The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) says the new university will be created from existing further education facilities.

Sir Martin Harris, deputy chairman of the Northwest Regional Development Agency, will lead the team.

The move follows lengthy calls for a dedicated university to serve Cumbria, which at the moment has two campuses of the University of Central Lancashire.

The HEFCE wants to set up a "collaboration network" of institutions centred in Carlisle, with hubs in other parts of the county such as west Cumbria.

The network would include the University of Central Lancashire, Cumbria Institute of the Arts, Lancaster University, the Open University, Carlisle College and Lakes College.

'Major development'

Sir Howard Newby, chief executive of HEFCE, said: "There has been considerable work undertaken to move this project forward.

"The closer collaboration between the universities and colleges will considerably enhance the learning opportunities for all students in Cumbria, providing a platform to create a university for the county.

HEFCE is committed to improving access to high quality learning and teaching, and this initiative will help to raise the relatively low levels of participation to be found in many parts of the county."

Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the Northwest Regional Development Agency added: "This is a major development for Cumbria.

"Access to higher education and greater research is vital to the development of Cumbria's economy."

Currently Cumbria is served with two campuses of the University of Central Lancashire, in Carlisle and Penrith, which cater for about 800 students.