Parish News

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 15^th 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.

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

• Be considerate and don’t do things that increase the risk or cause problems for local people, particularly the vulnerable: avoid using paths through farmers’ yards; keep your dog on a lead and take your litter home.
• Plan ahead and avoid busy places: use saferlakes.co.uk to park safely and considerately and avoid the more popular destinations.
• Bring your own food and drink to avoid pressure on local shops.
• Consider the lack of toilet and washing facilities and don’t behave in an anti-social manner.

Respect the risk

• Cumbria continues to record new cases of the virus every day and the threat has not gone away
• Don’t take risks on the fells, on the water or on the roads. Stay within the limits of your ability and equipment at all times.
• If you get into trouble help may take longer to arrive and you will put unnecessary additional pressure on local health and emergency workers as well as volunteer mountain rescue and coastal rescue services.

Respect the rules

• Observe all the Government’s social distancing rules.
• No overnight stays, no camping, no visiting second homes.
• Avoid crowds.
• Wash your hands regularly.

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

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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.

Gosforth Parish Council are working together to support you.

Gosforth Parish Council have held an emergency meeting to discuss the impact of Covid-19 to the village of Gosforth.  We have put together an action plan on how we as a Parish can support each other through this unfamiliar time.

Firstly, we are looking for volunteers to support the vulnerable and isolating residents.  This support could be arranging deliveries, picking up shopping or medication, a friendly phone call, posting mail, help topping up gas or electric or collecting urgent supplies.  If you feel you could offer help in any way, please contact:

Dawn Pennington (Co-ordinator) 07715182423, Rachel Rowe (Unsworth) 019467 25525/25235 or Paul Turner 07795169637.

Secondly, we want to hear from those that are isolating or feel vulnerable.  Tell us what you need, how we can help.  Unfortunately, as the situation worsens the list of people isolating will grow and you may need the help of a volunteer.  You may be isolating and have support just now, but your support network may also need to isolate.  So, if you need us now or in the future please get in touch on one of the numbers above.

We want nobody left isolated without support!

Gosforth Public Hall & Library is striving to become your very own ‘Community Hub’ and now you have a chance to make your views heard. The Public Hall Council of Management is seeking your views, ideas, comments about how they can make improvements to our Public Hall and Library to create a community hub.

If you are a regular user of the Public Hall and/or Library you may have ideas about the buildings and facilities or you may just have suggestions and comments about activities/performances you would like to see in the hall or information and access to services that would prove useful at the Library.

Whatever your ideas are, from minor tweeks to aspirational visions, please let us know.

There is now a board in the hall where you can post your ideas or you can write or email our Secretary, Jackie Williams, 2 Wells Cottages, Ravenglass CA18 1SP email: gosforth.parish2@outlook.com or leave a comment on this page.