Contractor chosen to demolish theatre and market
GoogleA contractor has been appointed to demolish a town's market and theatre, following their closures over safety concerns.
Birmingham-based DSM Demolition was chosen to carry out initial surveys of Barrow's Market Hall and The Forum, in Cumbria, and then demolish them once planning permission had been secured.
The theatre was closed in 2024 over asbestos issues while the market closed in February, when traders were told to leave with immediate effect due to a "significant chance" of water falling from the roof.
Liberal Democrat-led Westmorland and Furness council awarded the contract worth up to £7.9m to the company and said it anticipated the work would begin within this financial year.
The demolition would be funded from the government's Local Regeneration Fund - formerly Levelling Up Fund.
Councillors appointed the contractor at a meeting on 17 March, however press and the public were excluded from the hearing of the item, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
A council report from the meeting said the cost of repairing and renovating the market was £24m as of last year, and had "probably increased" after further deterioration.
It said the cost of renovating the Forum would "likely to be to the same order of magnitude".
"This council does not have the financial resources to undertake either the repair and renovation or rebuild options.
"The cost was well beyond its capacity," the report went on.
It also added that specialists believed repairs would "not fully remove the issue of asbestos contamination", with the only way to achieve full compliance being through "complete demolition and disposal".
