A bad start for West Cumbria pathfinder as Corus cuts jobs

The job losses, which represent almost 3% of the town’s 9000 population, will make it more difficult for the fledgling pathfinder to plan ahead.

Mike Muir, chair of Cumbria Housing Group, which represents all the local authorities and key housing associations in the county and is a key player in the pathfinder, said remodelling housing would not be easy when there was no clear picture of how the jobs might be replaced.

He said: “For example, one of our needs might be to take out [demolish] more of the terraced housing in some of the industrial towns and villages because people aspire to new estates. But if their incomes are going to be going down, that level of demand is going to be quite limited.

“If we get it wrong we could be faced with major long-term problems. If we get it right, we will achieve sustainability.”

Tim Stoddard, leader of Cumbria council, said the impact of the Corus closure on the area should not be underestimated but the closure was “not yet a done deal”.

He said: “The council has convened a taskforce on this and will work with key partners such as the North-west development agency to do whatever it can to convince the company to secure the future of employment on the site.”

West Cumbria pathfinder was one of three new pathfinders promised a share of £65m of housing market renewal funding for 2006/8 by deputy prime minister John Prescott last month (HT 28 January, page 9).