Latest News & Updates
Major step forward in plans for Cumberland Sports Village, Workington
11.03.24
A MAJOR step forward has been taken in the development of a sporting stadium in Workington, with the group behind the plans saying they are excited to see the project 'gathering pace'. The project to build a new Cumberland Sports Village has taken a significant step forward with the release of funds to allow the creation of a full planning application for the scheme.
Cumberland Council has agreed the release of grant funding worth £235,000 as part of the Workington Town Deal. This will be used to draw up the detailed plans, instruct the architects and bring in the expertise of other planning professionals to prepare the planning documents. It is expected that the application will be made to Cumberland Council by the autumn of this year.
Cumberland Sports Village Limited, a company limited by guarantee, will be responsible for the development of the site, and will also be able to call upon additional funding from Allerdale Investment Partnership to fund its initial operating costs.
The build costs for the initial phase of the Cumberland Sports Village are being funded by the Government’s Town Deal fund and by Cumberland Council.
Dave Bowden, spokesman for Cumberland Sports Village, said: “The next stage of work to build the new Cumberland Sports Village can now begin in earnest. The grant of this funding means we can put everything in place to draw up the detailed plans and show sports fans across the county and beyond how this fabulous new stadium is going to look.
“This is more than just a sports ground, it’s an entire community facility, and it’s exciting to see it gathering pace.”
Leader of Cumberland Council, Cllr Mark Fryer, added: “I am very pleased the Council is now able to release this initial tranche of funding.
“I have been fighting for West Cumbria to have a top-class stadium for many years and it is fantastic that the architects are now able to create the detailed designs for a venue which will cement our status as major players on the sporting map.”
December 7th 2023 Update
Cumberland Sports village Ltd have issued the following press release to provide an update on progress regarding the new Cumberland Sports Village facilities being developed on the Borough Park site, home of the Workington Reds
Over the course of the past four months a significant amount of progress has been made working with Cumberland Council, Workington Reds and Workington Town RLFC to bring the project to the point it is at today.
As a result of this the Cumberland Sports Village Company has now been established. This is a not for profit, limited by guarantee company, which will be responsible for the development of the facilities and once complete, their ongoing operation. In order to assist the company during the development phase the Allerdale Investment Partnership have agreed to provide access to working capital of up to £30,000 to fund its on-going operational requirements.
The supplementary work requested by Cumberland Council in support of the Towns Fund grant and the grant provided by themselves has now been completed and submitted. When approved this will allow an initial tranche of funding to be drawn down to enable the completion of the stadium designs and the preparation and submission of the planning application for the development.
A local firm of Architects, The Manning Elliott Partnership, have been asked to undertake the design work for the stadium to enable a planning application to be submitted during the first half of next year.
At its heart the new stadium will provide a wide range of facilities for the community, and whilst preparatory discussions have already taken place with both Workington Reds and with Workington Town to capture their requirements, a series of drop-in sessions will be announced in the new year to allow the local community to view the draft designs and provide their feedback
As part of the initial bid submission a series of draft designs for the stadium have been further developed images of which are reproduced below. These designs are conceptual but have been produced to illustrate what the final development might look like.
Positive discussions with representatives of the Football Foundation are ongoing with regards to the potential all weather community pitch, with significant additional funding available to enable completion of this part of the project.
June 16th 2023 Update
Although things may appear very quiet officials from both clubs and the stadium company have been busy pulling together various aspects of the Sporting Village project and we can provide an update as follows.
Construction
With the money advanced we have employed a company of Quantity Surveyors to provide a cost based on all of the requirements listed by the clubs. This has now been passed to a firm of architects to refine based on current and extended budgets, with the expectation of producing designs in line with what is likely to be the actual build.
This has taken longer than expected, the budget is tight so careful consideration has been given to the priority items but we hope we can share something really soon.
We are also picking up on some work provided from the previous project with regard to flood mitigation on the Lonsdale Park site of the Sporting Village. We are developing this with consultants in order to cost a solution designed to alleviate any potential future flood damage. This is a crucial piece of work and is a pre-curser to the Football Foundation providing major financial support for a community pitch. It should be added here that the FF are very supportive in recognising the potential benefits to the community. Again, we have a consultant who is charged with developing the community aspect of the project to secure this funding.
Operations
As we’ve mentioned earlier a shared stadium in which the clubs can prosper, the provision of a community facility, and in which the stadium itself can be sustainable presents a transformational change to all parties.
The stadium representatives from the clubs have met several times to discuss and draw up the basis of a financial operational budget to quantify how this will work. This is not only essential for the project when built, but at this stage will provide confidence to the funders and all concerned that the project overall is sustainable. Work continues on this with the clubs working very closely together on what is a challenging exercise.
February 2nd 2023 Update
We can now report that our project has been allocated an initial fund of £50,000 from Allerdale Borough Council to complete work necessary to satisfy the final funding conditions. Within weeks this will enable us to begin to drawdown from the £6.4m and proceed with the real work of specifying the detail of the stadium. We will keep you posted at every stage!
January 12th 2023 Update
Currently we are awaiting the transfer of funds to finalise the work required to release the main body of funding. There have been some delays in setting up the bank accounts and satisfying the KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements that banks require, particularly for new entities, but that is now close to completion. The structures of the company who will manage the operational finances has been established. Once this is done we will have the financial resources to complete the conditions required to release the main funding and the planning can quickly begin in earnest.
In the meantime some of this work has commenced but clearly the legal and financial advisors will require payment before it can be completed.
It is at this stage we can turn our thoughts to stadium design and costs. This is the bit all our fans will be most interested in and therefore this website will keep fans updated once some of this design work is underway. Your feedback as fans, potential users and partners, and particularly shareholders will be sought during this process.
The plan remains to have a phased approach.
In addition the financial business plan and operational procedures will also be refined and confirmed.
Green light for Workington Town Deal investment
The government has agreed £23.1m worth of funding that will allow the Workington Town Deal projects to progress.
The business plans were agreed earlier this year by Allerdale Borough Council’s Executive, after they were devised by the Workington Town Deal Board. Now that the government funding has been confirmed, work can start on the five major regeneration projects in the town.
The funding is being provided under the Government’s Town Deal funding pot.