A LONG-TERM economic plan worth up to £13m has been launched to promote the heritage, wildlife and landscape assets of the Furness coast.

The detailed plan has gone live on the national website of the Coastal Communities Alliance.

Its wide range of projects face competition from more than 100 rivals to get a slice of an expected £36m in Coastal Community Fund cash likely to be made available over the next two-and-a-half years.

The plan is called called Linking our Landscape and Communities and is the work of the Islands and Bays of Barrow and Furness Coastal Community Team.

A decision needs to be made by the end of the month on which of the Furness projects - each having to be a  minimum of £50,000 - are likely at attract support in the fourth round of government funding.

Barrow-based community arts charity Art-Gene provided a lead on the project and drew together a community team, including Barrow Borough Council and Cumbria County Council, nature and wildlife organisations and representatives from business, health, volunteer and the heritage sector. 

Barrow has already benefited from previous rounds of funding from the Coastal Community Fund – to Furness Enterprise and to the Morecambe Bay Partnership. 

The new Barrow and Furness plan is a of  community-led activities and green infrastructure projects which can be used to attract available funding, many of them costing in the £50,000 to £75,000 range and relatively easy and quick to set up. 

The include a coastal geology study of Walney, promoting the use and interpretation of the Furness coast and seeking out the unusual stories from its islands and bays. 

There could be a new system based on the familiar blue plaques, which would mark out views and sites of interest and the places associated with important local characters. 

Temporary versions could be awarded annually through public nomination. 

A project could bring together the knowledge of former shipyard workers, local people and historians on Barrow’s boats and ships which could be used to develop signs around Barrow docks and the coast. 

The plan notes: “The Historical Boat Register currently has no Barrow boats on it. 

“The project would nominate a number of ships and craft by engaging local volunteers to seek out what is being overlooked and support people registering and using them.” 

There could be a social history of workers’ housing and villages in Furness – from Scottish tenements, or Cornish cottages to the planned community of Vickerstown at Walney. 

The plan notes: “A detailed study of housing types is needed to test their national significance, to develop interpretation and evaluate future models of Barrow housing.” 

There could also be bids for landscape and heritage artists’ residencies and moves to develop green areas among the terraces, with back street greenways and temporary mini-parts on vacant lots. 

Among the larger projects is setting up "Un-Reserved Parks" between important existing nature reserves at places such as Biggar Bank and Earnse Point on Walney, Ormsgill Slag Bank and the Askam and Dunnerholme coast.

Five-day summer think tanks would bring together views on future use of the land, how it is used now or could be made better.

A Furness Ranger role could be established to work across the four parks - supported by a team of volunteers.

Research for the economic plan showed that Barrow was ranked top in England for the number and quality of its natural landscape and assets but is the largest isolated coastal community in the country. 

It has the second largest collection of highly deprived neighbourhoods yet it has the largest maritime construction workforce in England. 

The borough has a rich historical and cultural identity. 

The plan notes: “It was not until the 1840s that the Industrial Revolution transformed the long-established, small-scale iron, charcoal and lime workings into the steelworks and shipbuilding centre that Barrow is famous for. 

“By the end of the 19th century, Barrow’s steelworks were the largest in the world. 

“Barrow’s location and the availability of steel allowed the town to develop into a significant producer of naval vessels, a shift that was accelerated during the First World War and the local yard’s specialism in submarines.” 

The borough coast, and particularly Walney, has a diverse set of military heritage – everything from First World War practice trenches to coastal defence buildings. 

The plan notes: “These features need to be fully recorded and interpreted. “Appropriate uses for surviving structures, such as Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s reuse of a searchlight emplacement as a bird hide, need to be encouraged.” 

You can view the full economic plan at http://www.coastalcommunities.co.uk/coastal-teams/the-islands-and-bays-of-barrow-and-furness/#