It is vital that new and existing businesses across Furness grasp the opportunities that arise from the significant commercial investment in The Waterfront Barrow-in-Furness.

The Waterfront Barrow-in-Furness is the biggest development in the town for over a century and will need the support of skill-based businesses throughout the 15 year development stage, and beyond.

This could range from the plumbers who will fit the 650 new homes on Marina Village to IT firms supplying the businesses on the Waterfront Business Park with high speed internet connections to give them a competitive edge.

This is why West Lakes Renaissance continues to support a number of projects led by Furness Enterprise. The Enterprise Fund continues to create well over its target for jobs year on year.

Encouraging Entrepreneurship is successfully helping to promote an entrepreneurial culture to our young people, who are pivotal to the push for a more prosperous future for Barrow. This programme runs along side UK Government initiatives to encourage new business creation.

Meanwhile, the Workshop and The Box Social Enterprise Network projects are both designed to address the issue of worklessness in the area.