Barrow boost

Since 2015, Barrow Waterfront has been undergoing site reclamation and improvement work to transform derelict land into a business park for employment and advanced manufacturing growth.

Working in partnership with Cumbria County Council and Barrow Borough Council, Cumbria LEP has invested nearly £7.2m of Growth Deal funding in the project, including £1m from the Cumbria Infrastructure Fund.

This has been used for site clearance and levelling, decontamination work, removal of industrial debris, provision of utilities, landscaping and raised earthworks for flood protection measures.

And the project has involved a great deal of behind the scenes work to protect local ecology and wildlife, as well as to provide local residents with additional facilities as the development has taken shape.

Cumbria County Council has been working with Natural England to relocate wildlife, including slow worms and common lizards, to nearby Walney Island and the slag banks and created additional areas of habitat on the Barrow Waterfront site itself.

The project has also included the provision of a small community garden for local residents and the creation of high quality allotment space to replace derelict allotments on the development site.

Another crucial aspect is the provision of utilities so that developers can seamlessly connect water, electric, gas and telecommunications to buildings as and when they are constructed.

The remediation of land on the site has sought to minimise the disposal of material from the site.

A significant amount of material has been treated and retested to ensure that all contaminants from previous industrial site usage are removed and transferred to licensed facilities for appropriate treatment.

Site access has also progressed with a new road junction onto the Marina Village site, including landscaping, perimeter fencing, improved road lighting, new pedestrian pavements and a traffic island for safer road crossing.

That has involved partnership work with utility service providers to minimise disruption as cables and pipes were moved.

One other challenge was the discovery of a large Victorian chimney which had previously been demolished and buried in the 1940s.

Public realm enhancements have also been made to the frontage of a row of grade II listed cottages believed to be some of the oldest properties in Barrow.

Traditional-looking sandstone paving and porphyry cubes have enhanced the frontage of residential properties around the site access, giving the site entrance a visual uplift.

Graham Haywood, director of Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, says: “Barrow Waterfront’s business park will nurture the county’s advanced manufacturing capabilities, creating more jobs and business opportunities for the town.”

The work to prepare the site has opened up around seven hectares of land for new employment floor space. It is estimated that this could help create between 1,200 and 1,600 jobs.

“We’ve given tours to a number of developers interested in the site, so it’s already creating a bit of a buzz,” adds Councillor David Southward, Cumbria County Council cabinet member responsible for economic development.

“Final landscaping works and site regrading works are being undertaken by contractors this spring.

“All the materials used for the site have been sourced from local quarries and local contractors have been used wherever possible.

"It’s been a fascinating project in which to be involved, and it’s delivered benefits not only for business development, but also for the community and local ecology in the area.”