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Elected politicians need
to be the power behind Carlisle Renaissance Pressure on Carlisle Renaissance is mounting after its bid to make Carlisle the UK City of Culture was thrown out this week. The setback comes hot on the heels of a body blow to Renaissance’s flagship regeneration scheme – the University of Cumbria shelving plans for a campus in Viaduct Estate. John Stevenson, the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Carlisle, says Renaissance should be renamed and that politicians – rather than an unelected board – should take a leading role. His Labour opponent, Michael Boaden, is also calling for a rethink. In a letter to The Cumberland News, Mr Stevenson says: “If we want to be serious about Carlisle Renaissance we need to stop criticising it and instead provide a constructive way forward. “I believe we need to... re-name or re-brand the concept. ‘Renaissance’ creates the wrong impression and should be changed to reflect its goals as a vehicle to regenerate parts of the city. “We should create two or three projects which are achievable. On this basis we can then build for the future.” He adds: “When circumstances change, then sometimes a change of leadership is needed. It may now be time for the politicians to step in and become the public face of the project. “People such as its chairman, Bryan Gray, clearly still have a role to play but the politicians now need to be pivotal to its future.” Although Mr Stevenson’s comments are couched in supportive terms, he is the first senior Conservative to question publicly Renaissance’s role. Meanwhile, Mr Boaden said: “I really do wonder if now is the time to look hard as to whether we continue to invest so much money in Carlisle Renaissance. “The City of Culture bid has been a forlorn exercise. “What they should have been concentrating on is boosting the cultural offer and looking at how we can get a theatre and arts centre. “This bid has been nothing other than a distraction.” Culture Minister Margaret Hodge announced on Wednesday that Carlisle had failed to make the shortlist to become the first UK City of Culture in 2013. Renaissance drew up a £5.5m programme of events including a festival of light, banquet, classical and pop concerts, film festival and a mini-Olympic games. This failed to convince the shortlisting panel, which put forward Birmingham, Londonderry, Norwich and Sheffield instead. Mr Gray hopes that many of the events planned for 2013 can go ahead even without City of Culture status. These might include a revival of the medieval Great Fair and an open-air ice rink at Carlisle Castle. Mr Gray said: “We all said when we bid for City of Culture that this was a real opportunity for Carlisle to get its cultural act together. That has been achieved. “Yes, it’s disappointing, but we need to build on the work that has been done in bringing together the cultural community in Carlisle and go forward in a positive manner.” He has not ruled out a bid to become the next City of Culture in 2017. Renaissance spent £10,000 on the bid. Had Carlisle succeeded, it argued, the city would have received 350,000 visitors who would have spent £10m and created up to 2,000 jobs. Mr Gray added: “If you don’t try you never win. If people take a negative view that’s very sad for Carlisle. We have to get out of this underdog approach.” Marie Whitehead, director of Carlisle Tourism, said the bid had brought benefits. Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] Fears for Carlisle Renaissance after
UK City of Culture bid fails * Video: Bryan Gray City of Culture press conference Related: Carlisle fails to make shortlist for UK City of Culture title Culture Minister Margaret Hodge announced yesterday that Carlisle had not made the shortlist to become the first UK City of Culture in 2013. Renaissance drew up a £5.5m programme of events including a festival of light, banquet, classical and pop concerts, film festival and a mini-Olympic games. But this failed to convince the eight-strong shortlisting panel, chaired by Hollyoaks and Grange Hill creator Phil Redmond. The panel whittled down 14 applications to a final four – Birmingham, Londonderry, Norwich and Sheffield. Michael Boaden, leader of the Labour group on Carlisle City Council and the party’s Parliamentary candidate for Carlisle, believes Renaissance has no credibility left. Its flagship scheme to develop a university campus in Viaduct Estate has also foundered. Mr Boaden said: “I really do wonder if now is the time to look hard as to whether we continue to invest so much money in Carlisle Renaissance. “The City of Culture bid has been a forlorn exercise. “What they should have been concentrating on is boosting the cultural offer and looking at how we can get a theatre and arts