Cumberland steps up Sports Village momentum
With verdicts expected in February for demolition and redevelopment, the local authority’s executive will be asked to sign off a further £500,000 to take the Workington project to RIBA Stage 4.
Cumberland Council’s executive will today be presented with an update on progress for the Cumberland Sports Village, a key regeneration project in the Lower Derwent valley close to Workington town centre and existing leisure provision.
The two main strands of the project are the redevelopment of the existing Borough Park stadium, and the building of a floodlit all-weather pitch between Allerdale House and the leisure centre, for community use.
The new stadium would be used by both football club Workington AFC and rugby league side Workington Town, which would move from Derwent Park. The executive will be asked to sign off on the lease surrenders of each club at their respective existing grounds, and also tie up the groundshare agreement for nearby Derwent Park while the CSV project is carried out.
Plans for the new stadium project were lodged and validated in September and are expected to go to committee next month, as are demolition plans filed in December.
The business case was signed off under Allerdale Council in 2022, since which time the delivery model has been established and grant funding allocated for project development costs.
FWP, the North West architecture firm with vast experience of sports grounds, is the architect for the project, which will involve the demolition of all four stands at Borough Park, a venue much-loved by heritage-seeking fans across the country, but one sorely lacking in modern improvements.
The initial phase of the stadium project will have a total capacity of 3,700 – 2,700 standing and seating for 1,000 spectators in a new West Stand, replacing the current main stand. This is to include wheelchair-accessible areas, executive boxes and a function suite.
All four stands within the current stadium will be demolished and replaced, with the North and East stands moved slightly to accommodate a larger playing surface and the expansion of the main stand side. One end will have an uncovered terrae and one covered, with the covered East Stand terrace accommodating 1,000 people.
Borough Park’s existing turf pitch will be replaced with a 3G pitch suitable for both football and rugby use.
Detailed consent is sought for phase one, with future work having the potential to take capacity to 5,000.
The phase one project is at RIBA Stage 3, with structural and drainage design to be finalised through Stage 4 when more detailed ground investigation information is available. Outline M&E schematics and base loadings have been calculated.
Both clubs are partners in the CSV vehicle, along with the council.
In addition to FWP, the project team includes Savills, Curtins, Wardell Armstrong, Baker Mallet, and PSA. To learn more about the project search reference number FUL/2025/0119 on Cumberland Council’s planning portal.
