Ulverston’s GSK task force has met to discuss the firm’s £2 million legacy donation for the town.
Almost 30 proposals were sent to the task force, led by Barrow and Furness MP Michelle Scrogham, for projects that would provide education, culture, or leisure benefits for future generations of the people of Ulverston.
The next step is for the task force to meet at GSK Ulverston at the end of this month, where each submission will be reviewed in detail and scored using agreed criteria.
A shortlist will be created, which will be sent to GSK to allow it to check each proposal meets their governance requirements.
The task force will then meet again to make their final decisions on the successful project(s) with the aim of having the funding allocated to the successful project by June 2025.
An update was also provided to the task force on the next steps for the GSK site, which is currently being marketed, and the support being provided to employees.
This support includes facilitating retraining opportunities to help employees acquire new skills for the future and organising career and financial planning events, including a careers fair with the support of local employers.
Further offers of support were made by members of the task force and these will be followed up by GSK and shared with employees.
Mrs Scrogham said: “The task force was clear that it wanted to hear from the people of Ulverston about how to use this generous donation for the benefit of the town.
“Thank you to everyone who shared their ideas. We’ve had a wide range of proposals, and we want to make the process as fair as possible so we will be looking carefully at the ideas and scoring them against criteria that will be agreed by the Task Force and GSK.
“We know that when we make the final decision some groups will be disappointed, but it was important to ask local people for their views, and we need to make sure that this list of projects is used even if they can’t all receive the donation.”
Phil Wilson, GSK site director, said: “I am delighted to see the level of community engagement and the wide range of proposals submitted to help the task force decide how best to use the £2 million donation from GSK.
“With our 75-year history and association with Ulverston it is particularly important we leave a lasting legacy for the community, and I look forward to working with the task force as we start to review the submissions.”
