Cockermouth rally firm M-Sport £19m project approved

When plans were submitted M-Sport said the project would help "future-proof" 200 existing jobs

Multi-million pound expansion plans by rally firm M-Sport have been approved.

The company, which competes in the World Rally Championship, will build a vehicle-testing centre for domestic cars, a hotel, housing and offices.

Some 100 jobs will be created and more than 200 safeguarded by the £19m development at the firm's Dovenby Hall headquarters near Cockermouth, it said.

Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, which approved a £3.5m grant, said the plans were "ambitious and exciting".

Chairman George Beveridge said: "We recognised its potential and the benefits it would bring to the local area from the outset... developing into an expanding area of industry, securing existing jobs and creating new ones."

Allerdale Borough Council, which gave permission for the project, said it would also create 200 construction jobs.