AN 'OLYMPIC' size scale of investment is on the horizon for Cumbria - but key infrastructure needs upgrading to unlock its full potential.

That was the resounding message to come from a major conference which was attended by more than 200 delegates from the worlds of business, manufacturing, education and local government.

Co-hosted by Labour MPs John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) and Jamie Reed (Copeland), it heard how more needs to be done to improve roads, schools, hospitals and broadband to tempt high-skilled workers to the thousands of jobs that will be created over the next decade.

"This can be a genuinely transformational era but it's not going to happen by us carrying on as before," said Mr Woodcock. "There are real barriers we have to overcome to be able to unlock the change and we need to make sure it is long-lasting."

More than £300m of investment is already beginning to transform BAE Systems shipyard in Barrow in anticipation of the Successor submarine programme while a new bio-pharm factory costing £350m is being constructed at GSK drugs plant in Ulverston. 

The biggest ever private investment in west Cumbria will see a new power plant built at Moorside near Sellafield with a price tag of around £10bn.

Mr Reed added: "The incoming investment into south and west Cumbria is of an Olympic scale, potentially greater.

"That demands that we work together in a way never done before. We have an Olympic ambition so we need an Olympic standard. We are faced with a once in a generation opportunity. Now is the time to deliver."

The South and West Cumbria Economic Growth Summit saw a panel of experts field questions from the audience which ranged from progress on improving the A595, who will take the lead in the project and how to develop local talent in schools.

The panel was made up of Ann Attwood, chief executive officer and principal of Furness College, Pat McIver, GSK’s bio-pharm project director, Anne Burns, Cumbria County Council cabinet member for children’s services and Rob Johnson, chief executive of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce.

Mr Johnson said: "The demographics are against us. We've not been breeding enough in Cumbria and we are in a competitive arena. We need to turn young people onto the opportunities that are on their doorstep. We need to promote the place as somewhere they want to be as part of their career development and to convince them the area is not a career black hole but a vibrant community."

George Beveridge, chair of Cumbria's Local Enterprise Partnership, which decides on priorities for funding for local projects, outlined its strategy which focuses on nuclear, manufacturing, the visitor economy and connecting the M6 corridor.

"We will remain focused on the strategy and sometimes that involves saying no as we have to prioritise," he said. "We need to avoid unsustainable boom and bust and that will require close collaboration between investors, supply chains, education and local governments.

"A pipeline of skilled people will be vital for the major investments coming our way. We cannot provide the total requirement from the local population but we can provide the opportunity for young people to get the training they need to make the most of this investment."