MP criticises council over town rebuild plans

An MP has criticised a council over work to rebuild a town centre and called for power to be brought under local control.

Barrow's Labour MP Michelle Scrogham said Westmorland and Furness Council had "not been good enough", particularly over the demolition of The Forum Theatre saying the town needed a replacement.

She also wanted responsibility for a multi-million pound regeneration programme to be moved from the Liberal Democrat-run council to a locally-led body.

In a letter in response to the MP, council leader Jonathan Brook said the authority was committed to a "high-quality cultural offer for Barrow" and a regeneration plan that "commands the confidence of local people".

In a post on Facebook, Scrogham said: "For months I've been asking for a guaranteed, professional-standard theatre to replace the Forum.

"The venue was suddenly closed in July 2024 and is set to be knocked down in the coming months.

"It is not good enough to talk about 'a cultural space', we need a plan for a replacement theatre," she said.

The council has been contacted for comment.

Scrogham also called for control of the Heart of Barrow programme to be brought "out of the hands of Liberal Democrat council leaders in Kendal" and under "proper local control".

The programme aims to transform the town centre using more than £20m from the Barrow transformation fund, more than £10m from government's local regeneration fund, and £1.5m from the council, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

She called for the council to change the way it approached the project, adding she had asked Team Barrow and government ministers to move the project to control within Barrow.

Scrogham's post included a screenshot of a letter to her from Brook.

His letter said the council was committed to "future cultural provision", but no replacement for the theatre was committed to.

He also said that there would be "further opportunities" for residents, stakeholders and partners to "inform and shape" the next phrase of the Heart of Barrow programme.

However, Scrogham said: "From the council's most recent response to my questions... it feels like they are digging in."

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