Latest news with #Millom
BBC News
06-07-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Part of A595 in Whicham Valley shuts to fix resurfacing 'defects'
A road will be closed for about two weeks while remedial resurfacing takes place to fix previous works, on the A595 in Whicham Valley, near Millom in Cumbria, are starting on Council said the work was to fix "defects" from previous resurfacing and would be completed at the contractor's expense. A full road closure will be in place from Monday to Friday between 07:00 and 19:00 BST. Access will be maintained for emergency service vehicles, pedestrians and dismounted cyclists throughout the works. Waste and recycling collections would continue as usual, the local authority said. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
15-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
'Forgotten' Millom looks to a new future with regeneration effort
A "forgotten town" that has suffered decades of decline following the loss of heavy industries is taking the first steps towards a brighter future, regeneration chiefs and mining operations in Millom, in south Cumbria, were brought to a close in the late 1960s, and in recent years shops, banks and pubs have closed. Having been awarded £29.3m in government funding, the focal point of turnaround efforts - improved facilities at the Hodbarrow nature reserve - has moved a step forward with the submission of a revised planning Savage, chairman of the Millom Town Deal Board, believes the scheme can help the area "find a confident new voice". Called the Iron Line and developed in partnership with Cumberland Council, it will see new walking and cycling routes around the reserve - formerly an iron mine - along with the construction of a visitor funding is also being used to turn an ex-bank in the town into an arts and enterprise venue, as well as build a leisure centre to complement an existing recreation to improve connections with the nearby village of Haverigg is also planned. "Millom's become somewhat of a forgotten town," Mr Savage said. "Historically it was a steelmaking area, but today it's effectively looking for a new future."Like a lot of places, we've seen a significant change in people's shopping habits [with them moving online] so we have a large number of derelict buildings, particularly in the Wellington Street area where the Co-op used to be."I'm Millom born and bred, and you look at it now and it's completely different to the 1970s. It has a strong sense of decline, so there's a big challenge but also a lot of opportunity."Having been empty for several years, work to transform the former NatWest building in Market Square got under way a few months ago with Mr Savage believing the refurbishment of the prominent site will make "a statement".Meanwhile, the Iron Line, he hopes, will attract thousands of visitors each year as it draws on the town's coastal location."We are close to the Lake District, but we have a different offer," he explains. "The visitor centre should be operating by next autumn to tell the story of Millom with the rest of the scheme concluded by spring 2027."In all, the four regeneration projects are split between economic renewal and health and wellbeing." Michael Barry, Cumberland Council's assistant director of thriving places, says community engagement has been key to identifying regeneration priorities."What's vital is that we are working with local people to understand what they feel is important."They live and breathe the town. Ultimately, they will live with these projects and we want to make sure we are meeting their aspirations."Real opportunities also come from being near two of Britain's largest industrial sites - the Sellafield nuclear plant and BAE Systems' submarine-building operation at Barrow."Although the first steps towards a turnaround are seemingly being taken, Mr Savage warns bigger ones will ultimately be needed."I regard the Town Deal funding as a down-payment. It creates an environment for change and now we need other investors to come into the town along with more help from the government."We want to give the town a new confidence and a new future. I'm confident we've found a path forward." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
I'm Britain's oldest shopkeeper but despite being 100 years old I don't think I'll ever retire - and here's why
In his youth, he collected manure to sell to allotment owners; later, he went on to work as a tanner and an HGV driver, before supporting the British war effort in India and Burma. But all that was in another lifetime, before Arthur Ferguson really hit his stride. Mr Ferguson, who celebrated his 100th birthday two months ago, is Britain's oldest shopkeeper. He opened a bakery in the Cumbrian coastal town of Millom in 1950 and has not looked back since, a living embodiment of the principle that all good businesses must adapt to survive. Before long, the bakery became a haberdashery, and now the quadruple-fronted store on Wellington Street offers an array of goods and services, from school uniforms and household goods to dry cleaning and made-to-measure blinds. The shop has become a bastion of the local community and, having made it his life, the father of two is not about to step about away anytime soon. In fact, Mr Ferguson does not think he will ever retire. 'I quite enjoy it, it's good,' he said. 'I like that we sell a range of stuff - ladies', gents' and children's clothes, school wear, bedding, clocks. 'I've worked in retail all my life, apart from army service. I don't think I'll retire.' That will come as welcome news not only to staff, who have described him as a man who 'likes life and likes to see people', but also to customers in a town where everybody knows the world war two veteran. David Ferguson, who at 62 is the younger of his two sons - the other is Mark, 70 - is not so sure his father could relinquish the reins even he wanted to. 'If I took over the shop tomorrow, then he would still come down,' said David. 'He's the type of guy who would come to make sure that everything is OK and running properly. 'He's been hands-on forever. I have no intention of slowing him down, he likes going.' Born in Blackley, Manchester on March 8, 1925, Mr Ferguson had retail in his blood from the very beginning. As a child, he lived with his mother above the corner shop she ran in Millom - his father having died when he was young - and contributed to the business from an early age, when he would cut firewood kindling to sell in the store. By the age of 16, he was working as a truck driver for a local tannery, untroubled by the fact that he could not drive. 'In those days, it was enough for him to be sent to the post office to buy an HGV licence, with no test necessary,' David recently told The Mail in South Cumbria. 'On his first trip, he was sent to Leicester with leather for army boots. 'There were no road signs, no sat nav and when he stopped to ask directions, the public assumed him to be a German spy and sent him the wrong way. 'Millom to Leicester is about three and half hours today - and he was gone about a week.' Once he resurfaced, Mr Ferguson underwent infantry training in Ireland, the Cumbrian village of Rampside and Durham before joining the first Lincolnshire regiment. Following a postwar sojourn in Singapore, he returned to Millom and married his late wife Cicely Simm, with whom he built the business that would become his lifeblood. Mr Ferguson retained a deep bond with the men he fought alongside, as well as an enduring appetite for travel. 'He used to drive with his car and his caravan all the way to Venice,' added David. 'He's got friends there from those days. 'He would spend three weeks there on a holiday and then would drive back again. He's been on cruises and travelled to the Far East.' 'He also likes to play the organ and used to sell them at one point.' Mr Ferguson continues to work six days a week and regularly visits Manchester to obtain new stock for his shop. Retirement is not on the agenda.
