MEET the new occupants of a historic Barrow building as they reveal their future plans for the site.

It was the end of an era when Winders Chartered Accountants announced they would be moving to a new premises after more than 50 years in its Ramsden Square building.

The accountants, who are relocating to a more modern premises in Peter Green Way, have handed the keys to Barrow charity: NWMA - North West Music Academy which provides facilities and opportunities in music education, training, performance and recreation.

The charity was registered in 2017 by local businessmen and women in Barrow aimed at boosting cultural activities in the town.

A new team of trustees came on board in 2021 who set their sights on finding accommodation for the charity in Barrow.

Among those was Deborah Milledge who worked on securing a building for the charity.

Deborah said the objective of the charity is to provide music and arts education to people in and around Furness through learning and performance.

Deborah, who is a singing teacher and runs three different choirs herself, said the Ramsden Square building will be a ‘huge development’ for the charity.

The building will feature a performance space, teaching rooms and rehearsal spaces, encompassing multi-genre learning which is accessible to all.

Deborah said the board leapt at the opportunity to take over the Ramsden Square building and use the space for music education.

She said: “Since new trustees have come aboard, we decided to get things going and found this building which would be perfect for our needs. It will be a huge development for us.

“We thought it would be a great opportunity to provide proper music provisions in the town.

READ MORE: Winders Chartered Accountants moves out of Barrow town centre

“It’s great teaching, practising and a performance space will all be in one place.

“We want music education to be accessible to all outside of school.

“There will be weekly lessons in rock and pop instruments as well as traditional classical instruments.

“We have spaces available for rehearsals and band practices. We’ve had a lot of interest from people looking for rehearsal spaces with nowhere to go. We hope the building will be buzzing with activity and music.

“We have lots of irons in the fire currently, lots of funding waiting to come through; it’s all looking very positive.”

Deborah said the charity’s focus will fulfil a much-needed demand for music education in the area.

She said: “Barrow is a big town. It’s very well provided for with musicals, dance and drama but music education has been a bit poor in Barrow for quite some time.

“Having a focus like this building will start to turn that around.”

NWMA will also be working with various Barrow schools to provide music education.

The charity’s first event will take place on Wednesday March 8 for International Women’s Day.

Deborah said: “We’ve got our first event in the diary which is exciting. It’s going to take a little while to adapt the upstairs spaces for teaching but we want to get going as soon as possible.”