centre. “This bid has been nothing other than a distraction.” He added: “Most of what the city council has done in the last few years has been negative towards culture. “They failed to acquire the Lonsdale [cinema] when they had the opportunity. They axed the arts officer and axed the arts budget.” Renaissance spent £10,000 on the City of Culture bid. Had Carlisle succeeded, it argued, the city would have received 350,000 visitors who would have spent £10m and created up to 2,000 jobs. Renaissance chairman Bryan Gray hopes that many of the events planned for 2013 can still go ahead even without City of Culture status. These might include a revival of the medieval Great Fair and an open-air ice rink at Carlisle Castle. Mr Gray said: “We all said when we bid for City of Culture that this was a real opportunity for Carlisle to get its cultural act together. That has been achieved. “It’s disappointing but we need to build on the work that has been done in bringing together the cultural community in Carlisle and go forward in a positive manner.” He has not ruled out a Carlisle bid to become the next City of Culture in 2017. Nor does he believe that the lack of a theatre held back Carlisle’s proposal. “It wouldn’t have disadvantaged us,” he said.“The principle was always about making the most of what we’ve got.” Edna Croft, chairwoman of the Save Our Lonsdale campaign to convert the old Lonsdale cinema into a theatre and arts centre, disagrees. She said: “I am very sorry we’re not going to be City of Culture but I do think, had they supported having a theatre, it would have enhanced their bid considerably.” Carlisle’s candidature was lampooned by Richard Brooks, arts editor of The Times and The Sunday Times who described it as “a joke”. Anticipating further criticism, Mr Gray said: “If you don’t try you never win. If people take a negative view that’s very sad for Carlisle. We have to get out of this underdog approach.” Marie Whitehead, director of Carlisle Tourism, said the bid had brought benefits. Carlisle had been asked to join the Britain’s Heritage Cities group as a direct result, putting it in the same bracket as Chester, York, Canterbury and Oxford. Carlisle City Council promised to act as a financial guarantor for the bid. The council’s leader, Conservative Mike Mitchelson, still believes that was the right thing to do. He said: “The council is working hard to support the city’s economy, create jobs and enhance skills and learning.” “City of Culture was about looking to the future with an aspiration
and vision of what we can achieve and offer in all these areas.” Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] Carlisle fails to make shortlist for UK City of
Culture title The Department for Culture Media and Sport announced today that Carlisle has not made the shortlist to become the first UK City of Culture in 2013. Carlisle Renaissance was behind the bid. It drew up a £5.5 million programme of events including a festival of light, banquet, classical and pop concerts, film festival and a mini-Olympic games. But this failed to persuade the eight-strong judging panel, chaired by Hollyoaks and Grange Hill creator Phil Redmond. Bryan Gray, the chairman of Carlisle Renaissance, put a brave face on the outcome. He said: “We all said when we bid for City of Culture that this was a real opportunity for Carlisle to get its cultural act together. That has been achieved. “Yes, it’s disappointing but we need to build on the work that has been done in bringing together the cultural community in Carlisle and go forward in a positive manner.” Mr Gray hopes that many of the events planned for 2013 can still go ahead even without City of Culture status. These may include reviving the medieval Great Fair and setting up England’s largest open-air ice rink at Carlisle Castle. Mr Gray has not ruled out bidding to become the next City of Culture in 2017. Nor does he believe that the lack of a theatre held back Carlisle’s bid. He said: “It wouldn’t have disadvantaged us. The principle was always about making the most of what we’ve got.” Carlisle Renaissance was criticised for launching the bid, which was lampooned by Richard Brooks, arts editor of The Times and The Sunday Times. He described Carlisle’s candidature as “a joke”. Anticipating further criticism, Mr Gray said: “If you don’t try you never win. If people take a negative view that’s very sad for Carlisle. We have to get out of this underdog approach.” Marie Whitehead, director of Carlisle Tourism, said there had been benefits of the City of Culture bid. Carlisle had been asked to join the ‘Britain’s Heritage Cities’ group as a direct result, putting it in the company of Chester, York, Canterbury and Oxford. Had Carlisle’s bid succeeded, Renaissance forecasted that the city would have received an extra 350,000 visitors who would have spent £10m and created up to 2,000 jobs. Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] Labour Party accused of 'talking down' Carlisle Councillor John Stevenson has claimed the way his rivals have stressed the city’s problems could give it a negative image. It is an allegation fiercely denied by Labour, who say they constantly promote Carlisle’s prospects. Carlisle’s sitting Labour MP Eric Martlew and Michael Boaden, who will fight the seat for the party at the general election, have been highly critical of the city’s Renaissance project in recent days. Mr Martlew has called on the scheme to be wound up, attacking its “appalling lack of progress” since being launched as a response to the 2005 floods. Now Conservative parliamentary candidate Mr Stevenson claims Labour could deter investors. He admits Carlisle has problems because of the University of Cumbria funding crisis and the slow pace of Renaissance. But Mr Stevenson said: “If Labour really wanted to help Carlisle they would start emphasising the many great things about our city. “If they go on talking it down, neither the public or the private sector will want to invest.” Mr Boaden, however, stressed that with £6.6m spent on Renaissance so far, elected representatives should question where that money had gone. While supporting the concept, Carlisle City Council’s Labour group leader does not want it to continue as it is. “I never talk Carlisle down,” he said. “I spend my time talking the city up – its strengths and prospects. I want to see proper renaissance in Carlisle, but not in its current structure.” Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] Carlisle Renaissance scheme should be wound up,
says MP Eric Martlew Writing in The Cumberland News today, the Labour MP attacks the “appalling lack of progress” since Renaissance was launched as a response to the floods of 2005. He says the initiative is “damaged beyond repair” and that the city council should take over Renaissance’s role in regenerating Carlisle. The MP says: “We are now into the sixth year since the floods and what is there to see of the regeneration – this rebirth? Not one brick has been laid.” He also criticises the Conservative-led city council saying it had “shown a disgraceful lack of ability, commitment and courage, with a reluctance to take charge and responsibility”. Meanwhile, Cumbria County Council has piled further pressure on Renaissance by calling for a meeting to discuss the future of the initiative. The county’s deputy leader, Stewart Young, signalled earlier this month that it might withhold £100,000 of funding from Renaissance in 2010. The county wants to meet the other organisations that fund Renaissance – Carlisle City Council and the Northwest Regional Development Agency – to outline its frustrations. Senior councillors are understood to resent the way that Carlisle Renaissance claims credit for schemes – such as the proposed revamp of Court Square – that they feel would have happened anyway. Mr Martlew’s comments cap a miserable week for Renaissance, which has seen its principal scheme stall. The University of Cumbria said that plans for a new campus and HQ in Viaduct Estate were on ice for at least 10 years and might never go ahead. Then the Northwest Regional Development Agency announced that it would not pay for the decontamination of Viaduct Estate given there was no longer an “end user”. However, Steve Broomhead, agency’s chief executive has hinted it might still provide the £3.8 million needed if another occupier can be found. He said: “Our strong preference is to remediate Caldew Riverside when it is clear there is a confirmed end-user. It is a strategic investment site in the heart of Carlisle.” Renaissance chairman Bryan Gray has launched a strong defence of the initiative, rounding on politicians that he says are damaging Carlisle. Mr Gray said: “It is easy to fire bullets. It would be more helpful if these politicians supported Carlisle instead of knocking it. “They’re not attacking Carlisle Renaissance, they’re attacking Carlisle. They need to think what they’re doing. “Carlisle Renaissance is a partnership between organisations that want to develop Carlisle. Attacking Renaissance is attacking the future of Carlisle and I think voters will see through that.” Mr Gray believes that the scheme for a university campus can be resurrected and that the University of Cumbria has been too hasty in ruling out development for at least 10 years. He also believes that the Northwest Regional Development Agency can still be persuaded to fund the clean-up of Viaduct Estate. But Renaissance’s critics show no sign of letting up. Michael Boaden, leader of the opposition Labour group on the city council and the party’s Parliamentary candidate for Carlisle, said: “It would appear that the flagship project of Carlisle Renaissance is dead. “This was supposed to be the year of delivery. Six weeks into 2010 and the top priority is off the agenda.” City council leader Mike Mitchelson hit back at Mr Martlew’s claims. He said: “From day one I have accepted the challenge of developing these aspirations for Carlisle. “The Carlisle Renaissance model is something that is required to draw funding from regional development agencies. “It is easy for Eric Martlew to make cheap political swipes, which take away from the reality of a lack of investment in Carlisle over many years.” Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] How would you have spent the £6.6 million
