WALNEY campaigners met with windfarm bosses in Westminster on Friday as part of a bid to improve Biggar Bank.

The Better Biggar Bank Community Group, Barrow independent MP John Woodcock and members of Natural England presented their case to Ørsted to work alongside them to bring about improvements to the area.

Mr Woodcock said: "It was great to get a delegation from Walney down to Parliament today to meet the UK managing director of Ørsted, the firm operating the Walney Extension wind farm.

"We urged the company to get behind the exciting plans that local residents and community groups are generating to restore the Walney coastline back to its hey day of cafes, decent pathways and facilities, and support in place a long term litter picking drive.

"Our pitch to Matthew Wright was pretty simple: the turbines that generate electricity and profit for the company have transformed the seascape off Walney for better or worse, so partner with us to help us transform and enhance our coastline too.

"Ørsted has supported a lot of good initiatives in Furness in recent years through their community investment fund and I hope they will want to seize this opportunity to do something special.

"Thanks to the team who came down - Maddi Nicholson from the brilliant ArtGene who are leading the area’s coastal communities engagement, Charlie Mackeith, Nancy and Mark McKinnell of the Better Biggar group who are really driving things forward and litter volunteer-extraordinaire Steve Benn.

"And thanks to the many others for their hard work and ambition for Biggar and the west coast of Walney, including councillor Frank Cassidy, and HuddleHub who are turning the Roundhouse into a community cafe.

"I will do everything I can to keep supporting you all to develop this into a full Walney Island Coast Plan. Do let us know what you think."