Fear over ‘planning quangos’
Published on 30/01/2008

CUMBRIA could face an onslaught of windfarms and other unwanted developments if planning laws are changed, a politician fears.

Copeland borough councillor Chris Whiteside, said he is concerned about a raft of new laws before Parliament which he says will take power over planning issues away from local authorities and transfer it to unelected planning quangos.

Mr Whiteside, a former planning chairman and portfolio holder for the council, warned that the move will “silence local voices”.

He said: “The result could be unsustainable development, overriding local opinion, imposing unpopular and inappropriate developments such as windfarms where local people do not want them, and harming the local environment.”

He referred to plans from Prime Minister Gordon Brown for a range of unelected quangos including the Homes and Communities Agency, which he said will have powers to seize land and act as its own planning authority.

He also claimed the new Infrastructure Planning Commission will take complete control of planning permissions for large developments like airports, motorways, sewage plants and hazardous landfill sites. He added that unelected Regional Development Agencies will get greater power, but with no local councillor involvement.

He said that ministers confirmed that local councils and backbench MPs will have no say on the appointments of the new planners.

Mr Whiteside added: “Gordon Brown is transferring powers from elected councillors to a new army of unelected ministerial appointees. The planning system needs reform but the voice of local communities must be loud and clear.”

Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top]

Sink road, improve castle
Published on 29/01/2008

By Julian Whittle
Political editor

CASTLE Way should be sunk in a tunnel to enhance the setting of Carlisle Castle, says city MP Eric Martlew.

Alternatively, Castle Green could be linked to Castle Street by a wide, gradual footbridge similar to one at the National Library in Paris.

The MP’s suggestions come in a letter to the city council on plans to improve Carlisle’s “historic quarter” between English Street and the castle.

He says: “The historic quarter will never reach its full potential until there is easy pedestrian access to the castle from Castle Street.

“The sinking of the road has been considered in the past and could be revisited.

“If this is not deemed feasible, other proposals should be considered such as a wide, gradual footbridge from Castle Street onto the Castle Green.

“Such bridges have been developed in Paris, the latest are near the Bibliothèque Nationale.”

A consultation on proposals for the historic quarter closes on Thursday.

The £840,000 scheme aims to cut traffic and improve the setting of the cathedral.

If it goes ahead, there will be no disc parking in Castle Street, Fisher Street, Finkle Street and Abbey Street.

On-street spaces will be reserved for residents’ permit and disabled-badge holders.

St Mary’s Gate and parts of Castle Street and Fisher Street will close to traffic for most of the day while a one-way system will force drivers to enter the area from Market Street and leave via West Walls.

The city council now says, however, that the pedestrianised roads will open to traffic from 7.30-10am and 4.30-7pm, allowing vehicles to leave along Market Street.

Mr Martlew is worried that the one-way system will turn West Walls into a rat run.

His letter says: “Your proposal to use Walls [as the main exit for cars] is totally wrong and is a most inappropriate use for this area.”

He argues that West Walls is a “unique historic attraction” that should be closed to through traffic.

A new exit into the westbound carriageway of Castle Way would provide an alternative route for vehicles.

The MP also says the council should de-clutter the area in front of the Old Town Hall, removing railings around the war memorial while re-siting and replacing the band stand.

His letter says: “The area is so cluttered that it detracts from the unique townscape.

“The listed buildings are jewels in Carlisle’s crown and should be shown off to greater advantage.”

He argues too that the council is putting too much emphasis on Castle Street at the expense of other parts of the historic quarter.

Mr Martlew’s letter adds: “The emphasis should be on the regeneration of the most run down and dilapidated part of the historic quarter.

“Properties along West Walls should be refurbished and thought should be given to future uses.

“Abbey Street is also in greater need than Castle Street for enhancement.”

The historic quarter plans form part of Carlisle Renaissance and are a joint effort of the county and city councils.

They involve relaying the pavement in Castle Street with sandstone flags and widening it to allow pavement cafés.

There would be a tree-lined square at the cathedral entrance and a smaller square in front of Hooper’s store.

Comment sheets are available at the Old Town Hall, Civic Centre, Tullie House Museum and Carlisle Library.

JWhittle@cngroup.co.uk

Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top]

PM told of flood fears
Published on 24/01/2008

CARLISLE MP Eric Martlew has told the Prime Minister that previously flooded residents in Carlisle live in fear whenever there is heavy rain.

Speaking in Parliament during Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Martlew urged Gordon Brown to look for national flood defence funding from insurance companies.

