Whitehaven is undergoing a major investment programme aimed at regenerating the town. The historic harbour has been developed into a successful and attractive marina and many of the buildings in the splendid Georgian town centre have been restored.

As part of this process a number of different projects have been identified to help employment opportunities and boost Whitehaven as a tourist destination. One of these is the Whitehaven Coast Project which covers the coastal fringe, stretching southwards from the harbour to Barrowmouth and includes the sites of the former Haig Colliery and the Rhodia chemical plant.

There are five major factors that have influenced our thinking on what should happen on the coast:

1. The most immediate and striking impression of the coastline between Whitehaven and St Bees is of a magnificent and largely unspoilt coastal landscape. The open views up and down the coast and across the Solway to Scotland, the Isle of Man and, occasionally, Northern Ireland are an inspiration in all weathers. The area is the only significant piece of cliff coastline between Burough Head in Galloway and the Great Orme in North Wales.

2. This is a landscape that has sustained generations of people through a variety of industries - mining, chemicals, agriculture, fishing, ship building and the trade routes to Ireland and America. There are iconic physical remains of this past, such as Saltom Pit, the Haig Mining Museum, the Candlestick and sites around the harbour.

3. The Whitehaven coast has on its doorstep a local community with living memories of a very different past. Although industry has dominated this coast for the past 3 centuries it has always provided recreational opportunities for local people and the access routes along the coast and down to the beaches at Fleswick, Barrowmouth and Saltom have been historically important and have the potential to benefit in the future through recreation and opportunities for learning.

4. The coastline has a variety of valuable natural habitats and species with the potential to significantly enhance the ecological value of the area.

5. The coast will be a major asset to support the wider regeneration effort in Whitehaven with sensitive landscaping and interpretation.


With a little bit of work the Whitehaven coast can build upon and improve these qualities, be made easier to visit and explore and become an even better place for local people and visitors alike.


Broadly speaking the vision for the Whitehaven Coast is based upon the following principles:

• The outstanding quality of the coastal landscape is the major asset of this coastline, enhancing this quality must be the key design criteria in the development of the Haig and Rhodia sites.
  
  
• The development of the coastline must provide real benefit to local people.
  
  
• Future developments should be sympathetic to the industrial heritage of the area and the conservation of features of historic interest must be a long term management priority.
  
  
• Proposals for the coastline should seek to enhance the nature conservation interest of the area.
  
  
• Access to and through the area should be improved with better pathways, parking facilities, seating, signage and on site interpretation which should add to the quality of the visitor experience and be presented in an innovative and non-intrusive way.
  
  
• Development plans for the coast should seek to create a visitor experience that will attract a significant number of additional visitors, especially from the Lake District