THE blue light hub for Furness has been branded a “humongous white elephant” at a council meeting.

Cllr Ben Shirley criticised the £4.8 million project which stands unfinished off the A590 at Ulverston after work ground to a halt in August amid a contractual row.

At a meeting with county council officials, the Conservative councillor for Dalton North raised questions about its future, although no answers were forthcoming.

Cllr Shirley addressed a meeting of Barrow Local Committee – a cross-party panel of county councillors representing the area.

He pointed out that Cumbria County Council is currently consulting on a plan by county fire chiefs to look at creating more blue light hubs.

At the meeting in Barrow Town Hall, Cllr Shirley asked Mark Clement, the community safety manager for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, for any update on the project.

Cllr Shirley said: “We’ve got a blue light hub in this area, although I don’t know what’s happened to it. Can you shed any light about when it’s going to be finished or in operation?”

Mr Clement said he could not and told councillors: “I can speak to the people working on that and get an answer back to the committee. I am not aware of what’s happening at the moment.”

Cllr Shirley, the Conservative councillor for Dalton North, said it was questionable that the county council should look at developing new blue light hubs when one remained half finished.

“It’s a humongous white elephant. Or a humongous purple and white elephant,” said Cllr Shirley, in a nod to the building’s colour.

The county council has stated in its new plan that it wants to “work with blue light partners to explore the feasibility of developing new hubs across the county”.

Recently, the council said it would need to find a new building firm and hoped that works would recommence “as soon as possible”.

The cash for the hub was won by the council from Government with works starting in March 2017 and an expected completion date of May 2018.

It was planned to become a new base for Cumbria Fire Service to replace its base on The Ellers, Ulverston, and a new base for the North West Ambulance Service, replacing the facilities at Victoria Road, Ulverston.

The plan was it would also provide facilities for Cumbria Police, and office accommodation for Cumbria County Council.