A LEADING politician has welcomed plans that will see a small Cumbria village embark on a new age of prosperity.


Wellbank masterplan. <a href="http://www.cnnewmedia.co.uk/locker/nw/image/wellbank-masterplan.jpg">Click here</a> to view a larger version Consent was given earlier this week to begin work on an ambitious new project that will transform the face of Bootle.

The Wellbank Project has been 10 years in the making and has now been given the green light to build 50 new homes and a 40-bedroom luxury hotel and spa.

Mike Starkie, mayor of Copeland, has welcomed the decision saying it is paving the way for the borough's promising future.

He said: “This is fantastic news. Trudy Harrison and the team have done a fantastic job and these plans fit right in with Copeland’s strategy of new builds for all its potential purchasers.

“This is just an example of what we can achieve. Bootle has set the tone for the whole of Copeland.”

Home to a £10bn investment drive through the nuclear new build at Moorside, Copeland is on the verge of a whole host of opportunities that are set to massively boost its economy, and Mr Starkie believes the Wellbank Project is just the start of its story.

He said: “This is a huge opportunity for Copeland in terms of the economy and we want people to come to Copeland and move their families here.

“We want people to work here but we want them to live here as well.

“The Wellbank Project is exactly the type of thing I would like to see springing up all over the borough.”

In addition to signalling the start of a new economic age, Mr Starkie hopes the new hotel will help put Copeland on the map as a highly sought-after tourist destination.

He said: “The Lake District National Park is a £2bn economy and we’re not getting our share in Copeland - we only get about eight per cent of that.

“We have got to focus on really marketing the district and this is a huge step forward.”

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