A MAIN road through the centre of Whitehaven will be closed for a fortnight, as part of a multi-million pound improvement scheme.

The county council is behind the £2.5m project which aims to create an enhanced gateway into the town.

And on Monday, Tangier Street will shut for two weeks.

This stage of works involves new pavements, road works and a new bus stop and shelter.

Councillor Keith Little, the council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “The county council has secured significant funding for these improvements, which will create an enhanced gateway for Whitehaven and help unlock substantial new investment in the town.

“A series of improvements will be made on Tangier Street as part of the overall scheme. Unfortunately we will need to temporarily close the road to allow our contractor to safely carry out these works.

“We appreciate this will cause some disruption and we’re working with local businesses to minimise the disruption as much as we can.”

The improvement project will help pave the way for significant new development in the town’s North Shore area, as well as improving traffic flow and enhancing road safety for drivers and pedestrians.

During the first week of the Tangier Street closure, access to the car park will be available via Duke Street, Senhouse Street and Hicks Lane.

Thereafter access to the car park will be along Tangier Street as normal.

Measures will be in place to ensure businesses can receive deliveries during the closure and access will be maintained to the Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners car park.

Works are being carried out by Thomas Armstrong on behalf of the council. The council secured £1.66m of funding for the highways improvement scheme from the government’s National Productivity Investment Fund, together with a £834,000 contribution from profit for purpose property firm, BEC.