Derwent Forest
Allerdale Borough Council
has agreed to acquire the former Royal Naval Armaments Depot at
Broughton Moor, subject to the receipt of a grant offer for its
reclamation.
The Council and its partners on the Derwent
Forest Shadow Board including West Lakes Renaissance, North West
Development Agency, Forestry Commission and Cumbria County Council,
are keen to promote the site for leisure and tourism uses, based
upon the concept of a Regional Forest Park and associated
development sites.
Allerdale Borough Council with the support of
the North West Development Agency (NWDA) and West Lakes
Renaissance have the unique opportunity to acquire the former
RNAD Broughton Moor site, near Cockermouth, Cumbria. This is seen
as an exceptional opportunity, offering an unrivalled potential to
deliver real benefit to the West Cumbrian economy, and to the
people who live in and who visit this exceptional region.
Derwent Forest offers the chance to link
the popularity of the Lake District National Park with Cumbria's
west coast, and to boost the whole image of the area on a scale
that can attract visitors and economic activity making a real and
sustained difference to West Cumbria's economy. A number of high
profile users of national and of international reputation have
already expressed their interest in being part of a new future for
the site. In addition, the North West Development Agency (NWDA) is
working alongside Allerdale giving the potential to access public
sector funding to underpin new development.
Due to the nature of the site's historic use as
an armament storage facility, there are a number of ground and
decontamination works that need to be undertaken before new
development can take place. However, before agreeing final terms
for the site's transfer and commencement of works, the Council and
it's partners want to raise the markets' awareness of this major
regional development opportunity and seek expressions of interest
from developers and occupiers for the site.
Covering an area of
425 ha (1,050 acres), the Royal Naval Armaments Depot (RNAD) at
Broughton Moor is the largest brownfield site in the whole of the
North West of England. It represents an exceptional development
opportunity, situated in a central position at the heart of the
West Cumbrian sub-region, in an area of potential that stretches
from Cockermouth at the edge of the Lake District National Park to
the two West Cumbrian coastal towns of Workington and historic
Maryport.
The site's history over the last century has
been an eclectic one. Compulsorily assembled from agricultural and
coal mining origins, and effectively isolated by the MOD from its
immediate locality since 1939, active operations at the site ceased
in 1992. Since this time, the site has lain redundant and
under-utilised, until Allerdale Borough Council was offered the
opportunity to purchase in 2000.
The site has been closed to public access for
over 50 years. Over that time it has developed a unique
environmental character, with a wide variety of species of plants
and animals. The reclamation scheme is designed to respect these
delicate habitats and future uses of the site will reflect the
site's unique ecological heritage.
Allerdale Borough
Council has welcomed the opportunity to acquire the site,
recognising its potential to bring significant economic,
environmental and community benefits to the area contributing to
the Council's overarching vision of an area in which all
communities share in the prosperity currently only enjoyed in parts
of the Borough.
From the outset, Allerdale Borough Council
has wanted to achieve economic, environmental and community
benefits from the site and the proposed plans go a long way to
achieving this in a way that can be sustained for future
generations.The Council has consulted widely with local
communities and partners at local and regional level. It has
established the following broad aims which the after use should
achieve:
- Economic Benefits through raising the profile of West Cumbria
at regional and national level; attracting inward investment to the
area, creating a tourism magnet between the Lake District and the
Coast; creating jobs and training opportunities.
- Environmental Benefits through the removal of dereliction,
maintenance of habitats and biodiversity, developing sustainable
environmental enterprises.
- Community Benefits by ensuring that economic and environmental
benefits to West Cumbria impact positively on local
communities.
The Council has agreed that the preferred route to securing these
objectives on the Broughton Moor site is through a tourism and
leisure development on the site and agreed supplementary planning
guidance for the site in March 2004.
Allerdale Borough Council is committed to the
concept of local jobs for local people and is willing to
co-ordinate pre-entry level training in partnership with
developers. The Council is currently involved in customer care
programmes with the retail sector and in the development of
specific construction training initiatives. These can be developed
and enhanced for users at Broughton Moor and the Council is already
in discussion with the preferred contractor for the site, BIRSE, on
the possibility of local labour initiatives.
...Potential Development and Activity Areas...
Within the Forest Park setting will be a
number of smaller development sites for commercial uses, to bring
jobs and visitors to the area, along with 'activity areas', where
outdoor activities could take place. Possible uses include Forest
Lodges, high quality hotel accommodation, education facilities and
tourist attractions. Activities could include golf, paintballing,
coarse fishing and sporting events. These developments are
essential if we are to provide local employment opportunities.
The unique selling point of Derwent Forest is
its harmony with the natural environment. The existing wildlife is
being protected, the natural vegetation is being enhanced and all
developments will be expected to take account of sustainable
development principles. Alongside that, the Council and its
partners are looking at the potential for renewable energy on the
site and have erected a wind turbine monitoring mast to assess the
possibilities.
...Next Steps...
Cumbria Vision will now seek the full
engagement of the private sector in any potential end use and
report back to the Agency Board before any decision to invest is
made.
This new round of expressions of interest will
be conducted through the European Journal and may take some months
to complete.
It is important to point out that NWDA has
budgeted £9 million for Derwent Forest in its Strategic Investment
Plan and is prepared to be flexible on timing. The NWRDA are
also keen to reassure partners that the £1.6 million European
Funding contributions to the project will be safeguarded. The
Board of NWRDA has resolved to commit this sum providing that a
viable plan can be produced following the tender exercise. Please
see the latest news section for full
details of what conditions the NWRDA expect to be in place before a
viable project is likely to be developed.
Download a
supplementary pack
below
Allerdale Borough Council
