Lake District Ironworks housing revived

Receivers Duff & Phelps, advised by Indigo Planning, have been given the go-ahead by Lake District National Park Authority to continue redeveloping the Backbarrow Ironworks in Cumbria after work on the site stalled in 2007.

The site already contains two blocks of partially completed live-work units, two large office buildings and a smaller commercial building.

The consent allows the ironworks to be restored to prevent any further deterioration; it is on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register.

The two office blocks in the middle of the site will be removed to make the Ironworks more prominent and allow the site to be comprehensively landscaped. The residential units already on site will be completed, becoming 43 residential units. Existing small commercial buildings will be converted into five affordable houses, each with a large garden and dedicated parking.

Daniel Jackson, associate director of Indigo Planning, said: “This decision will deliver much needed housing in a way that respects the site’s history, as well as securing the Ironworks buildings against further deterioration. Getting the go ahead has been the result of ongoing, detailed discussions with National Park officers and the local community, and we’re grateful to everyone who’s helped get the plans to this stage.”