Due to Covid restrictions, there will be no physical Book of Remembrance, and instead residents are being encouraged to leave their condolence messages on-line on the Buckingham Palace e-book.
More information and updates will follows shortly
Yesterday, the Secretary of State for the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick MP, announced the government’s consultation into local government reorganisation (LGR) in three areas of England, including Cumbria. As well as your Parish Council, all residents are encouraged to respond to the consultation.
All the principal authorities in Cumbria were invited to submit their proposals for reorganisation in the autumn. Please follow the link below for more information on the proposals submitted to government for Cumbria. Also on the link below is access to the consultation document for Cumbria. The consultation is open now and will close at 11.45pm on 19th April 2021.
Government has also announced the postponement of county and district council elections in Cumbria for 2021, however any elections to town and parish councils will still take place in May 2021.
The consultation lasts 8 weeks, including Easter holidays, so please respond promptly if possible by clicking on the link below:
The government introduced new national restrictions from Thursday 5th November which sadly means the Public Hall and Library are now closed until further notice. The Public Toilets, Car Park and Playground will remain open. It is hoped that the restrictions will be lifted on December 2nd and we can re-open these venues for much valued community activities.
Please stay safe and observe the rules.
Saturday 15th August saw the re-opening of the Library Link thanks to John Reed and his team of Volunteers who have worked hard to make the Library Covid-secure. The Library will be open every Saturday between 10am and 12noon. A one-way system has been put in place with the entrance at the rear of the building. Returned books are quarantined for four days before being placed back on the shelves. Masks or face-coverings are mandatory inside the Library and there is a limit of two people in the building at one time.
The Public Hall is currently hosting a week-long GADS Drama Workshop. Dates are yet to be announced but regular Pilates and Karate sessions will recommence soon. The Hall has been made Covid-secure thanks to the excellent work of Keith and Judy Rhodes and Mel Gould who prepared a thorough Risk Assessment. Signage is in place to explain the one-way system and the hall has been marked out to enable safe social distancing.
Gosforth Parish Council are pleased to announce that Gosforth Playground will re-open on 4th July 2020. In line with government guidance there are some restrictions which are listed below. Please note Food and Drink cannot be consumed in the playground area and we are asking everyone to keep socially distanced and to take your litter home with you to avoid spreading the virus. Please do not allow your children to play with the Talk Tubes. Bring your own sanitiser and clean your childrens hands before and after playing on the equipment and consider bringing cloths to wipe down the equipment before use. Thank you and stay safe.
Guidance for users of Gosforth Playground
We hope you enjoy using this play area and thank you for helping to keep everyone safe by following these instructions.
This guidance maybe updated as regulations and guidelines change, therefore we ask you to review this signage each time you access the play area.
If you have any concerns or questions, please contact the Parish Clerk on Gosforth.parish2@outlook.com or tel: 01229 717551
| 13 May 2020 |
Public urged not to visit Lake District yet
Following the relaxing of lockdown restrictions, the clear message from Cumbria and the Lake District is now is not the time to visit the area.
With the Prime Minister announcing a lifting of the restrictions on travel and exercise there are fears an influx of visitors will put local communities and emergency services at further unnecessary risk. As the county continues to experience one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the country, with higher numbers of infections and deaths than elsewhere and shops and visitor amenities still closed, Cumbria’s multi-agency Local Resilience Forum is asking people to stay local for their exercise and not rush back to the Lake District just yet.
Assistant Chief Constable Andrew Slattery, Chair of Cumbria’s Local Resilience Forum, said:
“We know people love the Lakes and when the time is right we will of course warmly welcome back visitors. But now is not the right time. Cumbria has been one of the worst affected parts of the UK and Coronavirus is far from over, we still have people being infected and people dying in the county on a daily basis. People coming into the county from elsewhere just makes the job of containing and controlling the outbreak more difficult. We’ve said it before, the Lake District isn’t going anywhere, so please put off your visit for now.”
For those that do decide to visit the area despite local concerns there three key messages:
Respect our local communities
Respect the risk
Respect the rules
Richard Leafe, Chief Executive at the Lake District National Park Authority, said:
“We understand that people are keen to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of the Lake District National Park, however we’re appealing to people not to rush back. Many of the facilities that visitors usually enjoy, such as toilets, restaurants and campsites, are not open, so it’s a very different experience in the National Park at the moment. If people are exercising, we’d urge you not to take unnecessary risks to help protect our volunteer mountain rescue service and local communities.”
Colin Cox, Cumbria’s Director of Public Health, said:
“We have had well over 2000 confirmed infections and around 400 deaths as a result of COVID-19 and it’s only as a result of the lockdown restrictions that those grim totals aren’t even worse. We understand that lockdown can’t last forever, we certainly don’t want it to, but I’d urge people to really consider whether a visit to the Lake District is the right thing to do at the current time. As the Government says, the best way to beat this virus remains to stay home as much as possible.”
ENDS
North Cumbria Health and Care are urging people to use the NHS if they need to – there are steps in place to ensure you won’t be put at risk, lots of phone calls, video consultations for your general practice concerns and the hospital has non covid-19 areas. For further information and advice please click on this link to watch a short video.
