A programme director has been appointed for Allerdale Investment Partnership.

Local regeneration specialist Stephen Holland, who was previously lead development manager for Lancashire Regeneration Property Partnership, has joined to help drive the Allerdale partnership forward.

Allerdale Investment Partnership was formed to help the authority dispose of undeveloped land and was responsible for bringing Lidl to Maryport and a new housing estate at Ashfield Road South in Workington.

Mr Holland, a chartered surveyor, has delivered over £670 million-worth of residential and commercial development across the North West.

He said: “ I am excited to be joining the at this pivotal time in Allerdale’s regeneration.

"The partnership's approach is not a developer-centric process of simply promoting and disposing of land to generate capital receipt – as a partnership we’re formulating long-term investment and asset-management strategies to generate revenue, deliver regeneration, create jobs and promote economic growth across all sectors of the economy.

"Allerdale’s ongoing economic success hinges on a diverse and vibrant economy; our approach looks at the big picture from the very beginning and aims to strategically manage assets and investment to deliver maximum benefit for the residents of Allerdale.”

He worked as interim estates manager at Allerdale Borough Council three years ago and had an input at the early stage of the council’s regeneration strategy.