An ambitious £1.5 million bid for the revival of Maryport’s Camp Farm has been drawn up.

Experts say the farm is a classic example of a Victorian model farm.

The £1.5m funding bid has been made to the Government’s Coastal Communities Fund, with backing from the Love Maryport town group and Allerdale and Cumbria county councils.

Built as a model farm in the mid-1860s by the Senhouse family, it is on the Alauna Fort Roman site.

A year ago, the North England Civic Trust took ownership of Camp Farm.

It hoped that the recovery and preservation of the farm would complement the history of the Roman fort and help tell the story of Maryport and its most important family.

Talks are due to be held soon with the Senhouse museum to discuss how future archeological works can be carried out.

Graham Bell, trust director, said: “Our long-term plan is to do something with the whole farm, but the most pressing need is a group of derelict buildings.

“We want to repair them and run the scheme as a training project and involve people in getting experience of working on historic buildings, environment-based work, hedge-laying and fencing.

“Our target is 50 training placements over the two years the project would run.”

The trust has made a draft application, which it hopes will get initial approval so a more detailed plan can be submitted.

Mr Bell said: “We are hoping to hear some time at the end of this month, then we would have until the end of November to submit a full application.

“I do believe that this bid is deserving, not because of the buildings, but because of the way we plan to go about using them and the fact that the farm area is a world heritage site and with the area of outstanding natural beauty.

“Here we have a significant site, not just in a UK context but in an international context.

“We have a story about the Senhouse family, their land and estates and agricultural improvements and we have to look at how that feeds into the overall story.”

Late last year, the trust was awarded £50,000 from the national Coastal Revival Fund. This was used to make the derelict farm site safe so the public could see it.

Mr Bell is hoping any new funding would help develop the site and give visitors a hands-on feel of farming life almost 200 years ago.

He added: “We decided from the beginning that we were not going down the road of a multi-million-pound interpretation centre and that we wanted to do stuff with people.”