Story Contracting picked to construct Millom’s £10m Iron Line

A cornerstone of the Millom Town Deal programme, the project would create a coastal pathway across the RSPB Hodbarrow Reserve to the west of Millom Beach as well as a welcome centre with a cafe and events room.

Carlisle-based Story Contracting has secured the design and build contract for the Iron Line from Cumberland Council, with an aim to complete the scheme by March 2026.

The Iron Line follows a four-mile circular route around a coastal lagoon, formed out of a flooded iron mine. Part of the scheme will be built on an existing sea wall that protected the mine.

When completed, the Iron Line will provide more than 74 acres of improved green spaces and outdoor areas, as well as 37 acres of rehabilitated land.

Landscape + Urbanism practice Layer.Studio won a global competition to become a design partner for the project in 2022, leading a team that includes Gagarin Studio, Greengage, Placed, Curtins, Project Four, and BWA.

Layer.Studio will continue to work on the project alongside Architects Plus of Carlisle and Story Contracting to develop the next stage of proposals.

David Savage, chair of the Millom Town Deal Board, said: “This appointment [of Story Contracting] represents a significant step forward for the Iron Line.

“We are excited to see Story Contracting bring this inspiring vision to life.”

The Iron Line, which sits on a century’s old sea wall, follows a circular route around a coastal lagoon, formed out of a flooded iron mine. Credit: RSPB

Cllr Mark Fryer, Leader of Cumberland Council, added: “It is great that our supply chain is once again supporting the delivery of another transformational scheme.

“This is one of many schemes being delivered in Cumberland and we look forward to seeing it become a reality.”

The Iron Line is one of four projects that make up the £20.6m Millom Town Deal, which was awarded by Whitehall in 2022. An additional £8.7m for the town deal was delivered in match funding from a variety of organisations, including Sellafield, Millom Town Council, and CGP Books.

In addition to the Iron Line, the other projects that will benefit from the town deal include building a £11m leisure centre with community swimming pool, creating a £2m arts and enterprise centre, and the upgrading of cycle paths.

Story Contracting has worked on various projects in Cumberland, including the replacement Gooseholme Footbridge in Kendal and flood defences for a James Walker & Co. facility in Cockermouth.