Duke Street High Street Heritage Action Zone

Duke Street High Street Heritage Action Zone Looking NW down Duke Street from the junction with Cavendish Street (Source: Barrow Archive) Barrow town centre is being supported through the High…

Duke Street High Street Heritage Action Zone

Looking NW down Duke Street from the junction with Cavendish Street (Source: Barrow Archive)

Barrow town centre is being supported through the High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) programme, which was announced by the Government to secure lasting improvements to historic high streets and the communities who use them. This comes following a successful funding bid to support regeneration and improvements.

The scheme has been named Re:discover Barrow and intends to deliver a meaningful, high impact programme in and around Duke Street to restore Barrow’s historical town centre. Funding from the HAZ will be used to restore historic buildings and kick start regeneration by celebrating the unique character and heritage of Barrow. Historic England has confirmed funding of £1.1 million, which together with match funding gives an overall programme of £1.9 million.

The Barrow HSHAZ boundary runs from Barrow Library to the Town Hall and also encompasses part of Abbey Road and Cornwallis Street. Funding will breathe new life into the town centre and will also preserve the Central Conservation Area.

To view the HAZ boundary, please click on the map below.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has restricted progress in the first year of the four year programme, but public engagement will commence later this year with a launch event when safe to do so in the summer.

Local arts organisation Art Gene are developing a virtual tour celebrating the history of a number of interesting properties within our HAZ area. If you would like to share your memories of the library, the old Natwest Bank, nights out on Cornwallis Street or any other buildings within the HAZ you can leave a voice recording here.

Going forward, funding will provide property grants for works to buildings and shop fronts within the HSHAZ boundary. This can include repair works to historic fabric such as roofs, guttering, signage and windows; and reinstatement of historic shopfronts, which will make a positive impact to Barrow town centre. For further information please contact the HSHAZ Project Officer by email: rwood@barrowbc.gov.uk

The programme will include community activities which are tailored to the objectives of the Re:discover Barrow HSHAZ. The aim is to make communities feel more invested in their high streets as places to live, work and visit.

For further information and to keep up to date on the latest HSHAZ events, please visit www.barrowhshaz.co.uk and like us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @BarrowHAZ.

Looking SE down Duke Street across Ramsden Square (Source: Barrow Archive)