Ambitious plans for a £25 million regeneration scheme for Whitehaven have been revealed.

Copeland Council has unveiled its vision for the town as part of its bid for the Government's Future High Streets Fund.

The details of the project are being made public today and the council wants to hear residents' feedback.

Plans include:

  • Developing a cycle hub on the former Barclays Bank site, offering sales, hire, storage and repairs of bikes and e-bikes, linked with a juice bar and guided tours
  • Creating a seafood restaurant and cycle-friendly accommodation on Marlborough Street
  • Conversion of the former Whittles building on Duke Street into a community digital hub
  • Developing residential opportunities, focusing on the needs of young professionals and post-graduate students, with access to communal leisure and workspace
  • Connecting the town centre and the harbour by creating new arcades between King Street and Strand Street, offering food court, artisan and small-scale leisure spaces

Mike Starkie, Mayor of Copeland, said: “We are incredibly proud to reveal our plans for Whitehaven, and I believe we have created a compelling and exciting bid to secure significant funding for the town.

“The bold schemes that are proposed tick every box in terms of the Government’s criteria of connectivity and diversification.

“While repurposing unused buildings, we intend to create a more cohesive town that utilises King Street and the harbour as a united space and offers residents, workers and visitors new and high quality experiences in food, digital, culture, health and wellbeing.

“It would improve the start of the C2C as a flagship of the town, drawing in leisure and cycle tourism and make the most of Whitehaven’s position of hosting three national cycle routes and linking into our Connecting Cumbria’s Hidden Coast opportunity.”

The potential level of investment into the town will be approximately £25 million, with a request to the Government for around £15 million.

Copeland Council has already secured £1,056,649 from the Local Growth Fund through Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership to acquire land and buildings to enable a strong case to be made to the Government that the borough is in a position to deliver the scheme.

The authority has also committed £601,483 of its own funds and is currently in discussion with partners regarding the remaining match-funding.

Mr Starkie added: “I’d like to pay tribute to the talented team at Copeland Council who have worked exceptionally hard to put this bid together, and they deserve particular credit for getting it across the line despite the challenges that the Covid-19 crisis has brought.”

The deadline for the council’s submission is June 5. An announcement is expected this Autumn, and if the bid is successful, the scheme will be delivered by 2024.

Diversifying and connecting the town

Whitehaven's bid for the Future High Street Fund aims to see the town transformed by diversifying what it has to offer.

Copeland Council was told in July that it had been selected to go forward to the final phase of its application to the £1 billion national pot, having been ranked among the UK’s best initial bids by the Government.

The council’s officers, mayor and councillors have spent the past nine months developing the full business case in consultation with stakeholders, residents and partners, including MP Trudy Harrison, Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, Cumbria County Council, Whitehaven Town Council, Whitehaven Chamber of Trade, Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners, BEC and Sellafield Ltd.

The objectives of the scheme for Whitehaven are:

  • To visually and physically connect the retail centre and the harbour through creating arcades
  • To increase footfall and improve pedestrian flow onto the main retail street
  • To manage traffic flow and prioritise pedestrian access between retail and leisure areas, creating safe cycleway connections
  • To improve viability by diversifying the town centre through creating a broader mix of uses and space for start-ups and investment
  • To increase the availability of modern smart living accommodation within the town centre, especially for younger generations
  • To support town centre sustainability through increasing footfall on weekends and evenings based on the leisure and the night time economy

Consultations were held with stakeholders, residents and young people ahead of the bid being put together.

A full drop-in style consultation for the wider public was planned in March but had to be cancelled due to Covid-19.

A council spokesman said: "Key themes within the emerging business case include connectivity and diversification, as the scheme intends to create a more cohesive town that utilises King Street and the harbour as a united space and offers residents, workers and visitors new and high quality experiences – from the basics of world-class customer service and great food to innovative digital leisure, culture, health and wellbeing.

"The intention is to bring in more footfall from residents using new services and leisure; from workers relocating businesses into the town and from visitors to the area that are coming to stay and experience the new opportunities on offer."