Mr Brown sympathised with the people of Carlisle but highlighted the amount of money already going to flood defences.

Mr Martlew has also suggested extra cash could be gathered through flood-threatened householders paying higher council tax but then gaining a cut in insurance costs.

The extra cash raised would then be used for flood defences.

The MP for Carlisle spoke after a week in which 20 homes were flooded after torrential rain brought chaos to north Cumbria, rekindling memories of the floods of 2005.

The flooded properties included nine at Wigton, two at Stockdalewath and homes in Blennerhasset and Pennington Drive, Carlisle.

There was a huge scare in Denton Holme, Carlisle, where the River Caldew threatened to burst its banks.

But defences held firm so there was no repeat of the events of 2005 when 2,000 homes and businesses in Carlisle were flooded.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Mr Martlew said: “If a community has been flooded, the next time there is heavy rainfall there is great fear and anxiety.

“That happened in Carlisle on Monday.

“We have good flood defences in part of the city and we will have extra flood defences in the other, but it is a question about what is happening nationally.

“Last year we had tremendous downpours. The Government has increased funding massively but it will not be enough.

“Can we have an assurance from the Prime Minister he will look for other funding sources from the insurance companies and local authorities?”

Mr Brown said ministers would consult with local authorities to make sure money was spent in the best way.

The Prime Minister added: “I sympathise with his constituents that are facing floods. Since the summer floods we have undertaken a review of our policies.

“But can I say the spending on flood defences were £300m in 1997, £600m now and will rise to £800m in 2011.”

Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top]

£25m Drigg dump approved
Published on 23/01/2008

A MASSIVE new vault will be built for the storage of nuclear waste at Drigg near Sellafield, county councillors ruled yesterday.

Cumbria County Council gave its final approval to the scheme after a heated debate over a claim that the site’s owners had attempted to “bribe” the local community with funding.

The new vault – the ninth on the site – will be 5.5m deep, 185m long and 137m wide.

It will extend the life of the 50-year-old repository by eight years, taking two thirds of the low level waste to be stored there from Sellafield.

Though councillors accepted the need for the new facility, there was heated debate over the bribery claim made by the Labour Ulverston East councillor Wendy Kolbe.

She said the application should have been decided by the full council.

Her “bribe” accusation was a reference to a Community Fund, worth up to £25m, which is to be paid to Copeland by the Drigg site’s owners the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).

Its payment was conditional on the county council approving the ninth vault.

Ms Kolbe said: “It appears that all we’re considering here is the amount of the bribe and the money being put forward to Copeland Council, and whether to accept that settlement.

“To me this is an area which needs further consideration by the county council as a whole.”

Maryport’s Labour councillor, Bill Cameron, supported the application but he too had concerns, saying: “The thing I do decry is that money has been talked about. It should never have been mentioned in any way by the NDA.”

Allerdale’s Moorclose Labour councillor Gerald Humes said: “It’s irrelevant whether you get £2m or £50m.

“I have concerns that the planning process is being taken out of our hands.”

Gosforth and Ennerdalecouncillor Norman Clarkson took issue with the claim that the NDA fund was a “bribe”. He said: “It clearly is not a bribe,” adding that the money was recognition for a facility that was a community benefit.

Fellow Labour councillor Archibald Ross, for Distington, said the planning committee was not supposed to take any notice of such financial issues.

Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top]

Council cuts
Published on 23/01/2008

POTENTIALLY unpopular cuts at Carlisle City Council look certain to go ahead.

And the council says its share of council tax will rise by 3.5 per cent in April, adding £6 to a band-D bill.

Measures approved by the Conservative-led executive on Monday include:

Ending free concessionary bus travel before 9.30am on weekdays;

A partial staff recruitment freeze to save £2.5m over three years;

Higher charges for car parking and other services;

Cuts in funding to Brampton Live and long-term plans to move the city’s tourist office to Tullie House.

The full council has the final say when it meets on February 5 but it is likely to rubber stamp the proposals.

Councillor John Mallinson, the executive member responsible for finance, said: “It’s clear that we have had difficult issues to deal with.

“This budget won’t be universally popular.

“But it projects a council-tax increase of 3.5 per cent in line with our policy to keep increases close to inflation.”

The council blames the cuts on a miserly one per cent increase in its grant from central government.

It also has to find cash for a pay review, higher pension costs and the spiralling costs of concessionary fares.

