Barrow granted Royal status for submarine building
Barrow is to be granted Royal status over its "unique and critical contribution" to national security, the government has announced.The title of the Royal Port of Barrow will be conferred in recognition of its nuclear submarine building.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce later during a visit to the town that King Charles III has agreed to confer the status to the port in Cumbria.A mark of Royal favour for the whole of Barrow will also be given, a government spokeswoman said, with the King hoping to visit the town "in due course to mark its proud heritage and prosperous future".
Sir Keir said: "Each and every person living and working in Barrow is contributing to our nation's defence, whether that is building our world-class submarine programme or supporting the workforce here through vital public services or proud family businesses."Barrow's BAE Systems site is delivering the Dreadnought class submarines that will form the UK's at sea nuclear deterrent.Defence Secretary John Healey said all four submarines "built in Royal Barrow", represent "a generational commitment that is transforming this town".A £28m funding package for T-Levels, to support future submarine builders, is also set to be announced.It will be delivered by providers across England including Furness College in Barrow.
In 2023, the town's former Conservative MP Simon Fell launched a campaign for the town to achieve Royal status.In a letter to then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak he emphasised the town's history and the pivotal part it had played in the UK's industrial and maritime achievements.The keel for the first nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine was laid in Barrow in 1959, before its launch in 1960. Two years later, the UK declared its nuclear capability to NATO.
Additional reporting by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
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