History of Barrow in Furness

In the 2002 Barrow-in-Furness legionellosis outbreak, 172 people were reported to have caught the disease, of whom seven died. This made it the fourth worst outbreak in the world in terms of number of cases and sixth worst in terms of deaths. The source of the bacteria was later found to be steam from a badly maintained air conditioning unit in the council-run arts centre Forum 28.

At the conclusion of the inquest into the seven deaths, the coroner for Furness and South Cumbria criticised the council for its health and safety failings. In 2006, council employee Gillian Beckingham and employer Barrow Borough Council were cleared of seven charges of manslaughter, but both admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act. Beckingham, the council senior architect ultimately responsible for health and safety at the centre, was fined £15,000 and the authority £125,000. The borough council was the first public body in the country to face corporate manslaughter charges.

2006 saw the construction of Barrow Offshore Wind Farm which has acted as a catalyst for further investment in offshore renewable energy in the town. Ormonde Wind Farm and Walney Wind Farm followed in 2011, the latter of which became the largest offshore wind farm in the world. The three wind farms are located west of Walney Island and are operated primarily by DONG Energy, contain a total of 162 turbines and have a combined nameplate capacity of 607 MW providing energy for well over half a million homes. West of Duddon Sands Wind Farm is proposed to be constructed off the Barrow coast during 2013 and will be even larger than Walney Wind Farm when built