The second phase of work to prepare ground for the construction on 800 new homes in Barrow has begun.
Phase one of the development at Marina Village involved clearing six hectares of land funded by £5.5 million from the Government’s Getting Building Fund and was completed in November 2023.
The construction phase of phase two is now underway and includes further remediation, the installation of infrastructure, the realignment of Cavendish Dock Road and the diversion or protection of key utilities. The project also aims to relocate the council’s Salthouse Road waste depot, with a feasibility and outline design study under way to suggest a temporary location.
Redstart Northwest Ltd was appointed last year to complete a two-stage design and build contract for the remediation work. With the design completed, Redstart was awarded a contract worth £16.5 million to begin the second stage of work.
“After nine months designing the scheme, including planning applications and remediation strategies and further investigations to understand what the constraints are, it is great to have made a start on site, start to see the vision be realised and be involved in leaving a legacy for the people of Barrow,” Steve England, managing director of Redstart Northwest Limited, said.
Homes England has pledged £24.8 million to fund delivery of phase two of the site. Funding through Brilliant Barrow, regeneration funding from the Government’s Towns Fund, has also supported the scheme.
“The development will provide over 800 new homes for the people of Barrow, supporting our mission to build much needed new communities that people can be proud to call home,” Duncan Inglis, Homes England Regional Director for the North, said:
“As the Government’s housing and regeneration agency, our aim is to support public and private sector partners to unlock strategic housing sites where brownfield, infrastructure or land projects face delivery challenges. This site is key to underpinning the ambitious economic growth ambitions for the town.”
Cabinet and ward members have visited the site along with Brilliant Barrow and Team Barrow board members.
Councillor Judith Derbyshire, cabinet member for housing and community safety, said: “With all the positivity around Barrow and jobs being created at BAE Systems and other businesses, there is a pressing need for more housing.
“As a council we are committed to ensuring these are good houses to be able to allow people to come and live, work and enjoy being here.
“There have been aspirations over many, many years to create housing on this fantastic waterfront site and this investment, funded by Homes England, means we can soon be in a position to present an opportunity to a developer or developers to come in and get on with the job of building a minimum of 808 homes – helping to create safe and fulfilling futures for hundreds of people of all ages in this great place.”
