Page 26 - Barrow Town Deal Board Agenda 14/4/2020

Barrow Town Investment Plan - Stakeholder Insight Report

3. Strategic Insight

3.1 Hatch Regeneris held over 25 one-to-one consultations with a range of stakeholders
representing the Town Deal Board and associated Plan Development Group, in addition to
Council officers and intermediary organisations. A full list of consultees is appended (see
Appendix A). These consultations followed a semi-structured aide memoire with discussion
topics exploring the distinctiveness of Barrow, the opportunities for growth, the challenges
to overcome, and relative priorities of stakeholder organisations. These topics are explored
below with consideration given to the Town Deal themes of Urban Regeneration and Land
Use Planning, Skills and Enterprise, and Connectivity.

Distinctive Barrow

3.2 Distinctive features of Barrow were identified by stakeholders, including:

• Rich advanced manufacturing heritage and national/global status as an advanced
manufacturing cluster
• World class skills and expertise at the forefront of innovation…but a coastal community
with pockets of high deprivation and inequalities in health and education outcomes
“where opportunity and need reside cheek by jowl” and “the Town Deal can help
Barrow to shrink the gap”

• The major investment represented by BAE Systems as a national publicly funded
priority, providing “defence of the realm” which puts Barrow at the forefront of a
“national endeavour” and provides size and scale of supply chain opportunity. The
shipyard was described by one commentator as “the lifeblood of the Barrow economy”

• Peripherality and isolation – supports self-contained economy whilst creating barriers
to growth

• Barrow has a strong sense of community spirit and sense of ownership and belonging:
“if you ask anyone for help they will say yes and ask what they can do…there is a
sense of being connected to each other, and responsible for each other”. Many
residents are proud of the town, although more can be done. The town has a strong
voluntary sector. The Town Deal needs to coalesce the community spirit and use this
as a platform to drive a changed perception of place.
• Barrow’s natural capital assets (beaches, waterfront, green spaces…) to enhance
quality of life and encourage visitors to the town. Natural assets per head of population
is high and often overlooked.

• Barrow’s heritage and listed buildings
• Barrow’s ‘tidal workforce’ which live in the area mid-week but leave at the weekend to
return to their place of origin
• Barrow has anchor institutions including the Council, education providers such as
Furness College and the University of Cumbria, and major employers such as BAE
and Furness General Hospital. These institutions can be levered to drive good growth
and inclusive economy outcomes.
• A strong vision for the town – with a board/leaders who know what needs to be done.
“A new era of integrated and joined up planning’ between anchor institutions in the
town”

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