shelled out on Carlisle’s Renaissance? And there have been numerous calls for a little less strategic conversation and a little more action. So far £6.6m of public money has been ploughed into the regeneration mission, with Carlisle City Council promising the development agency a further £300,000 over the next year. Last week frustration over a lack of tangible progress intensified when proposals to rejuvenate the derelict Viaduct Estate collapsed. The University of Cumbria wanted to build a £70m campus on the site and Renaissance promoted the move as key to the transformation of the city. Then a financial crisis forced the university board to think again and it will now be at least 10 years before the option is reconsidered. As a result, the North West Development Agency has stalled its own plans to clean up Caldew Riverside. Until a developer is confirmed, the NWDA will not part with the cash. For £6.6m, the city council could have afforded to carry out the work itself. Almost twice over. Although the amount of money in question is not a fortune when it comes to regeneration works, it’s still a considerable sum. Many residents would rather it had been spent on services or buildings, anything that was palpable. A number of politicians agree. When the city council set its budget for 2010/2011 Labour made a failed attempt to take £180,000 away from Renaissance and use it for schemes to clean up the streets. There will never be complete agreement as to what taxpayers’ money should be invested in. But it is possible to gain a general consensus and at the moment that’s not a feat Renaissance has achieved. Here are some examples of ways to give the city a lift which may have proved more popular if funds could have been diverted.
A THEATRE The cost of converting the old Lonsdale cinema has been estimated at £11.7m. The bill for Carlisle Renaissance would obviously fall short of the total costs but it could have been used to bid for match funding from likes of the National Lottery. Or it could have paid outright for a conversion somewhere else. In Barnsley, a old warehouse was turned into The Academy Theatre. It seats about 200 and has soundproof practice rooms, studios and dance halls. The academy is also used for conferences and teaching youngsters about the technical side of productions. The price of the refurbishment came to little more than £250,000.
POLICE Crime is one of the main concerns in any city and many residents want to see more police officers out on streets. If only to deter vandals and curb anti-social behaviour. Improving community life is regarded as one of the main elements of regeneration. The money spent by Renaissance is equivalent to the wages of 264 constables.
BUSINESS SUPPORT Earlier this month Colchester Council announced it was building a £2.4m business incubation centre. Once open, the development will boast 28 units for small businesses. Incubation centres have been used as a way of encouraging enterprise by local authorities across the country. The aim is to help fledgling firms survive the crucial start up phase by providing cheap office space. Businesses are given access to the likes of computer equipment, administration staff are often shared and experts are on hand to offer guidance. Once a businesses becomes more established it moves out of ‘incubation’ in order to free up space for new companies. CARLISLE LIVE The music festival used to be held in Bitts Park over the August bank holiday weekend. Then it was scaled down to a one-day event at Carlisle Racecourse. Organiser Andrew Tinkler said people were struggling to find money for entertainment during the recession. Carlisle Live could have been secured as a free or subsidised event until its popularity grew to the extent that it paid for itself. More money on the table for booking acts would lure the kind of performers who do not need the words ‘X Factor’ in brackets after their names. If the cash was available to hire the right kind of help and bring in the right kind of attractions, its feasible that Carlisle Live could become a major cultural event.
