Barrow and Workington ports key to Cumbrian freeport bid

The freehold of the 38-acre zoo near Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria, has been sold to a consortium of private investors for an undisclosed sum.

Government backing of £20m through the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal has been confirmed, enabling work to move forward on the improvement of the railway station and its approaches.

Specialist property finance company PMJ Capital has agreed to fully fund the £1.35m build cost of the third and final phase of the Low Wood scheme in Casterton.

Blackpool, Barrow-in-Furness and Warrington are among the first seven locations to have funding bids accepted as part of the Government’s much-vaunted levelling-up programme.

South Lakeland District Council has approved the renewal of Ulverston’s business improvement district for another term, following a postal ballot.  

The local authorities of Barrow, Lancaster and South Lakeland have confirmed their support to progress a process that could lead to a formal bid for a new unitary council governing Morecambe Bay.

A working group led by local MP Simon Fell is looking for a consultant to develop a vision for the coastal site in Ulverston offered for development by the pharma giant.

A Cumbria County Council cabinet report has asked that chief executive Katherine Fairclough be authorised to submit a business case to Government that would see it and six district councils replaced by a new body.

The county council has launched the search for a contractor to design and build the Carlisle Southern Link Road, a key piece of infrastructure intended to help unlock the proposed 10,000-home St Cuthbert’s Garden Village.