Compulsory changes to the travel scheme in April will allow pensioners to go free anywhere in England, not just the district where they live.

As a result of this and higher fares, the bill for concessionary travel in Carlisle is forecast to rise by £236,000 in 2008-9 even though free peak-time travel is being scrapped.

The cash-strapped council aims to balance its books by taking £1.5m from reserves.

But leader Mike Mitchelson said: “I want to nail the rumour about the council’s finances not being strong. Our finances are still very strong and healthy.”

Opposition councillors are worried that the recruitment freeze, which will mean only a quarter of staff who leave are replaced, will hit services.

Labour group leader Michael Boaden said: “We’re looking at a series of decisions that will have a dramatic effect on public services.

“The reality is they are cutting jobs. It’s a misnomer to call it a recruitment freeze.

“We’re looking at the deletion of around 45 posts."

Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top]

Council chief hits back
Published on 22/01/2008

CITY council chiefs have defended plans to hand over Carlisle Renaissance to a board controlled by unelected business people.

Renaissance was launched as a response to the 2005 floods with promises that it would create 3,000 jobs and bring £160m of private investment.

The council admitted last week that building work on the two main redevelopment schemes for Rickergate and Viaduct Estate was unlikely to start until 2010.

The slow rate of progress has brought criticism from Carlisle MP Eric Martlew.

And some opposition Labour councillors have attacked as anti-democratic plans to hand over control to a nine-person board, five members of which would be drawn from the private sector. But council leader Mike Mitchelson told the executive yesterday that Renaissance was on track.

He said: “Carlisle Renaissance is not delayed. A lot of work has gone in to put the building blocks in place.”

He said the new board would answer to the city and county councils and the Northwest Development Agency. He added: “The board will not have legal powers. These will remain with the city and county councils.

“We need to have the private sector involved because we need the private sector to deliver economic growth.”

The latest proposals will be discussed by a council scrutiny committee on February 4.

The plan also involves the appointment of a £75,000-a-year programme director to lead a development team

Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top]

City must keep a focus on its future
Published on 18/01/2008

NOBODY promised it would be easy, only that it would happen. And whatever frustrations still hover around Carlisle’s delayed regeneration plans, the reality of Renaissance moved closer this week.

There will be mixed feelings and a range of opinions voiced on the handing over of Renaissance control to a new board. Quite right too – such is the necessary engagement of local democracy.

There will be debate and argument over the board’s composition and no doubt, the detail of its challenging agenda – the move to change was never a smooth one.

But it has long been evident that the successful re-emergence of Carlisle as a city force to be reckoned with was always going to have to be driven by a partnership of public and private interests, drawing expertise, experience and initiative from all quarters.

So, now the pool of creative and practical thinking has been extended to match anticipated investment needs and a modern city’s expectations, the ground floor building blocks of Renaissance are in place.

Yes, there have been delays. Certainly there will be obstacles ahead. There is surely still much to be explored and discussed. But as the outgoing city council director of Renaissance, Ian McNichol points out: “You don’t turn a city on a sixpence.”

Work on Carlisle’s turning on more appropriately contemporary coinage will begin in 2010 – hopefully with greater speed and stability in decision making. There can be nothing gained now from bemoaning past delays and mistakes. They become unhelpful matters of history as new hands guide the tiller of Carlisle’s vital future journey.

What matters most crucially is that all opportunities are grasped to make the city blossom economically, artistically and aesthetically for the benefit of every citizen and for future generations.

Aspirations to progress, prosperity and a new dawn of enviable economic stability can not be allowed to be stifled by political wrangling or the blinkered focus of self-interest.

Taken from The Cumberland News / [Link] / [Back to top]

Serious hole in repair budget
Published on 25/01/2008

FROM potholes to moneypits... Cumbria’s roads just get worse and worse.

The sight of temporary traffic lights and rows of bollards is nothing new to motorists across the county.

And the situation reached crisis point in recent weeks as floods have followed a cold snap.

The weather has created more cracks and holes in an already fragile infrastructure.

Potholed and badly maintained highways contribute to the number of accidents, causing hold-ups for those travelling to work or making deliveries and in some cases, serious injury and death.

Our roads have been getting steadily worse for years and the winter weather of past weeks has only added to an already serious and increasingly worrying problem.

The longer we fail to make these vital repairs, the worse the problems become and more of our money needs to be spent in what seems to be a rapidly deepening black hole.

Which is why we say well done to Labour leader Stewart Young and four rebel Carlisle Tories who have pushed through a county council £1m emergency repair scheme.

