Last updated 20:25, Thursday, 28 August 2008

THE SALE of the former RNAD armaments depot at Broughton Moor for just £1 was hailed as the bargain of the century by Allerdale council leader Joe Milburn.

The authority, along with Cumbria county council, bought the Dump, as it is known locally, from the Ministry of Defence on Friday.

A £1 coin was handed over to the Ministry of Defence by Mr Milburn as the local authorities took control of the land, which is the biggest brownfield site in the North West.

Mr Milburn said that big plans for the land, now called Derwent Forest, included housing, leisure facilities and a hotel, as well as using it for educational, commercial, and environmental purposes.

He said: “Now that we have secured the land, which is the bargain of the century, it will have enormous benefits for the whole area.

“We want to develop the land so that people across the region will be able to reap its benefits. It is brilliant for us to have got this 1,000-acre space and we will be able to do so much with it.

“The possibilities for Derwent Forest are now endless but we will still be looking for investment.”

The Derwent Forest site is a key regeneration project identified within the Cumbria Economic Plan published by Cumbria Vision last year.

Geoff Dixon, senior estate surveyor for the MoD, said: “We have been working towards this day for a number of years and we are delighted to be able to hand over the land to the local authorities.

“They will be able to put this vast area of land to good use.”

Roger Liddle, chairman of regeneration body Cumbria Vision, said that when the land was developed it would attract more tourists to West Cumbria.

He said: “Our vision for West Cumbria will see this land turned into a place for tourism. It is as important as our vision for Sellafield and for the Energy Coast.”

Five organisations have worked to develop the Derwent Forest project. They are Allerdale and Cumbria councils, the Northwest Development Agency, Cumbria Vision and West Lakes Renaissance.

The next step will be to market the site to potential developers.

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