An ambitious plan to help Silloth tap into £90m of Government funding – boosting the town’s economy – is nearing completion.

After winning a £10,000 grant, the Silloth Coastal Community Team set about creating an economic plan which would identify key areas and achievable projects from which the town could boost its income.

To do that they enlisted the help of specialist consultancy Bowles Green Ltd which has been busy putting together a strategy which will help the community win funding.

They hope that once this plan is finalised it will give them the data and evidence to be able to apply for a share of the Government funding earmarked specifically for coastal communities. A meeting between the coastal team and Bowles Green has been planned for Thursday (NOV 25) where a number of recommendations will be revealed.

The coastal team is made up of representatives of a number of groups with an interest in Silloth, including the town council, Silloth Tourism Action Group (STAG), Solway Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Allerdale Council, Cumbria County Council and the Silloth and District Chamber of Trade.


Don Graham Don Graham, from the chamber of trade, said: “They are going to give us a summary of their progress and an outline of the next steps in the project.

“The consultants have been carrying out various conversations with groups in the town and speaking to businesses on what ideas they think would regenerate The Green.

“They will also be collecting more ideas from other parties in the town.”

The recommendations the consultants will be putting forward have yet to be discussed in detail however, The Cumberland News understands that among the ideas being considered are:

  • An extension of the cycleway along the coast between Silloth and Allonby
  • Creating better access to the town’s West Beach area
  • Developing a modern indoor venue where a number of events, for example concerts, could be held

An open meeting for businesses to share ideas with the coastal team was held at the Golf Hotel last week. It is estimated that the plan could be complete around January.

Mr Graham added: “At the end of the day, we are in no doubt that our economy is firmly based on the visitor economy and that’s the area we would focus on.

“Our aim would be to improve our visitor numbers and footfall and give people more reasons to come to Silloth.”

He added: “The whole thing was set up specifically to try and do something about the economic regeneration of the town as we knew this funding would be coming up.

“So, in order to access that funding, we had to demonstrate that we have consulted with a number of groups and show the Government that we have cross-community support.”

Earlier this month one of the key drivers behind business-boosting events in the town, STAG, was appealing for more volunteers to join its ranks.

Leaders of the active group warned that some key entries on the town’s calendar might not be able to run as they currently do should more people not come forward.