Almost all the remaining money for Kendal’s £13m town-centre regeneration programme is now scheduled to be spent in a single financial year, according to a budget report heading to Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet.

The council is being asked to move £1.366m from the Heart of Kendal programme’s 2026/27 budget into 2027/28. That would leave £250,000 available this financial year, with £12.774m programmed for the year ending 31 March 2028.

Cabinet will consider the change at a meeting on Tuesday 8 September. It forms part of £19.365m in proposed budget reprofiling that Cabinet is being asked to recommend to the full council.

What the latest figures show

The Heart of Kendal budget set in February for 2026/27 was £1.616m. After the proposed transfer, it would fall to £250,000. The council’s figures show that £119,000 had actually been spent by 30 June 2026.

That leaves a total of £13.024m to be spent from 2026/27 onwards, including the £12.774m forecast for 2027/28. The council says the programme is funded through the government’s Local Regeneration Fund, with spending required by 31 March 2028.

The funding is intended to support four main projects across Kendal:

  • Repurposing the Westmorland Shopping Centre as a third campus for Kendal College.
  • Regenerating the historic indoor Market Hall.
  • Renewing Market Place and Kent Street.
  • Creating an active travel route along the riverside path between Lowther Street and Abbot Hall.

The Heart of Kendal bid was prepared by Kendal Town Team, a partnership involving the council, Kendal Futures and Kendal Town Council. The programme was awarded up to £13,476,700 in November 2023, after an earlier bid was rejected in the second round of funding in 2022.

Projects continue, but deadlines are tightening

A separate corporate performance report due before the same Cabinet meeting says activity across the programme is on track. Work on the Kendal College Westmorland Campus conversion is progressing, with completion expected in early 2027.

For the indoor Market Hall, the council is tendering for a full design-and-build contract. It expects to appoint a design team in September 2026, which would then take the project to RIBA stage 4.

Initial designs have been produced for Market Place and Kent Street, and engineering consultants WSP have been appointed. The council said in June that construction should begin in spring 2027 and finish in spring 2028.

The riverside corridor remains in its design phase, with permissions and approvals being sought.

The progress report and the budget figures describe different aspects of the programme: design and delivery milestones on one hand, and the timing of expenditure on the other. However, the latest capital forecast means that most of the bills are now expected during 2027/28.

Other Kendal projects and next steps

The council’s capital programme also lists three smaller Kendal schemes with no spending recorded by 30 June. They are £126,000 for Kendal Town Hall and South Lakeland House, with nothing programmed beyond this financial year; £282,000 for Kendal car-parking improvements, including a potential site purchase, machine upgrades and signage; and £9,000 for the Kendal Northern Access Route, with no funding shown after 2026/27.

The wider council report forecasts a £5.879m overspend this year against a net budget of £301.124m. It also expects to deliver £28.180m of £30.847m in planned savings, leaving a £2.667m shortfall. A weekly Spend Control Board, led by the council’s section 151 officer, has been created to approve or refuse spending.

There is no immediate change for residents as a result of the proposed reprofiling. The Market Hall remains closed, the college conversion is continuing, and work in Market Place and Kent Street is not scheduled to start until spring 2027.

The practical issue is the reduced time available to deliver the programme. With £12.774m due to be spent in the final year of funding, higher-than-expected tender prices or delays securing permissions could leave less room to adjust the plans.

Cabinet’s meeting begins at 10am on Tuesday 8 September at The Coach House, Ford Park Crescent, Ulverston. Public written questions or statements must reach the council by 11.59pm on Wednesday 2 September. The proposed budget transfer will then go to the full council for approval. The council also expects to appoint the Market Hall design team during September.