Regeneration is about improving opportunities for people, whether this is jobs, services or renewing a sense of pride within a community.

This is just as important, and in many ways more acutely felt, in smaller towns that have in the past relied on industry and now need to adapt to ensure a brighter future.

West Lakes Renaissance is providing £7 million for West Cumbria’s market towns, with the major hub of activity centred on Egremont, Cleator Moor, Millom and North Allerdale. All four are communities that have suffered with the decline in mining and industry but investing in them we are looking to utilise the unique assets and a deep sense of pride that their communities have.

We are investing in improving then environment for businesses to blossom; making improvements to buildings and town centres to make them more attractive places for work and pleasure; and we are utilising unique historical and environmental assets to attract tourists in the wider push to diversify the local economy.

This work may not result in huge new jobs opportunities and match the kind of transformations that will take place in West Cumbria’s major urban centres but by building on a strong sense of identity the work provides the foundation on which economic regeneration can be built.