BAE tables plans for 250,000 sq ft Barrow R&D complex

Project Spartan will support the creation of the Ministry of Defence’s most advanced fleet of submarines and house 750 staff.

BAE Systems has lodged plans with Westmorland and Furness Council for a 250,000 sq ft research and development building on a three-acre site off Buccleuch Road in Barrow.

Plans for the facility come three years after BAE was awarded an £85m contract by the Ministry of Defence to deliver the next generation of submarines.

The four-storey, H-shaped complex would comprise engineering and R&D space, as well as crew accommodation and a cafe.

Building 36 would be demolished to make way for the scheme, which is located in an area undergoing significant investment.

The recently completed Submarines Academy for Skills and Knowledge and the site of the University of Cumbria’s proposed Barrow campus are situated nearby.

The submission of plans for BAE’s R&D facility comes just weeks after BAE pulled the plug on its proposals for a larger R&D facility off nearby Dova Way.

McBains is leading on design and Savills is advising BAE on planning. McBains is also the principal designer and structural, MEP, and civil engineer.

Walker Sime is the cost consultant, Royal Haskoning DHV is advising on heritage, RSK is acoustics consultant, BB7 Consulting is advising on fire, and ARES is the landscape architect.

To learn more about the scheme, search for reference number B06/2024/022 on Westmorland and Furness Council’s planning portal.

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McBains is leading on design. Credit: via planning documents