Barrow housing: £16.7m plan proposed to accelerate Marina Village development

Westmorland and Furness Council is considering a £16.66 million proposal from the Barrow Transformation Fund to accelerate housing delivery in Barrow. The largest portion of the funding, £11.38 million, is designated for the Marina Village regeneration project, which aims to provide approximately 1,350 homes alongside new public spaces and nature areas.

The initiative also seeks to address housing shortages linked to workforce growth from BAE Systems and the wider Defence Nuclear Enterprise. To support this, the council is proposing the creation of a dedicated housing delivery team and an allocation of £2.71 million to improve existing housing quality and bring approximately 75 empty homes back into use.

Officials noted that the scale of expected population growth is unprecedented for the area, and housing availability must not become a barrier to inward investment or economic recruitment.