Members of the public are being urged to have their say on how a flagship 25-hectare residential site in the heart of Barrow is developed.
The vision for Marina Village is to create a unique sustainable, urban residential neighbourhood on a superb dockside site in the heart of Barrow to support its exciting and ambitious future, set within a sustainable network of vibrant and natural spaces, which support well-being, active travel and a great quality of life.
With the first six-hectare phase of the site remediated and ready for development, work is set to start on preparing the second phase of 19 hectares, supported by £24.8 million of Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land (BIL) funding of from Homes England.
Running alongside that work, Westmorland and Furness Council is preparing a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) to guide the transformation of the site into a modern, attractive and desirable place to live.
The site when complete will provide 808 new homes, a nature conservation area and new public open spaces – a vital part of Barrow’s wider regeneration agenda, creating a vibrant community and providing new housing in the heart of the town near to centres of education, major employers and local shops and businesses and changing perceptions of Barrow as a place to live.
Phase 1 of the development – the remediation of six hectares of land funded by £5.5 million secured from the Government’s Getting Building Fund, administered by Cumbria LEP – was completed in November. With the additional BIL funding, infrastructure works will be able to commence to enable the site to be developed for new housing, which will include affordable housing.
Any new development will be expected to deliver a range of outdoor communal and welcoming public spaces and semi-public spaces that allow residents to play, relax, exercise and socialise.
There will also be a requirement for contributions from developers towards the improvement of local education and health care provision off-site.
Public consultation on the draft SPD, which sets out Westmorland and Furness Council’s development, design, and infrastructure requirements for the site, runs until 19 September and a drop-in session is being held from 10am until 2pm in The Forum in Barrow on Tuesday 10 September
Click here to see the draft plan and find out about how to have your say.
Councillor Virginia Taylor, Cabinet member for Sustainable Communities and Localities, said: "This flagship project will unlock this former industrial land and see it transformed into a thriving residential community in the centre of Barrow in the best way possible for residents, for the town as a whole, and for future generations – including looking after the planet for them as much as we can.
"It is one of the council's biggest schemes and tremendously important for Barrow, Westmorland and Furness and beyond. We are putting the mechanisms in place to ensure it is developed in the best way possible for residents and the town as a whole, and residents must play a key part in letting us know their views on the site's future.
"Residents must play a key part in letting us know their views on the site's future. I urge as many people as possible to engage with the consultation process or visit the drop-in session at The Forum on 10 September.”
The consultation process will include consultation with local people, businesses and key stakeholders, including Natural England, Environment Agency, Associated British Ports and BAE Systems; plus the relevant service areas of the Council, including Education and Highways.
Consultation has previously taken place as part of the preparation of the Local Plan, which includes the Marina Village site as a housing allocation. The former Barrow Borough Council published an Infrastructure Delivery Plan which showed as far as possible the infrastructure and services required to support the development proposed in the Local Plan and how this would be delivered. More recently, further engagement has taken place with infrastructure and service providers specific to the Marina Village site, and the feedback from this has informed the draft SPD.