CARLISLE UNITED How about taking the money and gambling it on how well 11 men can kick a ball – or the opposition? A successful football club is worth more than a sense of jubilation at the final whistle. Apart from giving locals a bit of escapism and pride, it’s good for the economy. As Cumbria’s only league side, Carlisle United has a massive catchment area for fans. Yet the average gate for the first quarter of this season was 5,832. If United was a Championship side, it’s odds-on that more people would turn up at the turnstiles. With £6.6m to play about with, could United have been promoted out of League One? There are no guarantees, but the Brunton Park faithful would probably have liked the chance to find out. * Carlisle Renaissance says its costs are justified. The board maintains that the work its staff carry out is vital for the long-term success of the city. Meanwhile chairman Bryan Gray is determined to push ahead with the regeneration of the Viaduct Estate, regardless of the university’s current position. Ian McNichol, director of Carlisle Renaissance, told the News & Star: “Our job is to help Carlisle compete more successfully for jobs and investment and Renaissance’s partners agreed an action plan to do that to do that. “Over the past five years we have invested funding in the regeneration of Carlisle, with two-thirds of this coming from the Northwest Development Agency and other sources outside the City. “Some of the investment has created immediate benefits, directed into training and business start-ups, helping to create new businesses and get people back into work. “Other investments have longer-term implications such as planning guidance to help support development in the Caldewgate/Shaddongate area, to establish the city centre as a strategic regional investment site, and to help ensure new development in the city is of the highest design quality. “We have invested in promoting Carlisle’s unique heritage offer to attract more visitors and more spend into the city, to bolster the county council’s capacity to plan infrastructure improvements and to deliver the economic strategy that led directly to Carlisle’s designation as a housing growth point. “We have invested in securing assets in support of future regeneration plans in the city centre and in preparatory works for Caldew Riverside – this needed to be done in order to secure investment in this priority regeneration area, whoever goes on to use the site. “And our partners have invested in the capacity, skills and expertise needed to make sure that the priorities of the Renaissance Board – priorities agreed by both councils and the NWDA – are delivered.” Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] Back to the drawing board for Carlisle Renaissance First the University of Cumbria said that its proposals for a campus are on hold for at least 10 years and might be scrapped altogether. Then the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) announced that it would not stump up the £3.8 million needed to clean up the area until an “end-user” was confirmed. The clean-up must be completed before any development takes place. It had been hoped the work would start on the derelict site this year, but there is now a huge question mark hanging over Viaduct Estate – also known as Caldew Riverside – and what will happen to it. City council leader Mike Mitchelson believes the authority may have to go back to the drawing board. He said: “That site is an important one, which we need to bring into a position for redevelopment. “We have to go back and take stock and look at how it can be developed. “Obviously, we will have to look at some other tenant if the university isn’t going there.” Viaduct Estate lies between the city centre and the River Caldew and was identified as an early priority for redevelopment when Carlisle Renaissance was set up after the city’s 2005 floods. Initial plans involved a waterside development of bars, apartments and offices. Mr Mitchelson says that scheme could be revived. The university campus was to have included a theatre/arts centre for the city. And the city council was close to agreeing a deal with Tesco to vacate land earmarked for a supermarket to create more room for the university. It is not clear whether that deal will fall through too. The university originally hoped to open a £70m campus in autumn 2011, which would have replaced its sites in Brampton Road and Paternoster Row. Mounting financial problems led it to scale back those proposals to a “phased development” beginning in 2013. Now the Venerable Peter Ballard, chairman of its board of directors, says the scheme may be scrapped altogether. In any event, nothing will happen before 2020. He said: “The university will not be taking up the offer of building on Caldew Riverside for the next 10 years. “The national cap on student numbers means that we had to review our original assumptions and take some tough decisions about how we operate in the future.” The NWDA had been due to release funding for the clean-up but is not prepared to do so without guarantees that the land will be developed. The area is a former gas works and is contaminated with toxic substances including arsenic, boron, benzene, naphthalene and phenol. Steve Broomhead, chief executive of the NWDA, has hinted that it might still provide the £3.8m needed if another user can be found. He said: “Our strong preference is to remediate Caldew Riverside when it is clear there is a confirmed end-user. “It is a strategic investment site in the heart of Carlisle.” Critics of