iSH hub building , Cumberland Council, p council documents

Funds for the £46m campus come from Towns Fund, Levelling Up Fund, Sellafield, Nuclear Decommissioning Agency, and from the council itself. Credit: via council documents

Morgan Sindall in talks for £46m Cleator Moor Enterprise Campus

21 March 2024 18:24 Julia Hatmaker Comments (0)

Cumberland Council plans to transform the Leconfield Industrial Estate into a hub for innovations in the engineering and industrial sectors – with an eye towards completing the project in January 2026.

The Enterprise Campus scheme was initiated in January 2020 when the old Copeland Council – now part of Cumberland Council – purchased the Leconfield Industrial Estate. The campus is to be delivered in phases and to act as a catalyst for research and development in the region.

The council is finalising a construction contract with Morgan Sindall Construction for the first phase – the 26,800 sq ft Industrial Solutions Hub with offices, collaboration areas, meeting rooms, and flex workshops. The scheme is complete to RIBA 4.

Provided an agreement can be reached with the contractor, work could start in October and complete the following autumn, according to a council report.

Morgan Sindall is also crafting an initial viability assessment for the second phase of the enterprise campus – a series of light R&D units with digital fibre infrastructure in place. AH Connections is handling the feasibility of the connectivity aspect of the scheme.

Cumberland Council hopes to begin constructing the second phase in February 2025 and finish the scheme in January 2026.

Funds for the £46m campus come from Towns Fund, Levelling Up Fund, Sellafield, Nuclear Decommissioning Agency, and from the council itself.

When all is said and done, the campus I estimated to create 181 full-time, permanent jobs. There will be 102 new parking spaces; 57,800 sq ft of industrial floorspace; and 13,800 sq ft of offices.

The project team for the original Cleator Moore Enterprise Campus plans includes architect NORR, planner Avison Young, and landscape architect ONE Environments. Tetra was the ecology and transport consultant, Miller Goodall the air quality and noise expert, and Solmek the geo-environmental adviser. BGP handled flood risk and drainage. Barnes Associates completed the tree survey.

Learn more about the scheme by searching application reference number 4/22/2308/0O1 on the Cumberland Council’s planning portal for Copeland.

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