Inshore rescue's new permanent base a 'godsend'

A volunteer water rescue team has welcomed the granting of permission for a new permanent base as a "godsend".

Ulverston Inshore Rescue had operated on the Furness coastline from a site at Canal Foot owned by pharmaceutical company GSK for more than 20 years.

When GSK closed its factory in August 2025, the charity said it "generously gifted" the land, with Westmorland and Furness Council now approving plans to build storage facilities, welfare units and parking for rescue vehicles.

Station officer Bruce Chattaway said without the gift, the team would "have had nowhere to go".

Ulverston Inshore Rescue was set up in 2002 after a father and son drowned in Morecambe Bay.

The team of 14 volunteers operates two boats, two cars, two quad bikes and a hovercraft.

It works as an independent service from the Coastguard, similar to the RNLI.

Chattaway said the team would start levelling ground for new containers as part of the development soon.

He said the gift was a "godsend" with which the team would be "delighted".

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