It is still not enough, but it will go a lot further than the £500,000 suggested by council leader, Conservative Tim Stoddard.

Our roads are the arteries of our economy, but they tend to suffer more than the highways in most other areas of the country, due to the geography and climate of the county.

Floods, ice and snow are regular problems and add to damage caused by the usual wear and tear of everyday traffic.

It is shaming that we can only afford to repair our roads every 50 years – literally once in a lifetime – rather than the nationally-recommended period of once every seven years.

We simply can’t afford to neglect our highways.

More pressure must be put on central government by our local authorities and our MPs to ensure we get the money needed to keep them sound, keep us safe and keep our economy on the go.

Taken from The Cumberland News / [Link] / [Back to top]

Downer for Uppies?
Published on 17/01/2008

AS UPPIES and Downies players prepare for what may be their last match on the Cloffocks, campaigners have vowed that the game is not over yet.

The annual Workington challenge could soon be long gone with arrival of a Tesco store on their playing field next year.

Arch rivals Uppies and Downies are united in their battle to save the land with the Save Our Cloffocks campaigners behind them.

Their supporters say the land should be kept as a recreational ground for the people of the town. But Allerdale Council decided on Tuesday to sell the land to Tesco for £18 million for an Extra store and petrol filling station.

Contenders believe the historic game is in danger of dying out because the development is on the land where 90 per cent of the game is played. The Uppies and Downies, which is a traditional game dating back to pagan times, involves hundreds of players trying to get a specially made football to the top or bottom end of town.

But players of the ancient game believe drastic changes will have to be made to the game to keep it alive.

Joe Sandwith, an Allerdale councillor for Seaton, has been playing the game for 40 years.

He said: “I think the development will be the death of the game. The petrol station will be as much of a danger to the game as the superstore.

“The filling station will be 30 metres from the start point. What if the ball went against one of the petrol pumps. Imagine if someone was filling up their car and their was a mad scuffle for the ball.

“When something goes wrong the council will want to stop the game.

“The store is 120 yards from the starting point. What will happen when you put it in the middle of a mass football pitch? About 90 per cent of the game is played on the site. I hope it can continue for many years to come. But I think it will be the death of the game. Everything will be tried to keep it going.

“If a car is parked players try to avoid damage to it.

“The game just happens. People around here have played it for years. Fathers and grandfathers play it.”

His fears are echoed by the pressure group who have been trying to preserve the land for almost 10 years.

The Save Our Cloffocks (Socs) campaigners say they will be objecting to the Tesco application and seeking legal help within the next 28 days.

There have been numerous appeals for the land to be classed as a village green, but Cumbria County Council, which is responsible, has rejected the bid three times. There is another appeal still on going.

The Socs campaign started 10 years ago when there were first plans to build on the Cloffocks land.

John Bracken, one of the campaigners, said: “They have tried to build a police station and tried to bring in Tesco and Asda. We have consistently said they can’t do this. It is our land. Since then it has snowballed into local people taking part.”

In 2001 he was involved in setting up a referendum, which cost the town council £10,000.

Only 2,296 people out of an electorate of 19,276 turned out to vote and 1,560 voted against it, with 736 in favour.

Allerdale Council was not legally bound by the results and went ahead with the deal.

Last year another member, Coun Robertson lost a county court battle to stop the council selling The Cloffocks in 2006.

He has now claimed he has found land deeds that will prevent the Tesco plans going ahead.

Protestors against the scheme have argued for years that the area was given to the people of Workington and Allerdale has no right to sell it off, but there was no evidence to back up their claims.

However, Denis Robertson and John Bracken have said that they know where the original deeds are, which back up their claims. An anonymous helper has come forward with information about where the deeds, which seem to have been missing for a number of years. They say they can now be found, in archives owned by the Lowther family in Penrith.

Coun Robertson said: “I know where the original deeds are. Whether I can get hold of them or not I don’t know. I will try.

“We believe the Cloffocks should remain a recreational area. I will be trying to get legal action within 28 days. I have proof that the original deeds do exist. I will try and get a copy through the Lowther family.

“It has taken 10 years to get the ball in the beck. The ball has not come out of the beck yet. I am going ahead with the legal challenges.

“The council says they have lost the original documents. We say there must be a reason why they have gone missing.”

The pair are seeking legal advice on their next step.

