Work is progressing to develop options for the first stages of a major transformation of Barrow town centre – including the future of the Forum and market hall.
No decisions have been made about the venues but a preferred contractor is being appointed to consider the methods and costs that could be involved, should a decision be taken to demolish all or part of them.
As a member of Team Barrow, alongside BAE Systems and the Government, Westmorland and Furness Council is leading on the regeneration work.
The council’s cabinet is due to receive reports looking at the options for the short-term plans in the next couple of months, it said.
They will include building survey reports and what options and opportunities there may be for maintaining cultural, entertainment and community activities in the town centre, in recognition of the vital role the Forum has played at the heart of the Barrow community and the need to support local market traders.
Team Barrow has already started asking residents to join a conversation about what they want from the town centre, as part of the first phase of Barrow Rising’s Heart of Barrow regeneration programme.
Team Barrow said feedback from the early conversations will inform short-term plans for the town centre and what should happen next with Barrow Market Hall and the Forum buildings.
The results of the current conversations will also help start the process to develop longer-term plans for the town centre, it said.
Councillor Helen Chaffey, Westmorland and Furness Council’s cabinet member for communities, customer services, culture and communications, said: “No decisions have been taken yet on next steps for the Market Hall and Forum, that will be part of the discussions in the next couple of months.
“But the costs and sequencing of any demolition of all or part of the buildings is something we have to consider as part of the options appraisal process.
“There are exciting opportunities made possible by the £200m Barrow Transformation Fund. It is a once-in-a-generation investment that can make a huge difference to the town’s economic future and improve the town centre experience for residents, visitors and businesses.
“This significant funding means we can be ambitious and radical in our ambitions and so we need to think big – and that means all options should be considered.’’
Councillor Tony Callister, chairman of Furness Locality Board, added: “The investigations by the contractor will tell us what would be involved in any demolition proposals, so if that’s the path that is eventually decided, the council will know what needs to happen and can move quickly to start that work.
“What we are hearing through the current conversations is people telling us that they are wanting to see progress. They are excited by the future opportunities, but want to see things happening in the town centre as soon as possible.
“The development of those long-term plans and the whole transformation of the town centre will be many years in the making, but it is good the council is taking steps now to ensure we can get started on the first stages of that process without delay, once decisions have been taken by cabinet.’’
What is Team Barrow?
“The time for talking is definitely over and 2026 is definitely the first year of delivery,” according to the man behind the unique three-way partnership that forms Team Barrow.
“It is about what happens in the yard but what happens on the yard is equally dependent on building new houses, improving the quality of the housing stock you’ve got, good schools and access to good health care,” he told the Northern Lights podcast from Business Crack.
In January 2025, Team Barrow published its strategic vision for its 10-year plan.
Team Barrow, a partnership between central government, Westmorland and Furness Council and BAE Systems, will help regenerate the town, revitalising Barrow and Furness as a place where people choose to live, work and thrive. The project’s ‘high-level strategic plan’ for the town has been set out in a new website called Barrow Rising which also launches today.
Barrow is critical to the UK’s national security as the home of design and construction of the Royal Navy’s submarines and recognition of this is why Team Barrow will receive more than £200 million of government investment over the next decade.
BAE Systems, which already employs more than 14,500 people, needs to expand its workforce to enable delivery of the Astute, Dreadnought and SSN-AUKUS submarine programmes.
The Plan for Barrow describes how it will support this, as well as diversify and strengthen the town’s economy and increase productivity, by delivering improvements to housing and the town centre, businesses and the local economy, education and skills, health and communities, and transport.
The plan’s twin aims are to enable and sustain the Defence Nuclear Enterprise in Barrow efficiently and securely as well as maximise the opportunities for those who live in the town and those who will move here.
