Regenerating Towns in Allerdale
Overview of the Borough
Allerdale comprises
of three physically and economically distinct areas, which create a
diversity of interests contributing to the cultural wealth of the
region:
1. The urbanised west-coast triangle of Cockermouth, Maryport
and Workington, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of the
population.
2. The Lake District National Park incorporating seven major
lakes and the market town of Keswick to the east.
3. The Solway Coast and Plain incorporating an Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty and the market towns of Aspatria,
Silloth and Wigton.
This section provides information on each with reference to the
work that is taking place to regenerate them through community-led
partnerships.
The Workington section gives an overview of the
latest developments regarding the town centre redevelopment. Here
you can find out who is involved, the objectives of the project,
plans of the proposed layout of the development and computer
generated/artist impressions of how key areas of the town will look
once the work has been fully completed.
Physical regeneration is also taking place at Moorclose, Westfield and Northside.
This section
gives an overview of the background and activities of the North
Allerdale Development Trust. The Trust is made up of
representatives from the towns of Aspatria, Silloth and Wigton. The
three towns have worked together to produce an action plan, which
identifies the types of project required to reverse the effects of
long-term decline. There are also links to the towns' homepages,
where information can be found on local services, facilities and
events.
This section gives an overview of the activities of
the Cockermouth Partnership, which was established in 2000.
The following years have seen an extension of the original
partnership group to incorporate a variety of groups with a vested
interest in the town and its surrounding hinterland. The
Cockermouth Partnership produced their action plan in 2002, which
has led to the identification of projects to improve the social,
economic and environmental condition of the town. There is also a
link to the town's website: www.cockermouth.org.uk
This section gives an overview of the Keswick Partnership.
The Partnership has worked hard over the last couple of years
putting together an action plan for the town with help from
consultants. The action plan focuses on strengthening and
diversifying the town's economy in light of the impact of Foot and
Mouth disease, which highlighted the town's reliance on the tourism
sector. The projects identified through the action plan aim to
secure a sustainable future for the town. The section also contains
links to the town's two websites: www.keswick.org and www.keswickplus.co.uk
This section gives a brief overview of the Market Towns
Initiative, which is supported by the Countryside Agency and North
West Development Agency. The concept of the Initiative is to
develop local solutions to local problems and address the growing
concern surrounding hidden rural deprivation of which decline of
market towns, socially economically and environmentally, has been
identified as one of the principle causes. The Initiative has so
far helped the three partnerships (North Allerdale, Cockermouth and
Keswick) to produce strategic regeneration action plans - all of
which can be downloaded in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf format) from their
individual pages addressing rural deprivation.