Carlisle Renaissance have seized on the latest turn of events. Michael Boaden, leader of the opposition Labour group on the city council and the party’s Parliamentary candidate for Carlisle, said: “It would appear that the flagship project of Carlisle Renaissance is dead. “This was supposed to be the year of delivery. Six weeks into 2010 and the top priority is off the agenda.” But Renaissance chairman Bryan Gray refuses to admit defeat. He believes the university can still be persuaded to move into Viaduct Estate. “I think we carry on as planned, frankly,” he said. “Whatever happens, that site needs to be developed for the benefit of Carlisle. “I’m hopeful that the university will be able to procure it sooner than it thinks. The key thing is to be ready. “We are going to work with the NWDA and we’re both confident that there will be a use. I’m hopeful it will be the university. “It is an important site for the city, a once-in-a-generation opportunity and we must not lose it because of short-term economic problems.” Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] ‘Creating Cumbria university was easy but
making it deliver is the hard bit’ Now many appear to be dashed. The realisation is dawning that the hopes many had during the creation of the county’s own university will not now happen or take much longer than first thought. The Venerable Peter Ballard is the chairman of the board of directors at the University of Cumbria and was involved with its creation years before it became a reality. But less than three years later he is trying to steer the institution through its most difficult period to date following the build up of a £20m deficit. Huge unexpected costs, pension deficits and the failure of multi-million pound cash pledges to materialise have dealt the university a series of body blows. They have been compounded by the economic downturn, the spiralling national public sector debt and a cap on student numbers. Further cuts are also expected across the national higher education sector, which Lord Mandelson has told must slice £900m from its annual budget. Rev Canon Peter, the Archdeacon of Lancaster, said: “People have forgotten that when the University of Cumbria was created back in August 2007 I said in my speech that we’d done the easy bit. Creating it was easy, making it deliver what everyone wanted it to was going to be the hard bit.” He believes the board and staff have done a “superb” and “remarkable” job so far running the University of Cumbria but has revealed an independent review is to be launched to investigate whether directors were at fault for not acting sooner. If it rules he shoulders the blame, he will resign. Chairman Peter, who is also the director of education for the Blackburn Diocese, said: “To point the figure at the board is unfair. I think we did the best job we could with the knowledge we had. The big problem we’ve had is that we’ve spent two years or so with everyone believing that the University of Cumbria was going to solve their problems overnight. They thought the University of Cumbria was the vehicle of regeneration of Carlisle. If we’re guilty of anything it is that we’ve allowed ourselves to be dragged from pillar to post by aspirations elsewhere.” He also says, with hindsight, the severity of the current situation may have been reduced if some changes – such as the restructuring of staff at the time of merger between the Cumbria Institute of the Arts, St Martin’s College and some former parts of the University of Central Lancashire – had been done earlier. The Archdeacon, who won a national award for his university director’s role two years ago, said: “If you are going to chase all those new ideas you have to have the capacity to do so. “We did not focus on the day-to-day operations as well as we might have done because of the focus on aspirations that everyone had. “It is not mismanagement. There has been a collection of circumstances that has led us to this position. A number of smaller issues have come together to create a bigger one. There is no smoking gun here. We’re going to have to spend some time learning the lessons of the past.” “But if the review of the board decides that I was in some way to blame then I will step aside but I will not fall on my sword. Everyone has done a sterling job.” Severe cuts of up to £10m are needed this year to stabilise the university for generations to come, an institution Archdeacon Peter believes will have a bright future. He says overheads must be cut because the national cap on student numbers has had a major impact on the university’s original projections for growth. Numbers are likely to remain static, around 8,300 students, for several years. Original estimates predicted student numbers would double in the first decade and reach around 15,000. The university’s new-look business plan, for the next 10 years of its life, is expected to be rubber stamped by the board of directors in late March. It will concentrate on its teaching and learning, upgrading existing properties and reshaping itself into a sustainable operation. A number of decisions that shape the plan were taken on Thursday. The biggest leaves the future of Carlisle’s regeneration plans hanging in the balance. The university confirmed that it would not be able to build a £70m flagship campus on the Caldew Riverside campus in the next 10 years and the picture thereafter remains uncertain. Archdeacon Peter says in a decade the university will have major campuses in Carlisle and Lancaster with hopefully several “gateway” sites across the