A West Cumbrian catering company has been announced as the new manager of a cafe and restaurant which will form part of a major development in Whitehaven.

Osprey Management Group has been named as a partner in the £4.1 million Buzz Station, a digital and creative hub in the former bus station, as part of the £300m North Shore project spearheaded by property firm BEC.

The building will keep its current facade and the ground floor will be an 100-seat cafe/bar, with 4,000sq ft of office space on the first floor.

BEC hopes work will begin on the Buzz Station this month and be completed by the end of year.

Osprey Management Group is based at High Harrington, and manages inns including The Briery in Stainburn and the Galloping Horse in High Harrington.

Craig Lowery, director of operations at Osprey, said: “We envisage The Buzz Station to be a unique proposition to the local area.

“It will showcase the amazing artisan food and drink products available in the county. Fresh, locally sourced, sustainable foods will become the foundation of the menus. It is our intention to serve fresh fish landed in Whitehaven and some of the fabulous meat and dairy produce from local farms, we are always looking for local suppliers.”

BEC's head of property and development, Rob Miller added: “Food innovation will be key at The Buzz Station, and it will also act as a hothouse for tech, digital, media, and creative start-ups.”

Michael Pemberton, chief executive of BEC, said: “The development revives neglected places.

"Craig Lowery and the team at Osprey have taken a similar approach to developments, choosing places that need to be revitalised and returned to the communities that house them, providing leisure spaces for society to thrive and supporting employment opportunities on the coast of Cumbria."

Sellafield Ltd is investing £2.6m into the Buzz Station and the North Shore scheme is led by BEC, with the help of partners including Copeland Borough Council and Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners.

It proposes a four-star hotel, multi-storey car park and around 75,000 sq ft of office development.

  • To read more about BEC's plans for the Buzz Station and the company's wider North Shore project, subscribe to this month's free issue of in-Cumbria magazine at www.in-cumbria.com/magazines