New Fund for Barrow to help recover from redundancies

A new Community Response Fund is to be set up in Barrow to help individuals and communities affected by large-scale redundancies in the Furness area. 

Cumbria County Council's Cabinet today agreed to provide £100,000 to West Lakes Renaissance, the county's urban regeneration company, to set up the fund to support people affected by redundancies from the likes of BAE and Glaxo Smith Kline. The Fund will help create and safeguard jobs, create new businesses and provide support to existing ones, support learning opportunities, help individuals who have been made redundant and support community groups and initiatives. 

Councillor Mike Ash, Deputy Leader of Cumbria County Council and the Council's Representative on the Barrow Task Force, said: 

"I am delighted Cabinet has agreed to release this funding. This will form part of a £450,000 package, which will help the many individuals and groups affected by redundancies in the Barrow area. The new Community Response Fund will also draw down funding from other bodies. The impact of all this on the Furness area should be considerable in helping to regenerate and diversify the economy, renew the local community and support many vulnerable people." 

County Council finance the Fund has been provided from the Council's budget for the New Vision Initiative for Furness and West Cumbria. The Fund will be managed by Barrow Community Regeneration Company and will consist of a grants panel made up of representatives from a number of partner organisations. Councillor Lawson Short, Cabinet member with responsibility for economic development, will be County Council's representative on the grants panel.