BAE Systems’ plans to use a Barrow building for training have been given the go-ahead.
Westmorland and Furness Council has approved plans from the defence giants to use Waterfront Gateway on Harding Rise for office space and for training purposes.
The company is currently in the process of arranging to lease the building, planning documents said.
A report by council planning officers said: “This proposal represents an important opportunity to secure economic benefits to the area in terms of job creation and training but also deliver a major flagship project for the town which will bring an empty building into use.
“Whilst it is disappointing that the building is not to be used by SMEs, as originally envisaged, since the council remains the land owner there is a mechanism to review future use under the terms of the lease if demand changes.”
According to plans, there will be no structural alterations to the building but it is proposed there will be ‘general upgrades’ to the internal part of the building.
Planning documents added it was proposed there will be around 50 permanent members of staff on the site with around 210 students attending the building each day.
The planning statement said BAE Systems identified a need for additional training space and the focus will be on training by company personnel for the local workforce.
It is proposed the facility will be used by BAE staff and not the wider public except for work experience students, plans added.
Planning documents submitted with the application say around 75 per cent of the building will be used for classrooms with the remainder of the site to be used as a canteen and collaboration space.
The building was occupied by Me and My Health Hub, under health care company Circular1, until the business entered administration in March 2023.
In January a spokesman for Westmorland and Furness Council said: “The building was transferred to Westmorland and Furness Council on April 1 2023.”
The former Barrow Borough Council invested 40 per cent into the £3.5m project to build Waterfront Gateway Business Centre on Harding Rise in Barrow Island.
The building was completed in 2020 on a redeveloped docklands site near BAE Systems.
Other than the money put in by Barrow Borough Council the European Regional Development Fund also contributed to the project. The rent charged to tenants by the council is a means to recoup the investment.
The planning application was approved on January 24.
