Councillors will be asked to consider whether to back a bolder and more ambitious transformation of Barrow town centre next week.
Extra funding made available through Team Barrow means significantly more money is now available that could have the potential to deliver a more transformational regeneration of the ‘Heart of Barrow’.
The additional funding from Team Barrow - the partnership between Westmorland and Furness Council, BAE Systems Ltd and national Government, which has agreed to invest £200m in the town over the next 10 years – would be on top of the money already committed by Government for the current town centre regeneration works.
A report to the council’s Cabinet meeting on 3 June explains that the former Barrow Borough Council secured Government Levelling Up Funding (LUF) in October 2021 towards a £17.5m regeneration scheme, comprising of £15.9m LUF money and £1.5m match funding from the council.
Work has already started on projects under this scheme, including asbestos removal in the Market Hall and demolition work in Dalton Road, Stephen Street and The Ginnel to make way for a new public park and enhanced public realm features.
But the subsequent formation of Team Barrow in 2024 and its broader remit to regenerate the town and revitalise Barrow and the wider Furness area as a place where people choose to live, work and thrive, has brought access to considerably more funding, that the Cabinet report describes as a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity.
Barrow is critical to the UK’s national security, with the town and its people playing a vital role in designing and building Royal Navy submarines. BAE Systems, which already employs more than 14,500 people, needs to grow its workforce to enable delivery of the Astute, Dreadnought and SSN-AUKUS submarine programmes.
Team Barrow will support this, as well as diversify and strengthen the town’s economy and increase productivity, by delivering improvements to housing and the town centre, businesses and the local economy, education and skills, health and communities, and transport.
Transforming the town centre will be a critical factor to support these aims, along with a choice of excellent, sustainable and affordable housing to meet the needs of a diverse community.
A concept feasibility study was undertaken by Team Barrow to assess potential options, considering opportunities to use the Barrow Transformation Fund and related private sector investment for the necessary work to deliver a far more comprehensive, culturally-led re-modelling of the town centre.
At a special meeting earlier this month (May), the Team Barrow board universally accepted the strategic case for an ambitious transformation of the town centre, to include use of the Barrow Transformation Fund.
The Team Barrow board recommended that current regeneration projects being undertaken by the council be stopped to allow further investigation of these new opportunities. The local Barrow Advisory Board has also supported this recommendation.
This now means Westmorland and Furness Council Cabinet members must decide how to proceed with the current Levelling Up Fund regeneration scheme.
Cabinet will be asked on 3 June to support the Team Barrow board recommendation and consider stopping the current works to allow further consideration of the opportunities offered by the additional funding and to start the process to develop new, more transformational plans for the ‘Heart of Barrow’.
If Cabinet decide to not progress the current market hall and public realm scheme, the Cabinet report explains £970,000 could be made available from the Barrow Transformation Fund to enable the development of Outline Business Cases (OBCs) for the larger Heart of Barrow work.
The report makes clear that the ‘design and development of the alternative scheme will be done with and alongside the community’.
The report adds: “The scheme remains at early concept stage but will be developed as a town centre regeneration scheme which would comprise a culture-led mixed-use scheme to realise a transformation of the town centre, supporting place-making, town centre identity and an improved mix of uses.
“It aims to unlock private sector investment and to future-proof the town centre for its population, beyond a traditional physical regeneration scheme. This could include a new or improved theatre and events space, further utilising the Town Hall, creating a better food and drink offer alongside leisure and market facilities that boosts current investment in Portland Walk from BAE Systems, as well as new accommodation and community and health facilities.’’