Westmorland and Furness Council has issued an Invitation to Tender (ITT) to specialist demolition contractors as part of a process to shape a ‘once in a lifetime’ transformation of Barrow town centre.
Whilst no decisions have yet been made, the council is advertising the tender now so that it may retain the option of awarding a contract without further delay, should a decision be made to demolish the Market and Forum in the future. The decision to proceed or not with any option will be subject to the approval of a future business case in the autumn.
This follows a Cabinet decision in June to start the process to develop bolder, more ambitious plans for the ‘Heart of Barrow’ following a recent decision by the Team Barrow partnership - which includes the council, central Government and BAE Systems - to prioritise the regeneration of the town centre as one of its major capital projects.
A re-invigorated and re-modelled town centre is seen as key to these ambitions and significant extra funding made available through Team Barrow means there is now a generational opportunity to radically re-think the centre of the town.
Issuing the ITT does not mean any decisions have been taken to demolish any buildings and bidders have been advised that any award of tender is subject to a future decision. The council is placing the project in a position where a demolition contract could proceed without further delay, if it emerges as the preferred option.
Councillor Helen Chaffey, Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, Customer Services, Culture and Communications, said:
“We have to issue the tender today to give the council the option of awarding a contract without further delay, should a decision be made to demolish the Market and the Forum in the future as part of the ‘Heart Of Barrow’ transformation.
"The ‘Heart Of Barrow’ is a hugely exciting, multi-million pound project that will define Barrow for generations to come. We need to get this right and it’s therefore important that we get all the information we need so we have a full range of options to consider.
"We are absolutely committed to making sure that the community is at the very centre of things as these options are developed and as part of this process we will be talking to residents, businesses and other organisations in the town to really understand what people want.
"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the town centre and deliver lasting improvements in retail, leisure, housing, health and education”.
Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet agreed on 4 June to support the Team Barrow board recommendation and to use £970,000 from the Barrow Transformation Fund to enable the development of Outline Business Cases. Cabinet also made clear that the ‘design and development of the alternative scheme will be done with and alongside the community’.
The Cabinet report stated: “The scheme will unlock private sector investment and future-proof the town centre for the future. 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 by BAE Systems, as well as new accommodation and community and health facilities.’’
In recognition of Barrow's strategic importance to national defence and security, the Government has agreed to invest more than £200m in Barrow over the next 10 years. Team Barrow will use this money - and seek to secure additional private and public sector investment - to help transform the town, delivering improvements across health, education, transport, the economy and community.