SAli@cngroup.co.uk

Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top]

No secret agenda
Published on 17/01/2008

By Julian Whittle

CARLISLE City Council has denied claims that it has a “secret agenda” to demolish homes in Corporation Road and Peter Street.

Save Our Streets, which is campaigning against plans to redevelop the Rickergate area, took its fight to the council chamber on Tuesday.

Warwick Street resident Simon Osman asked why the council was negotiating to buy property in Corporation Road and Peter Street if neither was earmarked for demolition.

He said: “This policy gives no clarity or comfort for residents who think there is a secret agenda.”

The council has set aside £2m to buy property for its Carlisle Renaissance scheme. In Rickergate, the aim is to demolish the Civic Centre, police and fire stations, magistrates court and homes in Warwick Street.

They would be replaced by a plaza with shops and offices, and probably a four-star hotel/conference centre.

Council leader Mike Mitchelson said the council might buy property in Corporation Road and Peter Street but only to make sure that it was managed properly. He added: “Our development framework states that the city council wishes to see the retention of Corporation Road and Peter Street.”

Another Save Our Streets campaigner, Julie Templeton, also questioned Mr Mitchelson under the council’s public participation procedure. But he denied her claim that decisions about Rickergate “were being made behind closed doors and in secret”.

Mr Mitchelson said: “Decisions are in accordance with the council’s constitution. There is open debate and consultation at every stage.”

JWhittle@cngroup.co.uk

Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top]

Public say
Published on 08/01/2008

By Julian Whittle

CARLISLE residents get the chance to air their views this week on plans to improve the city’s “historic quarter”.

Drop-in sessions are being staged as part of a consultation on a new pedestrianised area and one-way system.

The £840,000 scheme for the area between English Street and the castle aims to cut traffic and enhance the setting of the cathedral.

The sessions at the Old Town Hall in Green Market will allow people to find out more about the plans and to complete comment sheets.

The first is from 2-5pm tomorrow and there are others from 2-5pm on Thursday and Friday, and 1-3pm on Saturday.

Ray Bloxham, deputy leader of Carlisle City Council, said: “We want to work with local residents and businesses to ensure this scheme, wherever possible, reflects the needs of those who live, work and visit the city centre. This is an area of the city that we should be really proud of but at the moment it’s cluttered up with cars.”

If the scheme goes ahead as envisaged, there will be no more disc parking in Castle Street, Fisher Street, Finkle Street and Abbey Street.

The only on-street parking spaces will be reserved for residents, special permit and disabled badge holders.

St Mary’s Gate and parts of Castle Street and Fisher Street will close to traffic, except delivery vans at certain times of the day.

And a one-way system will force vehicles to enter the area from Market Street and leave via West Walls.

The plans are part of the Carlisle Renaissance proposals to help the city recover from the 2005 floods and are a joint effort by the county and city councils.

They involve relaying the pavement in Castle Street with sandstone flags and widening it to allow pavement cafés.

There would be a tree-lined square at the cathedral entrance and a smaller square in front of Hooper’s department store.

The aim is to channel views towards the castle and show the cathedral to best effect.

Comment sheets should be returned by January 31 using a freepost envelope or ballot boxes at the Old Town Hall, Civic Centre, Tullie House or Carlisle Library.

JWhittle@cngroup.co.uk

Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top]

'Still terrified by floods'
Published on 07/01/2008

By Dave Gudgeon

THREE years ago tomorrow brave Carlisle pensioner Mary Lee was helped through her bedroom window and ferried to safety through rising flood waters by boat.

Now the 76-year-old lives in constant fear of persistent heavy rain, and she believes there will be hundreds of people across the city who share her concern.

Mrs Lee, a widow, spoke as Carlisle City Council revealed that nine flood-ravaged properties were still being given council tax relief because they can’t be lived in full-time. Most of them are in Warwick Road.

Mrs Lee, of Corporation Road, said: “I never really took any notice of weather forecasts before that day in January 2005.

“That’s when I discovered how powerful and dangerous water can be.

“Now when it rains heavily I look out across the car park behind my home and I begin to panic when it starts to form pools.

“I know they have built flood defences to protect Warwick Road but I’m sure people there must feel the same. I don’t think anyone will ever really be able to relax again when it rains for long periods,” she said.

When Mrs Lee got up on that fateful morning to make a cup of tea it was bone dry outside. By the time she had drunk it, flood water was covering the car park and coming down the street.

She said: “The next thing it came pouring down a lane at the side of the house like a river. It had come from Bitts Park and cars in front of the house were submerged.

