A ONCE-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver long-term change in Barrow has taken a step forward.

Members of the cabinet for Westmorland and Furness Council have agreed in principle the £5 million pledged by government in the Autumn Statement to set up and support the Team Barrow Delivery Board and have appointed the chief executive of the council onto the board.

Team Barrow is a trilateral partnership between central government, Westmorland and Furness Council and BAE Systems aimed at enabling Barrow to be a new ‘powerhouse for the north’.

Council leader Jonathan Brook said ‘following discussions’ there is recognition that political involvement in the decision-making process is ‘necessary’.

Cllr Brook added: “There will be some further detail coming forward in due course to allow political oversight to be included.”

Last month he Prime Minister announced the creation of a Barrow Transformation Fund, with the government committing an immediate £20 million and a further minimum of £20 million a year over the next 10 years to ensure Barrow thrives as the home of UK nuclear submarine building.

Cabinet member for finance councillor Andrew Jarvis said: “Clearly, we are in a situation that is quite rapidly moving, and the implications of the announcement are significant, and raise even further the importance of the delivery board in Barrow and the governance arrangements of vast sums of money of which we are probably the key delivery partner.”

The initial projects planned to begin in Barrow this financial year are a £5m Social Impact Fund to provide grants to local organisations and charities, a £5m Barrow Work and Health fund, to help tackle economic inactivity and improve health outcomes as well as £10.59m for the completion of the A595 Grizebeck Bypass upgrade scheme.

Cllr Jarvis told the cabinet: “It is appropriate the delivery board ideally include political representation as has happened with a number of similar operations.”

Cllr Brook added there is still ‘debate’ to be had about how the precise mechanism of political oversight would be enabled.

Chief executive of the council Sam Plum said: “We will be moving really quickly to get the delivery board up and running, we still haven’t had an announcement from government over who is chairing that delivery board, that is a secretary of state appointment, so we need to follow that process.

“We are just working out with government and BAE Systems the relationship between the Brilliant Barrow Board and the delivery board.

“The feeling at the moment is the delivery board focuses on delivery and the doing while the Brilliant Barrow Board could potentially give us that oversight.

“We’re working that through, it’s not settled but we’re having those conversations, and we will continue to have those conversations in the next couple of weeks because ideally, we want that delivery board up and running as soon as possible.”