Plans have been made for a £23m super-stadium in west Cumbria - with those behind it wanting a new club to be formed to play in it.

A traditional hotbed of rugby league, Cumbria has been starved of top flight action since the demise of Workington in the mid-1990s, and there's ongoing debates amongst fans at the viability of a merged club organising itself to apply for a Super League licence in the future.

Barrow, who qualified to apply for Super League in 2012 after they reached the Championship Grand Final, have a lot of work to do to meet the increasingly stringent top flight criteria - and just like Whitehaven and Workington - their ground isn't up to scratch as things stand.

But the announcement by the Cumbria Academy of Sport that they plan to build a stadium - which would have a covered-in capacity for 14,000 spectators with state-of-the-art facilities for most sports and leisure activities, including international athletics and top flight rugby league, with the accent on community and county use - might just be the catalyst that leads to a Cumbrian presence in the top flight within a few years.

Sports Academy Trust chairman Jackie Reid said: “We’ve already got brilliant facilities in place for the whole community – it’s second to none for community sports in the county and is already well established as a centre of sporting excellence.

“If everything comes to fruition, and it could be in the next three years, Whitehaven will be able to boast one of the finest community sports stadiums in the north of England. We hope Whitehaven Rugby League Club, the council and others will see the merits of our scheme and join in with us.

However, Whitehaven, who have plans to develop a new stadium on and around their own Recreation Ground, have already distanced themselves from the plans. But the rival stadium plans could pose problems - particularly with funding.

Haven director Cath Giel, who is also deputy leader of the local Copeland Council, said: “I can’t comment on the Hensingham scheme because I am not aware of what they are proposing. However, I can say that there is insufficient funding available, both public and private sector, to finance two potentially competing facilities.

“It has always been the intention that the Pow Beck Sports Village will be a community-wide facility with close engagement and involvement of local schools. In addition, the edge-of-town location of Pow Beck Valley brings the added benefits of economic and social regeneration."

But it's hard to ignore the plans from the trust, who own the land they are looking to build on, having bought it from BNFL for £1m in 1999: "Cumbria Sports Academy’s proposed scheme incorporates a competition swimming pool, a four-court badminton hall, a gym bigger than the one in Whitehaven Sports Centre, internal and external climbing walls, two dance studios and a shop with a 264-seater cafeteria overlooking the pool. A concourse would lead through from the leisure centre to the football stadium also boasting full business, conference, exhibition and media facilities."

However, as impressive as the plans may be, they need a top quality sporting outfit to play there.

Trustee Tommy Thompson said: “The ultimate aim is to have a Super League [rugby] stadium, fit for purpose for any team in Cumbria. I think this is what most fans want. We are offering a great opportunity and the stadium we have designed, with 14,000 capacity with at least 8,000 seats, certainly meets all the Super League criteria for playing matches and spectators. We are not in the business of mergers between clubs, it would have to be a new team playing here, a Cumbrian one rather than say Whitehaven, Workington or Barrow."

It's very much a case of "we're doing our bit, now you do yours" by the trust towards the Cumbrian people, businesses and community. The issues still remain that will Workington fans watch a team in Whitehaven, or vice-versa of course. If a new franchise is developed, will existing rugby league fans choose to follow it or will they remain watching their own team? Will Barrow look to relocate to this new ground knowing that it could well fast-track them in to Super League?

A number of questions are posed by this announcement. Cumbria continues to produce quality players - Whitehaven pair Gregg McNally and Kyle Amor will be playing in Super League for Huddersfield and Leeds respectively next season - but it's the logistics of setting up a strong enough club to make it to the big time. The respective fan bases of Whitehaven, Workington and Barrow are perhaps not enough to compete, but who's to know a new club won't be able to?

A possible scenario would undoubtedly be a Cumbrian franchise with Barrow, Whitehaven and Workington acting as feeder clubs - however, would these clubs be happy with this scenario? Do Barrow believe they can make it themselves? Probably.

What is for certain - Cumbrian rugby league will be getting a kick up the backside whatever happens, it's just up to those involved to organise themselves to put together a case for Super League - and if it's good enough, it surely won't be denied.