By Safira Ali

Last updated 17:16, Saturday, 01 November 2008

An ambitious vision for a £100m transformation of Workington’s former Corus steelworks has reached a major milestone with developers revealing their final proposals.

Transformation: An artist’s impression of part of Eatonfield’s redevelopment vision for the Corus steelworks site in Workington

The News & Star can today reveal the showpiece scheme will include 651 houses and apartments, shops, hotels, and leisure facilities including tennis courts, a swimming pool and a bowling green.

Property firm Eatonfield Developments bought the 87-acre site in Mossbay last year and hope it will provide a lucrative economic lifeline for the town, creating 1,500 jobs.

The company has said in its application to Allerdale Council: “The redevelopment of the extensive former Corus site will create a new neighbourhood within Workington.”

Demolition, which started on the Mossbay site in January, is now complete.

If outline planning application is approved, the development will be completed in three phases.

The first will include offices, a public house, play barn, retail outlets, a restaurant, hotel, starter units, 85 apartments and 138 houses. It would also provide a business park around a courtyard.

The company added: “We fully appreciate the council would want to ensure the content of the retail outlets does not detract from the town centre and we are fully on board with that. An element of retail which will include local district shops in the proposal that is being investigated.”

The second phase would include light commercial shops, 65 apartments and 213 houses.

Leisure facilities, a spa, community centre, a 40-bed care home with a mix of apartments, houses and bungalows would be included in the final phase.

Plans will also include the provision of a health centre, clinic, a doctor’s and dental surgery, and a care and retirement village.

There are also proposals for a mini-market, and facilities such as tennis courts, swimming pools and bowling greens.

Eatonfield expects to start work on site in 2010 with the laying down of the main road and drainage systems.

The development of residential and commercial outlets is then expected to begin in 2012 over a five-year programme.

In their design statement, the developers state they want to create a promenade, create open-green spaces and open up the sea-views for the first time in the industrial area.

“The most significant landscape feature in the remodelling is the sea edge, especially a 200m-long sea wall and the dramatic views that can be seen from the top of the sea wall which will act as a promenade feature,” they added.