report, updating councillors on the Citadel regeneration scheme reveals that “this proposal will deliver 164 extra full-time equivalent jobs by 2035/36, 380 net additional jobs by 2040/41 and boost the economy of the Borderlands region by £118 million (Gross Value Added).”
Overall, the project is hailed as improving skills and productivity and of the area’s workforce as well as improving the “overall attractiveness and liveability” of the city and “bringing back into use this key gateway site with a high-quality building”.
The officer’s report on the Compulsory Purchase Order argues that on balance, the potential benefits of facilitating the project outweigh any negative impacts of acquiring the land at English Street and Victoria Viaduct.
