In November 2023, Westmorland and Furness Council was provisionally awarded up to £13,476,700 from the UK Government’s Local Regeneration Fund for the Heart of Kendal programme. The programme focuses on revitalising our heritage town centre.
In February 2025, the UK Government confirmed the funding.
The Heart of Kendal project vision
The programme aims to revitalise Kendal town centre by:
- making it a more attractive destination to support local businesses
- supporting education - creating a new learning hub for Kendal College
- provide an enhanced community space for an improved markets offer and more events
- improving riverside accessibility for walking, cycling, and leisure
Project overview
The programme has four major projects.
Westmorland Campus
The Westmorland Shopping Centre upper floors will become the third Kendal College campus.
The campus will:
- improve local education opportunities
- serve up to 400 students a day
- bring vital footfall to the town centre
The Heart of Kendal funding will allow the college to complete the refurbishment.
Indoor Market Hall
The project will regenerate the Market Hall into a renewed community and commercial space.
Initial work on this historic building includes:
- replacing the roof
- installing solar panels
- electrical work
These works were funded by £840,126 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund
The government's Public Sector Decarbonisation scheme will fund replacing the heating system. An air source heat pump system will replace the gas heating. Energy-efficient LED lighting and other works will follow.
Through the funding, the full refurbishment of the building will start in 2026. This will follow stakeholder engagement and the final building design. We expect the building to reopen in autumn 2027.
Market Hall expression of interest
Fill out the expression of interest form if you are interested in becoming a trader in the new Market Hall.
We would especially like to hear from you if you are:
- a food and drink operator
- a food retailer
- a start-up business
- a young entrepreneur
Complete the expression of interest for Kendal Market Hall (DOCX, 88KB)
Return the form to us by email.
Cultural Services Team
Email: kendalmarket@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk
Market Place and Kent Street
The project will improve Market Place and Kent Street.
Potential works include:
- new pavement and road surfacing
- seating improvements
- improved markets and cultural spaces
- new planting
- road safety features
We'll appoint design consultants in 2025. We expect designs to progress through 2026, and works to start in 2027.
Riverside Active Travel Corridor
The programme will transform the riverside path between Lowther Street and Abbot Hall.
Improvements will make the path more accessible as a better active travel route.
Governance and delivery
The Kendal Town Team guide the programme. They plan the project pipeline for the town centre. They also look for other opportunities to improve Kendal.
The team includes people from:
• Westmorland and Furness Council
• Kendal College
• Kendal Futures
• Kendal Town Council
• Kendal BID
Design consultants Market Curators will lead the design process for the markets. This follows the Autumn 2024 engagement sessions. Over 200 residents and traders gave feedback.
The feedback will shape:
• stall layouts
• design elements
• inclusivity
• future tenant mix
This page will be updated with more community engagement sessions. Check back to have your say in the design process.
Current progress and next steps
Market Hall enabling works were completed in July 2025.
The Local Regeneration Fund has provided funds for the larger-scale regeneration projects. This is currently progressing into design and stakeholder engagement phases.
Work scheduled for completing through 2026 and 2027 includes:
- Market Place and Kent Street
- the Market Hall
- the riverside path
- the final phase of the college campus
Key milestones
- Provisional Local Regeneration Fund award - November 2023
- UKSPF enabling works to Indoor Market start - December 2024
- Final Local Regeneration Fund confirmation - February 2025
- Enabling Indoor Market works completed - July 2025
- Confirmation of full Local Regeneration Fund award - February 2025
- Westmorland Campus completion - autumn 2026
- Works commence on the Riverside Corridor - summer 2027
- Reopened Indoor Market Hall expected - autumn 2027
- Market Place and Kent Street completion - spring 2028
- Riverside Corridor completion - spring 2028
Community engagement
Community input will be central to the development of these projects. It will influence design development, layout, materials, inclusivity and improved accessibility.
Have your say
We welcome your feedback, views and comments. You can find details about the surveys and consultations we're running below.
Kendal Market Place and Kent Street
We have a survey for stakeholders to give us their views about the Market Place and Kent Street in Kendal. Our survey is for early engagement with stakeholders at this stage. We'll consult more widely with stakeholders and the general public as we produce designs over the course of the project.
Complete our early engagement survey for stakeholders about Kendal Market Place and Kent Street
Kendal Riverside Active Travel improvements
We're also running a consultation about the initial design proposals about the Kendal Riverside Active Travel Improvements. These improvements form part of the wider Heart of Kendal Programme.
You can find an overview of the project and details of the proposals in the survey.