A decision is due to be made today about how to allocate a Government cash pot locally.
Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership was awarded £12.22m – from a Growth Deal bid of £165m – and its investment panel was due to decide how to spend the reduced amount.
Ahead of the meeting, Copeland mayor Mike Starkie called for the bulk of the cash to head to the borough to help fund a harbourside hotel/apartment/car park complex and a proposed Whitehaven Relief Road.
Copeland's part of the bid – totalling £11.235m – was independently ranked as the county's priority and would create 600 jobs and support 500 more, while securing more than £40m of private investment, said Mr Starkie.
He added: "Copeland has never benefited from any of the previous Growth Deal settlements and it was agreed at the outset that this needed to be rebalanced."
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