Plans to revamp Cleator Moor town centre have been given the go-ahead.
A new public services and cultural community hub will be created by reconfiguring and linking the Square’s library and the former Credit Union building.
A new café annexe will incorporate a commercial kitchen to the lower ground floor.
The hub aims provide new facilities including exhibition and arts space and services for youth provision.
The library will be reconfigured with improved reading space and internet access.
There will also be a programme of work to enhance the appearance and ambience of the Square.
Additional information was submitted to an existing planning application late last year, which sought approval for the extension and alteration of the existing buildings to create a community hub including café.
The relocation of existing sculptures, public realm improvements, the restoration of the memorial fountain, new landscaped areas and accessibility improvements were also included in the plans.
Cleator Moor Town Deal secured an award of £22.5m from the Government’s Towns Fund.
This project, Revitalised Town is one of four projects that make up the Cleator Moor Town Deal. The project is being managed by Cumberland Council.
Bob Metcalfe, chair of the Cleator Moor Town Deal Board, said: “The hub will look to provide a range of new facilities such as exhibition and arts space and services for youth provision, as well as providing high-quality office space in the heart of the town centre.”
The project will include public realm improvements to the Square:
- Fountain to be restored (subject to formal agreement from Cleator Moor Town Council).
- New bus shelter put in (in the same location).
- Improved seating, planting and hard-landscaped areas.
- Artworks and memorials cleaned and repositioned where required.
- Improved public lighting scheme.
- New electric vehicle charging points installed
- New bike racks installed.
- New CCTV cameras installed to monitor the Square
It is hoped work will start later this spring and be completed in summer 2027.
Day Cummins Ltd. has been appointed as the architect for the scheme.
A refurbishment of the PEC Phase 3 building also forms part of the Revitalised Town project and was completed in December 2025. It includes a new internal layout to improve accessibility and how the space is used.
The PEC Phase 3 building is owned by Cumberland Council and let to Phoenix Enterprise Centre on a long-term lease. PEC is a not-for-profit community interest company and sub-let the building as office space.
