MP helps secure £27 million economic package for Cumbria

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has heralded a major package of funding for our area following lobbying by himself, businesses and South Lakeland District Council (SLDC).

Thanks to the cross party work Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has been able to agree a historic 'Growth Deal' with the Government which will see £26.8million invested in Cumbria. £9.1million has been confirmed in the first year, and as part of the Government's on-going commitment to Cumbria LEP it has provided an indicative award of a further £17.7million of funding from 2016/17 onwards.

The deal will help to create up to 2,000 jobs, allow up to 3,000 homes to be built and generate up to £50 million in public and private investment for the county.

Highlights from the package include:

• A package of measures tooptimise connectivity within Cumbria, particularly improving public transport links between Kendal and Keswick.
• Transport improvements in and around Kendal facilitating housing development and business growth.
• Improved access toSouth Ulverston to support the expansion of GlaxoSmithKline and housing development.

Tim said: "This package of measures will boost our local economy and help create new jobs and stimulate growth. This deal is good news for South Lakeland and for the whole of Cumbria. I want to pay tribute to the LEP, South Lakeland District Council, particularly Councillors Peter Thornton and Jonathan Brook, and the local business community.

"To help businesses, we need to deal with the pinch points and traffic issues that Kendal faces. This is something regularly mentioned to me by local business owners and I regularly raise it with the Government and our local councils. This money will help us do that."

"I have long argued, lobbied and pressed ministers to devolve power and funds from Westminster to Cumbria. It allows us to make the decisions and invest in the future of our economy. I'm delighted that our work could mean that up to 2,000 jobs are created and allow up to 3,000 new homes to be built for local families throughout Cumbria."

Leader of South Lakeland District Council Councillor Peter Thornton added "This is a great result for South Lakeland and a great result for Cumbria. We've won this funding because we've worked together with the other five Cumbrian District Councils along with the County Council and we've put aside any party differences to do so. I'd also like to thank our SLDC officers who have worked so hard on this deal."