The site is likely to carry with it considerable grant aid from English Partnerships and the North West Regional Development Agency

The plan is to develop a Marina Village which will contain 650 new homes, a 350-berth marina, a hotel, restaurants, bars, retail space and a sports ground transforming the site which was formerly a disused railway works. Marina Village is the centrepiece of The Waterfront Barrow-in-Furness Masterplan, an exciting project to bring great swathes of Barrow’s redundant dockland back into use.

Around 40 developers from across the United Kingdom attended a special launch event at Barrow Town Hall yesterday. They were given the opportunity to tour the site and meet representatives from the organisations behind the exciting proposals; West Lakes Renaissance, Barrow Borough Council, the Northwest Regional Development Agency and English Partnerships.

Bob Pointing, chief executive of West Lakes Renaissance, said: “Marina Village is the jewel in the crown of The Waterfront Barrow-in-Furness development and will have far-reaching implications for the town and surrounding area."

Developers have until December to express an interest in Marina Village. Successful applicants will then be asked to submit detailed proposals. Work is expected to start on site in late 2009 and take around ten years to complete.

Marina Village is the biggest piece of The Waterfront Barrow-in-Furness jigsaw. Last month worked started on Ramsden Business Park, the first of three that will be built to create the Waterfront Business Park. The business park will create more than 1,500 new jobs and provide much-needed space for a wide range of businesses.