“I read in the paper on Saturday that they are going to put a higher wall on the far side of Castle Way. I’m so happy about that because I think the water here was the deepest in Carlisle.”

Mrs Lee, her daughter and a grandson retreated upstairs as water up to six feet deep poured into her home and started throwing furniture, including a large TV set and cabinet, around.

All three had to be helped out of a bedroom window, on to the top of a garage and then into an inshore rescue boat. Mrs Lee remembers it like yesterday.

She said: “Only the top half of the window opens so it was difficult for me to get through it.

“I was worried that I was going to break the hand of the man helping me.

“Once I got through the window it was a long drop on to the garage roof. But all I was worried about was getting out of the house.

“There was all sorts of banging and crashing going on downstairs.

“I can never forget what happened. Everyone must be the same.

“My sister’s home in Junction Street was flooded to the depth of a few inches and she rings me every time it rains. She gets really worried.”

Work to protect the heart of Carlisle, including Corporation Road, is to get underway in the next few months.

DGudgeon@cngroup.co.uk

Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top]

Councillor quits
Published on 05/01/2008

By Julian Whittle

Political editor

A LEADING member of Carlisle City Council’s Labour group is to quit the party and stand down as a councillor.

John Reardon, who represents the Upperby ward, has become disenchanted with mainstream politics.

He says none of the main parties is prepared to tackle the pressing issues of climate change and social justice.

He said: “The defining moment for me was when I read a transcript of Nick Clegg’s speech [when elected leader of the Liberal Democrats].

“It was indistinguishable from the speech Tony Blair gave when he became Labour leader and that of David Cameron when he became leader of the Conservatives.

“Verbless sentences and vacuous sentiments totally dominate British politics now. No one is prepared to challenge society’s self-destructive and materialist ethos.

“Those in public office have a responsibility to be straight with people and lead by example. That’s not happening.”

Mr Reardon, 32, has been a councillor since 2006. He will continue until the May 1 elections when he was due to stand again. He is a former chairman of Carlisle Labour Party and served on Labour’s northern regional board.

He was parliamentary candidate for Westmorland and Lonsdale in south Cumbria at the 2005 general election.

Mr Reardon has been at loggerheads with his party locally and nationally. He opposed the Iraq war and the introduction of ID cards and faced disciplinary action within the city council Labour group for speaking against the expansion of Carlisle Airport.

He said: “A complaint was made against me by another member of the group. [The incident] speaks volumes about how politics is conducted within the three main parties.”

Mr Reardon, who is married and lives in Currock, will continue to campaign on environmental issues.

He is a member of Carlisle Friends of the Earth and persuaded the city council to sign the Nottingham Declaration on climate change, an agreement that commits the council to reducing carbon emissions.

Labour group leader Michael Boaden said: “John has been a very good councillor in Upperby for the last two years. I have discussed his decision and, while I respect his point of view, clearly I disagree with him in terms of the notion that all three parties are indistinguishable.”

Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top]

New work to prevent city floods
Published on 04/01/2008

By Dave Gudgeon

MAJOR work to prevent any further flooding in the heart of Carlisle is set to begin this spring.

It will involve building a higher wall along Castle Way to stop homes and businesses in Rickergate being affected and an embankment to protect the Turf Inn.

Talks are taking place between the city council and the Environment Agency over possible changes to the original designs which were approved last year.

They are unlikely to cause any delays to the start time, but any major alterations will be subject to further public consultation.

This weekend marks the third anniversary of the disastrous floods which devastated the city in 2005, leaving hundreds homeless

The proposed defence wall along Castle Way will replace an existing low wall and be 1.3 metres above the adjacent pavement level. It will result in the loss of a strip of dense ornamental shrubs but the retention of the existing mature trees.

A new defence wall is also proposed around the edge of the Dacre Road car park which will tie into the high ground at Bitts Park and the castle embankment. A relatively large number of trees will be affected to construct the embankment at The Swifts and around the edge of The Sands Centre car park, but the intention is to replace the trees lost with new planting.

The Environment Agency will also be involved in work alongside the River Caldew, designed to protect properties in Denton Holme.

Work is already underway alongside the River Eden at Stanwix to protect properties in Eden Place and Etterby Terrace. A footpath diversion is in place there but some people have broken through the security fencing, putting themselves at possible risk.

New flood defences for the Warwick Road and Greystone Road area of Carlisle were officially declared watertight late last year, five months ahead of schedule.

Taken from The Cumberland News / [Link] / [Back to top]