Kendal town centre revamp plan gets £13.4m levelling up cash

The funding will be used to transform Kendal's Market Place, the local council says

A plan to transform a Cumbrian town centre has been awarded £13.5m from levelling up funds.

The plans for Kendal include the regeneration of Market Hall and the repurposing of the Westmorland Shopping Centre to create a new campus for Kendal College.

Westmorland and Furness Council said the developments would "make a real difference".

The area is one of 55 nationally to get a share of £1bn government funding.

Other elements of the scheme include the renewal of Market Place and Kent Street.

'Unique setting'

Additionally, a riverside path between Lowther Street and Abbot Hall will be turned into a travel route connecting the River Kent to the town centre, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Having lost out on two previous rounds of levelling up funds, council leader Jonathan Brook said "a great deal of work" had been put into the latest submission and that it was "tremendously exciting to have that work pay off".

The Liberal Democrat councillor added: "We will now work to turn these ambitions for Kendal into a reality.

"These projects will make a real difference to the people of Kendal and all who come to the town.

"They will embrace the unique setting of our town, and use our built heritage and culture to enhance the town centre, to make it more attractive and accessible for living, working, culture and leisure."

Kendal's Market Hall is set to be revamped using the levelling up funds

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said the latest round of funding "sits alongside [the government's] wider initiatives to spread growth, through devolving more money and power out of Westminster to towns and cities".