Govt approves £20.6m Millom Town Deal

Following the official Whitehall sign-off of the business cases, work can now begin on delivering four major projects in the Cumbrian town, including the Iron Line visitor attraction.

Millom was one of 20 communities to provisionally be awarded a slice of the £3.6bn Town Deals Fund last year. The money was contingent on government approval of business cases for a series of projects, which Millom secured last week.

In addition to the £20.6m from government, the projects have secured an additional £8.7m from a variety of funders, including Sellafield, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Copeland Community Fund, CGP Books, Copeland Council, Millom School, and Millom Town Council.

The four funded projects centre on creating an Iron Line visitor attraction, constructing a community leisure hub, developing an arts and enterprise centre with coworking space, refurbishing historic buildings, and improving pedestrian and cycling transport links.

Robert Morris-Eyton, chair of the Millom Town Deal Board, said: “A huge amount of time, dedication, energy and expertise has been required to get us to this stage and I would like to place on record my thanks, on behalf of the Town Deal Board, to everybody who played a part in the process.

“Notwithstanding the last 12 months, we are, in many respects, at the beginning of a very exciting journey for Millom and Haverigg.”

Mike Starkie, the Mayor of Copeland, added: “The four projects will touch on almost every aspect of life, making a positive difference now and for many years to come.

“I’m so pleased the funds have been confirmed and that we can now look towards the exciting delivery phase.”

Here is a brief overview of each of the four projects:

The Iron Line

The Iron Line was the subject of a global design competition last year. A team led by Layer.Studio and including Gargarin Studio, Greengage, Placed, Curtins, BWA, and Project Four emerged as the victor.

The team has subsequently worked to design a welcome centre for the coastal lagoon, as well as more than 7km of walking and cycling routes for visitors to explore. The welcome centre would have a café, retail area and an events room – as well as parking for around 80 cars.

Identity Consult has been working on the project since the beginning, aiding the local authority in crafting the business case for the scheme. Pete Johnson, senior director at Identity Consult, said described the welcome centre design as “really striking and sensitive to the local area”, adding that the building had undergone substantial changes from its original concept.

“When the welcome centre was first envisioned it was thought of as a summer house where you may have a member of staff there and an information board,” Johnson recalled in an interview with Place earlier this year. “It’s gone from that to a real visitor attraction, with the welcome centre giving people a chance to find out more about an area but also acting as a way of generating income to make the development self-sustaining.”

The Iron Line has presented its challenges as the team has had to navigate creating a visitor centre that does not negatively impact the different species that live in the area. But it is a challenge that the team has met, Johnson said. “We’ve learned a lot from it.”

Activating Community Health

An area by Millom School could become the hub of a leisure hub under these proposals. The hub would have a community swimming pool with four lanes. It would also house a four-court multipurpose sports hall, group exercise studios, a fitness suite, and a café. The all-weather pitch at Millom School would also have its surface upgraded.

The local authority estimates that the leisure hub could attract 260,000 visits a year.

Reactivating Heritage Buildings

At least four town centre buildings will be refurbished under the project, which will begin by targeting prominent, long-term vacant structures in the community. These will subsequently be acquired and repurposed, with an eye to creating an arts and enterprise centre. This centre would have a café, exhibition space, coworking area, makers market, retail display, studios, workshops, and a start-up enterprise space.

Owners of buildings that need investment will be able to access funds from a grant programme to assist in making these heritage buildings suitable for offices or stores.

The final part of the project would see the public area around Market Square improved to help enhance the visual amenity of the town.

Connected Millom and Haverigg

More than three kilometres of cycle paths will be upgraded as part of this project, which will seek to improve transport links throughout the community. Mainsgate Road, St Georges Road, Lapstone Road, and Poolside Junction will all have pedestrian links enhanced with improvements being installed to help regulate traffic speed.

The project also includes putting in ramps and braille signage to help the town centre be more accessible for those with visual impairments or disabilities. A public toilet and changing facility would also be built.

To help visitors access all of what Millom and Haverigg have to offer, the scheme will focus on the railway station and surrounding area. Access for pedestrians and cyclists to the station will be improved. The station area will also become an information point where those visiting can learn more about walking and cycling trips in the community.