Furness To "Miss Out" Over Borderlands

14 March 2019, 07:03 | Updated: 14 March 2019, 07:06

An MP says South Cumbria was overlooked in the Chancellor's 'Spring Statement'.

Philip Hammond pledged £345million to the 'Borderlands' deal - to be spent on projects in Cumbria and around the Scottish border.

But Furness MP John Woodcock says Morecambe Bay should get its own growth deal.

He saud: “It is a good idea to get the areas on both sides of the Scotland border working more closely together but there is a real danger that areas like Furness in the south of the county may miss out despite nominally being included to boost the amount of money available to the deal.

“Our part of Cumbria urgently needs to talk to government about where this leaves us. Ministers have been talking for some time as if Barrow and South Lakes were part of this initiative yet as it stands they are not part of the group developing it - unlike Carlisle City Council.

“My preference at the moment would be for our area to press ahead with government on a separate Morecambe bay growth deal that better reflects our economic partnerships and geography than tying us to Scottish border region that is a two hour schlep for Barrovians over mountains and round lakes.”