Immigration
is the theme of a series running all this week. Michael Buchanan has a report for us tonight from west Cumbria. He writes:
"Maryport once had a large and proud fishing fleet, but in recent years as the industry has declined so has the town's fortunes.
A stagnant economy has however been revived in part through the influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe, says Cumbria county council.
An estimated 700 immigrants have moved into the town (pop 11,000) over the past 4 years or so, and there is a general acceptance in the town of the new arrivals.
Their influence is noticeable across Maryport - in the library, the church and this small corner shop which has a reasonable selection of eastern European foods. A local bar, popular with immigrants, is known locally as the Polish embassy!
There are issues, especially surrounding private rental accommodation, but the mayor of the town, Linda Radcliffe, says that overall the migrants workers have been a positive development for Maryport."
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