THE team behind a project to regenerate a docklands area with housing has welcomed the approval of infrastructure improvements to support the venture.  

Cumbria County Council has now secured planning permission to provide improved traffic access into the proposed Marina Village housing site on Barrow’s waterfront. 

It is hoped that the construction of a new junction on the south side of Salthouse Road, between Rawlinson Street and Ruskin Terrace, will act as a stimulus for private sector development on the site. 

As landowner of the Marina Village site, Barrow Borough Council acquired the land around the proposed junction to allow for future development. 

This latest development to improve access and traffic flow is part of the town’s multi-million pound waterfront master plan and will help promote the Marina Village site.

With investment secured by Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership from the Local Growth Fund, the junction project will involve widening the existing carriageway to accommodate a new right turning lane on to the site. 

Graham Haywood, director of the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We are encouraged to see this important infrastructure development moving forward on one of the county’s key strategic sites. 

“The new Marina Village junction has been designed to provide the requisite site access for new housing and to support local business development, especially in advanced manufacturing. It is projects like these which make those opportunities a reality.” 

The project also includes new landscaping, perimeter fencing, improved road lighting, new pedestrian pavements and a traffic island for safer road crossing. 

David Southward, cabinet member for economic development at Cumbria County Council, said: “Around £1bn of investment is projected to be made in advanced manufacturing companies in the Furness area over the next six years, so this is an important infrastructure development.” 

With Capita Property and Infrastructure Ltd designing the plans, work is scheduled to get under way in the summer once a contractor is appointed, with the junction due for completion later in the year following a 16-week construction programme.