Although I welcome this update from Team Barrow, it does not address my major concerns about the local authority leadership’s commitment to Barrow in Furness.
The council has set out that it is making savings of £500,000 a year from the disconnection of services from The Forum and the Market Hall in Barrow. There are no other revenue cultural savings this year from South Lakeland or Eden. It is becoming increasingly clear that the council is using the government’s £220m Barrow transformation funding as a way of pulling its own funding out of delivering services in Barrow. That is not acceptable, and we need the Liberal Democrat leadership to confirm that this £500K will be put back into the budget when the Forum and Market are replaced.
It is welcome that we now have more detail on when, and how, local people will be involved in shaping the plans for the Heart of Barrow. I think proposals need to be made public before the Forum and Market place are demolished.
I continue to push for all available options to be looked at so that control of this project is moved out of the hands of Lib Dem council leaders in Kendal and brought under local control here in Barrow.