A LONG-TERM plan which has outlined the next 15 years of development in Barrow borough has been thrashed out by council members.
Almost 2,000 houses are set to be built by 2031 across the borough, along with 10 future sites for employment which will bring in businesses and create a number of jobs.
Councillor Brendan Sweeney, who deputised as leader of the council for the executive committee in Councillor Dave Pidduck's absence, was delighted with the final draft of the Local Plan, which has been put together over the course of the past four years.
He said: "This represents a great chance for us to build more housing but also for us to improve future employment opportunities by regenerating a number of sites across the borough.
"By doing this plan, we allow developers to come forward with exciting proposals to build high quality housing developments, which we need to match the growth of the town.
"This plan supports and helps to deliver the exciting opportunities that we have got in our new and improved economic climate in the area, mainly thanks to the future of Barrow's shipyard being secured.
"This is the biggest thing we do as a council, because it leaves the biggest legacy. It is something that we as the council of the time can look back and be proud of."
Thirty-eight housing sites, made up of a total of 1,990 houses, will be built over the next 15 years. Twenty of these sites will be in Barrow, 10 will be in Dalton, six in Askam and Ireleth and two in Lindal and Newton.
The council claims that it adopts a "brownfield first" approach to housing land, with more than 90 per cent of housing development in the borough in the past 10 years taking place on previously developed sites.
However, according to the Local Plan, 79 per cent of the planned housing will be built on greenfield sites.
Cllr Sweeney added: "It's all about compromise; we have of course got to respect people who do raise objections to developments, because construction work will be going on close to their houses, but at the same time we have to be realistic.
"At some point something will have to be built on greenfield sites and what people must remember is that the Marina Village development, which encompasses almost a third of the total number of houses that are being built, is a brownfield site."
During the meeting, the council also discussed plans to make Barrow and Dalton town centres vibrant shopping locations, with Cllr Alan Pemberton asking about the possibility of building a roof in Portland Walk.
He said: "No-one will want to shop in the wind and the rain when they can go to supermarkets and be warm and comfortable. To get Dalton Road and Portland Walk popular again we need to spend the money on it."
The final draft of the plan is now set to face a week of scrutiny before six weeks of consultation events will begin, to allow members of the public to raise concerns about any of the developments.
The new plan is set to come into fruition in the autumn of 2017.
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