Plans to install gates at a Workington town centre spot to tackle anti-social behaviour are taking a step forward. 

Workington Town Council has applied to Allerdale council for the gates to be installed in the back lanes off Murray Road, next to Subway and Argos to respond to rising levels of anti-social behaviour.

The gates, of a maximum height of 10 feet, have been designed by volunteers of Workington Rotary Club, which will adopt the gates and take care of their maintenance.

They'll be manufactured and installed by apprentices at Shepley Engineers. 

The initiative is jointly led by the Rotary club and Cumbria police and both councils are committed to put £2,500 each towards the cost.

Shopkeepers will be in charge of opening the gates in the morning and closing them at night to prevent youths from gathering there.

The gates will have emergency release bars on the inside.

Chris Bagshaw, town clerk, said: "They'll be made in a way that you can't reach to release them from the outside. We had to do it because most of the shops have the fire exits facing onto the lane."

A steel fence is also due to be put up between Cumbria House and the county council offices to give the area additional security.

It will bring the fencing of the 5.5ft wall to a height of 8.8ft.

The proposal came after an emergency meeting was called by PC Lorraine Murphy, of the problem solving team, in October to address the increasing problems of anti-social behaviour, criminal damage and needles being found in the area.

A consultation into the plans is due to end on May 31.