Regeneration 'a boost but work still to be done'
Cumberland CouncilRegeneration efforts across a city are making it look "brighter" and "smarter", the local council leader says.
Speaking at the rebranded Tullie museum and gallery - formerly Tullie House - in Carlisle, Cumberland Council's Mark Fryer said it symbolised the work being done on projects including the multimillion-pound investiment in the city's train station, the creation of St Cuthbert's Garden Village and the construction of the Southern Link Road, which aims to give quicker access to the M6.
David Wright, chairman of the Carlisle Town Deal Board, echoed those comments.
He said: "You can already see the changes... [but] there's still work to be done."
Other schemes include Start with the Park to improve green spaces, a community learning hub, the Lighting Up Carlisle project which will illuminate the cathedral and business infrastructure supporting the University of Cumbria.
Fryer said: "If we had the funding package, we could do more.
"But I think the city now is looking brighter, smarter, and there's a good and bad about that because when you put new in, the old looks sad, so that the next role is to do up the sad parts and make them better.
"We don't rest on our laurels, but I think, once the railway station is finished, then we'll see something pretty bright in there as well."
'Bring more shops back'
Wright described the projects as making good progress: "Imagine if someone... stepped off at the train station and started walking up that southern gateway area.
"It's really impressive, the street furniture that's there.
"Again, there's little nods to the history of the city. There's a historic well, which we have restored and retained.
"So you can see those changes. You can see what differences are starting to come from the Town Deal funding [provided by central government].
"But there's still work to be done. They still have the projects to finish and complete.
"And then after that, it's like, what's next? What else can we do as a town team to improve people's lives in Carlisle?"
Emma Porter, former chairwoman of the Town Deal board, was the original driving force in shaping the various projects, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
She said plans for the university's proposed redevelopment of Carlisle Citadel were "really exciting".
"Hopefully the investment in the city centre help to attract more footfall and help bring more shops back into the city centre," she added.
