Cumbria

The rugged splendour of Cumbria is legendary. It attracts visitors from the length and breadth of Britain and beyond.

Half of this spectacular county, England's second largest, is designated National Park or an Area of Outstanding Beauty - including the famous Lake District.

Nevertheless, this distinctive region is about much more than scenic landscapes. With contrasts of industry and agriculture, coastline and market towns, and urban and rural potential, diversity is the key to Cumbria's strength as a business location.

Cutting-edge nuclear technology at Sellafield has played a significant part in the Cumbrian economy. Today, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has made its national headquarters in West Cumbria and is handling contracts worth £2billion per year over the next two decades.

Meanwhile, the core of Cumbria's life sciences capability lies within the world-class facilities of the Westlakes Science and Technology Park. This offers an excellent location for new businesses and fantastic potential as a business investment opportunity.

The main industrial centres of Cumbria are Barrow-in-Furness and Carlisle, and both towns are increasingly dynamic business locations. Barrow-in-Furness is at the heart of the UK shipbuilding industry. BAE Systems has a large operation here and the town is a centre for submarine production, as well as other offshore industries. Carlisle is an important regional centre with a variety of manufacturing and service-based industries, boasting several new flagship developments.

For the past 25 years, innovative companies have been successfully translating Cumbria's marine expertise into offshore oil and gas technologies and the county is at the forefront of deepwater subsea engineering.

Cumbria continues to push forward, adapting and evolving to the changing business climate. It has recently unveiled bold plans to develop a powerful knowledge-led economy, an ambition which is already in sight thanks to the launch of Britain's newest university, the University of Cumbria. The university was launched in 2007 and already has 10,000 students.