VIKING boat plans for Walney Island have been backed by councillors.

Barrow Borough Council planners gave permission for the North Scale project at a meeting in the town hall on Tuesday.

It will involve the restoration of a scrap of council-owned waste ground at the entrance to the coastal village.

The area will be transformed with a miniature metal art installation of a Viking longboat on a sandstone plinth on a newly paved and grassed area.

The application was made by Walney Labour councillor Des Barlow on behalf of North Scale Residents’ Association.

Cllr Ann Thomson, chair of the planning committee, gave her support for the plans.

“This will be nice for North Scale, the land looks appalling now and is very tatty and it’s a bad entrance to a beautiful village,” said Cllr Thomson, the Labour councillor for Hindpool.

“I’m glad for the residents’ association to finally get that piece of land cleared up. It will be lovely to see what it looks like when it’s finished,” she said.

Barrow council planning officer Maureen Smith told the planning committee that the site had been previously used for storing boats.

However, it had always been pencilled-in for an environmental improvement scheme, she said.

“The application involves some really modest changes, some installation of stone, paving, turf and a Viking longboat sculpture, which should really improve the entrance to North Scale and its conservation area,” said Ms Smith.

She said one objection had been submitted from a neighbouring resident raising concerns about how the new development could impair their visibility and access from their home onto the road.

“That really isn’t going to be the case,” she said. “This is set back well from the site and there are no objections from the Highways Authority.”

“Overall it’s a good proposal and something we would all welcome which improves the area and the site.”

She recommended the application was approved and the committee agreed.

The installation will be made by Furness College students.

Small plaques would provide historical information and two small sandstone blocks would offer “short-spell seating”.

Wooden posts and rope will also be incorporated into the feature to reflect North Scale’s maritime heritage.

The application required a change of use of the land.