Progress for £47m Cumbria innovation zone
Cumberland Council has awarded a construction contract for the creation of almost 100,000 sq ft of industrial space in Cleator Moor, more than five years after the site was acquired by the public sector.
The £47m Enterprise Campus at Leconfield Industrial Estate will see the creation of 92,600 sq ft of workspace for companies in the nuclear and engineering sectors across two phases.
Morgan Sindall Construction has been appointed to deliver the first phase of the scheme on a £15.3m contract with work expected to begin this summer.
Phase one would deliver a 30,000 sq ft central hub building providing three wings of flexible workshop, innovation, and meeting spaces
The £19m phase two comprises 34,000 sq ft start-up space and an additional 28,000 sq ft of grow on space. Morgan Sindall is also on board for this element of the project, which could begin this November subject to planning approval.
The project forms part of a wider plan aimed at developing economic growth opportunities around robotics, AI, and advanced engineering and manufacturing.
The campus was initiated in January 2020 when the old Copeland Council – now part of Cumberland Council – purchased the Leconfield Industrial Estate.
Funding for the project has been pulled in from various sources including £27.7m from the government, £3.6m from Sellafield, and £7m from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, and £5.5m from Cumberland Council.
