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:
Copeland Borough Council have published a leaflet advising where you can obtain help and support during the pandemic. Grants are available to those in need of urgent help.
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.
New Yoga Classes will start in Gosforth on 11th September 2020 – 9.30am – 11am. They will be basic/beginners classes but all levels are welcome to attend. The classes cost £10 and participants are asked to bring their own mat, wear comfortable clothing and to bring something warm to wear for the relaxation sessions at the beginning and end of the classes. It is recommended that you do not eat for at least one hour prior to the class.
Come and enjoy some nice, gentle stretching including 12 basic postures (asanas) of Sivananda Hatha Yoga.
Any questions please call Debbie on 0787 630 7863
Please note that the entrance to the Public Hall is now at the rear of the building (Disabled door).
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
As the lockdown begins to ease, the Lake District has seen a significant increase in the number of visitors. While many are acting in a considerate way, there have been instances of visitor behaviour that has put pressure on the local communities and the emergency services.
Richard Leafe, Chief Executive of the Lake District National Park Authority comments:
“We’re delighted the nation has such an appetite to the visit the Lake District. Our communities have been hit hard by COVID19 and as they start to recover, we ask all our visitors to be kind to both people and the place when they arrive. We’ve had some real issues with littering, fires, illegal camping and terrible car parking in the last couple of weeks.
“We recognise that people have spent many weeks cooped up at home and being in such a beautiful place as the Lake District is exciting but please remember it’s also a place when people live and work. Please make sure that there is no trace of your visit and you leave with great memories.”
Agencies are urging people to follow the Countryside Code on their visit:
Respect other people:
consider the local community and other people enjoying the outdoors. Do not block and narrow roads with your car. Only park in marked car parks. Inconsiderate parking could prevent emergency vehicles passing you. Please visit saferlakes.co.uk and only travel to places that have available parking.Protect the natural environment:
Enjoy the outdoors:
Inconsiderate parking caused particular problems for the county’s emergency services.
Craig Drinkald, Area Manager, Head of Community Safety, Cumbria County Council Fire and Rescue Service, said:
“While we understand that people want to get out and enjoy our county’s beautiful scenery, it’s important everyone does so responsibly.
“We are asking people to ensure they park in a safe and considerate way that allows access for fire appliances and other emergency vehicles. If you can’t guarantee this then please find a safer alternative place to park or return at a different time. Fire engines are approximately 2.5 metres wide. Therefore if you’re parking your vehicle and don’t think a van could get through the space, it’s extremely unlikely that a fire engine will either. So please keep this in mind, especially on our narrow country lanes. The delays this can cause could cost lives. We’d also urge people not to light fires or BBQs. The weather has been exceptionally dry for weeks and the potential for dangerous wild fires is high.”
Sector Manager for North West Ambulance Service (NWAS), Rick Shaw, reiterated this advice. He said:
“As people head to Cumbria to enjoy the outdoors in the beautiful county, we ask that they are considerate of their parking and make sure that they leave enough room for ambulances and other emergency services to get through. In a life-threatening emergency every second counts and if an ambulance is delayed due to dangerous and thoughtless parking, it really can mean the difference between life and death. We know that the vast majority of people do act responsibly but please bear in mind that we need extra space to allow large vehicles to pass at speed if necessary.”
| 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
