Football and rugby stadium plans get £30,000 boost

Funding has been issued to develop plans for Cumberland Sports Village

A long-awaited football and rugby league stadium has received a £30,000 funding boost to help its planned development.

Cumberland Sports Village would become the home of the Workington Reds football club and Workington Town RLFC once it is built.

Plans for the stadium were controversially scaled back in 2019, causing Cumbria to miss out on hosting games in the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

A new company has received funding to oversee the development of the grounds, although plans have yet to be submitted.

The stadium would be based on the site of Borough Park, the ageing current home of the Reds.

The firm, also called Cumberland Sports Village, received the funding from the Allerdale Investment Partnership (AIP).

AIP was set up as a joint venture between Allerdale Borough Council (now part of Cumberland Council) and finance partner IAGH3.

It aims to grow Allerdale's economy by using surplus council-owned land to attract investment and build housing.

It has also submitted an application to the £23.1m Towns Fund Grant, which is being used to develop projects in Workington.

The company said it would use the money to complete the stadium designs and prepare a planning application.

All-weather pitch

Cumbria missed out on hosting games for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup after Allerdale Borough Council scaled back its plans.

In 2019, the council said that the 8,000-seater stadium posed a "considerable financial risk".

The plans reduced the size of the stadium, meaning it could no longer meet the tournament's requirements.

Architect firm The Manning Elliott Partnership is designing the new stadium, and it is expected that a planning application will be submitted in the first half of 2024.

Cumberland Sports Village said the the stadium would "provide a wide range of facilities for the community", which may include an "all-weather community pitch".

The public will get the chance to view the designs and provide feedback through a series of drop-in sessions.