THE first step in a bid to construct a major new building at Barrow's shipyard has been completed.

BAE Systems wants to build an eight-storey building on the Barrow dockside.

It submitted an application to Westmorland and Furness Council to request a Screening Opinion to determine whether an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required before the construction of the building on land north of Buccleuch Road and east of Michaelson Road.

The council has now said an EIA is not necessary because the development would not have major effects on the environment.

Head of development management Jason Hipkiss said: "Overall, in the context of an existing urban location which experiences long established levels of various industrial activity associated with the shipyard, the project as described in the submission, is not considered to raise additional significant environmental effects in the context of the EIA Regulations.

"Based upon the information provided it is concluded by the Planning Authority that the proposed development would not result in significant effects on the environment and as such the application is not considered to be EA development."

The new 38-metre-high building, named Project Spartan, would replace a former munitions factory, Building 36, which the council previously approved the demolition of last week in preparation for Project Spartan.

The report submitted with the plan said: "Project Spartan (previously named Crew Accommodation) is the last construction project related to BAE Systems' Site Redevelopment Programme (SRP) at Barrow.

"The SRP commenced in 2015 and was part of the £300-plus million investment into Barrow Shipyard, which was needed to enable the build, test, and commissioning of the Successor programme, a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines that will enter into service in 2028 and supersede the Astute class submarines."

The report describes the proposed building as having two 'interconnected wings', one of which would house Dreadnought crew and office facilities, for 'target occupation' in early 2025.

The second part would house further office and engineering facilities.

The report also argues that the development would have no adverse effect on the landscape or on transport and access.

It says: "Project Spartan would house up to 2,000 BAE Systems staff members across a number of departments, while the Crew Accommodation was estimated to have a workforce of around 330.

"While this is a significant increase, staff will be relocated from other areas of the site and do not constitute any increase in overall BAE staff numbers."