Allerdale council has announced it will spend £1 million to regenerate a Workington industrial estate to boost business in the area.

The project will see money being ploughed into building ten modern workshop units on Reedlands Road, Moss Bay.

It will cost £2.5 million and it will benefit from a grant of £1.5 million from the European Regional Development Fund.

Councillor Mark Fryer, executive member with responsibility for economic growth, said: "There's a mixture of industrial units right across the area such as business clusters and former industrial units. We still have units from the era of the steelworks which are 40 or 50 years old.

"This is a pretty significant boost. One thing we aren't short of is land, what we need is businesses to come in and provide jobs."

He added that providing modern space was key to attracting new businesses to West Cumbria.

The project, which was approved by Allerdale's executive committee today, is expected to be delivered by September 2019 and Pick Everard have been appointed as designers and project managers for the scheme.

When asked if infrastructure in the area was up to scratch to deal with the extra business, coun Fryer said: "I think things can always be improved, but infrastructure isn't just about roads, it's about the internet and we're pretty on the ball with that. We're looking at different options to help drive business in the area and we've got businesses knocking on our door now because they know we're being proactive and helping them."

Councillor Mike Heaslip said: "This is the sort of thing we should be doing. We need to put our money where out mouth is and economic development is what we're all about.

"In a previous life I was working in economic development and I've lost count of how much money has come in West Cumbria through the European Regional Development Fund. I worry about our future because West Cumbria has always had a far better deal out of Brussels than Whitehall."

The initiative comes after the Allerdale council commissioned a supply and demand market analysis, which identified the need for modern units such as these. The units will provide some 23,500 square feet of space, with units ranging from 600 square feet to 5,000.

A council spokesman said: "The council would remain the owners of the units, renting them to businesses. The development is all part of the council's priority to boost the area's economy, provide jobs and investment, as well as make the council's finances more sustainable and self-sufficient.

"Anyone interested in initial discussions on letting one of the units, should contact the council's economic growth team on 0303 123 1702."