Westmorland & Furness Council has brought in Muse to work on its Marina Village plans, which will seek to provide around 1,350 new homes, a nature conservation area and new public open spaces.聽
Councillors have agreed to award a pre-development services agreement to Muse Places and its supply chain partners within ECF (formerly English Cities Fund).聽 ECF is a partnership between Homes England, Legal & General and Muse.
Council leader Jonathan Brook said: "This scheme will play a vital role in the future success of Barrow. It is a key part of the delivery plans for Team Barrow. A significant amount of time, work and funding has gone into getting us to this stage. We are now very much looking forward to working with Muse and ECF on this project and together with partners and the local community, to develop the vision for this site and for it to become a thriving residential community.鈥�
The council's vision for Marina Village is for a waterfront neighbourhood along Barrow鈥檚 active historic docks, within walking distance of the town centre.
Work is under way to remediate the second phase of 19 hectares, preparing the land for new homes, supported by 拢24.8m of Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land (BIL) funding from Homes England. Phase one of the development 鈥� the remediation of six hectares of land funded by 拢5.5m from the government鈥檚 Getting Building Fund, was completed in November 2023.聽聽
Phase two includes ground remediation and the installation of associated supporting infrastructure, including a realigned Cavendish Dock Road, as well as the diversion or protection of utilities. The project will also relocate a council waste depot to a temporary site.
Planning approval for phase three, which includes remediation and realignment of Cavendish Dock Road, was granted in November 2025 and will help unlock a further 16% of the site, once a biodiversity net gain credit application has been approved.
The pre-development agreement with Muse and ECF will commission early work to prepare Marina Village for the next stage, including initial design and planning, a funding strategy and project governance. Following this, a master development agreement is expected, setting out how Marina Village is brought forward over time.聽聽