A CONSULTATION has opened today for a major commercial and retail development outside a South Cumbria Town.

Residents of Ulverston can have their say on the plans for the Beehive Business Hub, which is under construction on the A590, just outside of town.

Plans will be on display between 1pm and 7pm today inside the Coronation Hall.

It has been a long road to this step, the plans having first been brought to the public's attention back in December 2015.

Since then, the initial designs branded "ugly" by town councillors have been redrawn, and a huge building project has begun at the site.

Here is a brief timeline of how the development got to this stage.

December 2015: Plans were put forward for the 'Blue Light Hub', a combined emergency service development, as well as an adjoining access road.

December 2015: The initial designs were condemned by Ulverston Town Councillors. Cllr Colin Pickthall described the building as like a "munitions store."

January 2016: Talks were held between the County Council and Town Council to try and reach a compromise on the site's design. Later in the month, fresh designs were submitted and accepted.

April 2016: The County Council's development control and regulation committee approved the plan to start construction at the hub site.

November 2016: Work began to redesign the Daltongate junction on the A590 in anticipation of work on the hub starting.

February 2017: Cllr Barry Doughty, the then portfolio holder for fire and rescue broke ground at the £4.6m Blue Light Hub site.

March 2016: Aerial photographs were released by The Mail showing the huge scale of the development. Large tracts of farmland had been excavated and levelled.

May 2017: Groundwork was well under way at the site as the sub base was installed.

July 2017: The Mail exclusively revealed that as well as the Blue Light Hub, retailers M&S and Aldi could set up shops at the adjacent Beehive Business Hub.

August 2017: Major work continued at the junction at Daltongate, as traffic lights were installed at the new junction.

September 2017: Images were released detailing how the retail park would turn out.

September 2017: A consultation was announced allowing members of the public to view plans and make comments on the development process.