Talks have begun to bring open another community hub in Barrow

Officials from a range of agencies, including Cumbria County Council, Barrow Borough Council and the police are hoping to open a community hub in Ormsgill.

The aim of the hub would be to create a centralised base for services in Ormsgill where multiple agencies can work with local people as well as use it as a community centre.

A joint officer and member working group has been set up and will be chaired by Barrow Mayor Bill McEwan, who is also an Ormsgill councillor.

Mr McEwan said: “We’re in the early stages of planning for the project.

“We want to get everything in one place for the people in Ormsgill.

“In order to understand what residents want, we will be holding a community meeting on February 5 at the Sure Start community centre.

“Residents can come along and give their views on what we need in Ormsgill.

“We want to give people things to do, places to go in the area and get them involved in bringing a community atmosphere to Ormsgill.”

The hope is this new community hub will be similar to the Egerton Court “wellbeing hub” on Barrow Island, which is set to open at the end of January.

Inspector Jim Bailey said: “What is happening on Barrow Island is police are aiming to work more closely with people in the community to understand the issues there. Police want to solve the problems in the area in the long-term by talking to people and finding out what they need.

“We’ve already had positive feedback on this approach.

“There is a great community in Ormsgill. We want to work with them to build good relationships between the police and the community.”

Tracey Ingham, area support manager for Barrow at Cumbria County Council, said: “There’s been a lot of work in Ormsgill over the last two years to kickstart conversation between the council and the community.

“This is a continuation of that work and an effort to get a grassroots understanding of what the community wants in the area.”