A series of iconic buildings are to be built in the Lake District national park.

In what is set to be an exemplar project rolled out across Cumbria and other national parks, architect Sheppard Robson is working on proposals for a series of "large-scale schemes in beautiful settings".

The architect and client Rural Regeneration Cumbria are in discussions with investors and delivery partners about the £1bn roll-out of landmark culture projects across Cumbria, including a 1000-seat theatre and a big-screen complex, similar to the IMAX in Waterloo, central London.

A scheme for a permanent performance space at Lowther castle, near Penrith, which includes a proposal for a Glastonbury-style festival is the furthest advanced.

A delivery partner has been agreed, although not named. The scheme has been put to the planning authority in the region, which has said it will fully back the project.

Tim Evans, project architect at Sheppard Robson, said: "This is the start of a new visioning process for national parks. There are going to be iconic new cultural complexes in the heart of the national park that will regenerate the whole region."

Sheppard Robson has drawn up a series of masterplans for key sites as part of the wider rebranding of Cumbria.

This will include an international centre on the British romanticism movement at Grassmere, the home town of William Wordsworth, as well as landmark schemes at Kendal, Barrow-in-Furness and Morecambe in Lancashire.