Revealed today as part of the Government’s Budget announcement, the investment of £23m will support projects such as the sports village and an innovation centre/co-working space to become a reality. 

Local leaders have welcomed the news that the bid which was submitted in October last year has been successful. The bid, formally known as the Town Investment Plan (TIP), was developed by the Workington Town Deal board, a mix of public, private and voluntary sector partners, with Allerdale Borough Council the lead authority. The council will now work with Government to finalise the plans. 

Workington was one of more than 100 towns across the country invited to bid to the fund - a £3.6bn pot which aims to level-up funding and opportunities for communities across the country. 

The proposed projects gained strong support from the public and partner organisations during a public consultation exercise. 

The other projects included in Workington TIP were: 

• Improving the town centre’s public spaces and connectivity 
• Developing a logistics and clean energy hub at the Port of Workington 

Developing a digital skills programme 

Cllr Mike Johnson, Deputy Leader of the council, said: “This is absolutely fantastic news for Workington. We knew we had a strong bid which had support from the public and I’d like to thank everyone involved for getting to this stage. We’ll now work with Government and our partners to bring these projects to life and make the town an even better place to live, work and visit.” 

John Coughlan, CEO of TSP Engineering and chair of the board, said: “These projects will be really transformative for Workington and the wider west Cumbria region and I can’t wait to see them come to fruition. The general public played a significant role in this bid with their support through the public consultation, so I’d like to once again extend my thanks to the good people of the area for working with us.”