county, similar to that at Energus at Lillyhall. Future bases may include the university sharing buildings with other organisations, not necessarily owning them. He said: “Now that the university has made it clear about where is sees itself in the future it needs to sit down with Carlisle Renaissance and its partners to see what could be and should be developed. I don’t rule out development, we want to invest and develop in Carlisle. I hope we can have some input at the Sands Centre. “We don’t believe that we need an iconic flagship on the Caldew Riverside at this moment of our development. The University of Cumbria will not be taking up the offer of building on Caldew Riverside for the next 10 years. The regeneration of Carlisle is not the responsibility of the University of Cumbria. Our responsibility is to provide a sustainable, high-quality university. “All this time people were dreaming of an iconic building at the riverside and Cumbria would be a different place because the university would invest all this money. To be honest a lot of that was a dream. “There is nothing wrong in having aspirations but seven terms later we’re saying this is where the University of Cumbria is, our position and its future. You can continue with those dreams but they will take longer to do. I never believed those dreams would be delivered in two or three years, it is a generational thing.” He is also confident that the university’s reworked plan will get backing from the national higher education funding council and the regional development agency. Proposals agreed this week included the mothballing of the Ambleside campus, which saves £2m and affects around 450 existing undergraduates and 140 staff. Teacher training courses will be relocated to Carlisle or Lancaster. Existing outdoor education students are being allowed to complete their degrees in Ambleside but future students will start at Newton Rigg near Penrith. Up to 200 jobs are also at risk. Voluntary redundancies will be agreed by the first week in March. The need for compulsory redundancies can not be ruled out. The axe also hovers over a layer of middle management. A review of all courses and faculties is due by the end of the month. A separate review of the Newton Rigg campus, where land-based and outdoor studies are based, and its further education provision is due to be completed by Easter. The chairman admits staff and student morale is “awful” amid the crisis. Despite the current situation, he said: “The University of Cumbria has a very bright future and it will be serving all of its people, not just young people. It will be around for generations to come. “I think people will look back on these times and they will say ‘do you remember when the university had those little difficulties?’ just like the situation the University of Lancaster had in the 1990s. It is now regarded as one of the best in the country. Our university has a wonderful future ahead of it but like the saying goes there’s no gain without pain.” Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] Carlisle Renaissance branded a ‘scandalous
waste’ of money Labour proposed raiding cash earmarked for Renaissance for a blitz on street cleaning and dog fouling, and to revamp Botchergate. But Conservatives and Liberal Democrats voted down Labour’s suggestion. Labour group leader Michael Boaden said: “Over five years Renaissance has cost £6.6m in public money. “That’s a shocking, scandalous waste. Not one job created, not one change made.” He argued that £80,000 of the £300,000 earmarked for Renaissance next year be spent on an action plan to regenerate Botchergate/St Nicholas. And that £100,000 should go on two enforcement officers to clampdown on dog fouling and litter, and to boost the work of area maintenance teams. He added: “The city is getting dirtier and it will get worse unless we do something about it.” But the council’s leader, Conservative Mike Mitchelson, defended the Renaissance initiative – launched in response to the 2005 floods. He said: “Gone are the days when all the Northwest Regional Development Agency money was spent in Manchester and Liverpool. It’s now coming to Carlisle.” Despite Labour protests, the council set a budget for the 2010-11 financial year. This will see the city council’s share of council tax rise by two per cent, adding £2.53 to a band-A bill. Mr Mitchelson said: “It is a result of prudent financial planning that the council is in a strong and healthy position.“There is no financial black hole at this authority.“We will again set a balanced budget and a fair level of council tax, and continue to make efficiency savings.” The council is committed to making a further £1m of savings on top of £1m saved this year through reorganisation. Labour predicts this will man job losses and poorer public services. But Mr Mitchelson said that, by working more efficiently, money would still be available for “exciting major projects”. These include a new swimming pool and sports hall at the Sands Centre and a Roman gallery at Tullie House Museum, a gypsy and traveller site at Harker, a homelessness centre of excellence in Caldewgate and a replacement for the women and families’ hostel. The budget approved last night will mean higher charges for some services. Pay-and-display car parking fees are set to go up from 80p an hour to 90p. And pensioners will have to pay towards the cost of pest-control call outs, although visits to deal with rats stay free. Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] |
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