Cumbria business year in review: May to August

May

Contracts for four big players in the nuclear industry to help “revolutionise” decommissioning at the Sellafield site are rubber stamped. Sellafield Ltd awards 20-year contracts to Morgan Sindall Construction and Infrastructure Ltd, Wood Nuclear Limited on Design, Doosan Babcock Ltd and Kellogg Brown and Root Ltd to deliver the Programme and Project Partners (PPP) framework.

The value of the framework, designed to bring faster and more effective project delivery to the complex nuclear site, could amount to £4.5bn.

A luxury wine glass made by Ulverston’s Cumbria Crystal takes a leading role in an official poster for the hotly anticipated Downton Abbey movie.

It was the latest of a number of big screen appearances for the Canal Head company’s products, which have also featured in hit films Bohemian Rhapsody, Darkest Hour and Casino Royale.

A £20m fund is launched to help SME manufacturers in Cumbria get ready for Industry 4.0 – the adoption of latest digital technology to improve productivity.

The Made Smarter programme aims to engage with more than 3,000 business across the North West pilot area, with up to 600 qualifying for more intense support and potential funding.

Windermere-based Pure Cottages Group – best known for the Lakelovers brand – becomes the sixth biggest holiday cottage letting agency in the UK after acquiring John Bray Cornish Holidays in Cornwall.

The deal means the group has more than 1,500 properties in the Lake District, Cotswolds and South West, and over 100 members of staff.

June

The Lancaster and South Cumbria Economic Region collaboration is officially launched, with the aim of boosting the Morecambe Bay’s £25bn economy.

Unveiling a glossy prospectus outlining the region’s assets and opportunities in manufacturing, energy, health, tourism and education, partners Barrow Borough Council, South Lakeland District Council and Lancaster City Council urge businesses to back its bid to secure Government support.

However, businesses call for more “meat on the bones” while the councils are coy on whether it intends to submit a Growth Deal bid, similar to The Borderlands.

DSD Construction unveiled its new £1.5m facility at Kingmoor Park as part of its ongoing expansion plans, while innovative manufacturer Clark Door reveals plans for a new £3m facility at its site, also at Kingmoor Park, and the creation of up to 20 new jobs.

Legal firm Cartmell Shepherd enlisted the help of High Sheriff of Cumbria, Maria Reid Fotheringham, to open its revamped office in Brampton.

Fledgling Penrith company Typhon Treatment Systems wins a long-term contract with water company United Utilities to supply its ground-breaking LED water treatment technology, which can kill harmful micro-organisms on an industrial scale.

Stephen Broughton – joint owner of Lakes-based travel operator Mountain Goat and the Lindeth Howe hotel – wins the Bernard Gooch Tourism Personality of the Year Award at the Cumbria Tourism Awards.

July

Emotions run high on historic day for Cumbria, as the first commercial flight in more than 25 years takes off from Carlisle Lake District Airport on July 4.

Business leaders and tourism chiefs express hopes for a significant economic boost from the new air connections with London Southend, Belfast and Dublin airports.

Kate Willard of airport owner Stobart Group admits: “It was emotional. There was crying – and that was just the men. What the team has received is remarkable.”

DMACK Tyres, which once supplied the World Rally Championships, collapses into administration owing more than £13m, it is revealed.

The company had hoped to build a new factory in Carlisle but abandoned plans, blaming Brexit.

American giant Tetra Tech completes the £43m acquisition of professional services firm WYG, which has an office in Cockermouth serving clients including Sellafield Ltd and Cumbria County Council.

Ullswater Heights, a new luxury holiday park near Newbiggin, Penrith, is officially opened by Leisure Resorts.

Nearly £20m was invested in the site, which boasts pitches and lodges, and around 65 full and part time jobs created.

Historic Carlisle firm Thomas Graham and Sons picks up a lucrative £20m contract to supply power tools and hardware to workshops at the Sellafield site, creating five new jobs.

The business, founded in 1892, also reveals plans to invest in its Egremont depot.

Cumbria Tourism signals its intention to submit a bid, along with its partners, for the county to become one of five new Government Tourism Zones – an initiative designed to create jobs, improve transport connections and support product promotion and digital skills.

August

Business leaders and politicians ramp up efforts for HS2 stops in Cumbria as storm clouds gather over the controversial high-speed rail project.

While many favour a stop in Carlisle, Cumbria Chamber continues to lobby for a stop in the city along with Penrith and Oxenholme The Lake District.

While current plans do not include any stop in Cumbria, pressure continues to mount on the Government to scrap the project due to spiralling costs.

Kendal’s Bowness Bay Brewery increases its market share with the acquisitions of Appleby Brewery in Cumbria and Windmill Brewery, near Wigan.

The deals bring with them existing contracts with the likes of Booths, Co-op and Westmorland Ltd, which operates the Rheged Discovery Centre and the Tebay Services on the M6 motorway.

Motorsport firm M Sport’s plans for a unique £25m evaluation centre at its Dovenby Hall base receives £1.3m worth of backing from Cumbria LEP.

The centre – where motor manufacturers can test and design new technology – is set to create more than 100 new jobs when it opens next autumn.

New figures from VisitEngland place Windermere Lake Cruises fifth in its list of the country’s most popular paid-for visitor attractions.

It came out ahead of Stonehenge and London Zoo.