Rickergate revamp will be revisited – council
Last updated 05:42, Friday, 26 September 2008

CARLISLE Renaissance proposals to redevelop Rickergate may still go ahead one day, the city council has said.

The controversial scheme to demolish the Civic Centre, the police and fire stations, magistrates’ court, Adriano’s restaurant and homes in Warwick Street appeared to be dead and buried two weeks ago.

Bryan Gray, chairman of the new, private sector-led Carlisle Renaissance board said it was no longer “being pursued”.

And city council leader Mike Mitchelson said work on a development brief had stopped and the council had no plans to buy more property there.

But he told The Cumberland News this week that the scheme could be resurrected one day.

Mr Mitchelson said: “The Renaissance board has come to a view that Rickergate is not one of its four priorities.

“But that doesn’t mean to say the scheme is dead.

“Carlisle Renaissance is a 10 to 20-year agenda.

“We are committed to doing a development brief [for Rickergate]. All I’ve said to the council is that, at the current time, we’re not doing it but it will happen one day.”

The council was given £2m by the Northwest Regional Development Agency to buy up property in Rickergate with a view to redevelopment.

It acquired the freehold of Adriano’s Restaurant and one of the former fire station houses in Warwick Street.

Mr Mitchelson said the council would hang on to them as “strategic property purchases” in an area “identified for future development”.

His statement is a setback to the Save Our Streets group, which campaigned against the demolition of private homes.

The Rickergate scheme, as originally envisaged, would have bulldozed the area to make way for a plaza with shops, flats, offices and possibly a hotel.

But the council always maintained that homes in Peter Street and Corporation Road would not be knocked down.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Labour opposition on the city council said the authority should say how much it has spent on the Rickergate plan.

Councillor Michael Boaden said: “In addition to tens of thousands of pounds spent on consultants, the council has used £900,000 of public money on purchasing two properties just six months ago.”

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

Public meeting over end to free Carlisle parking
Last updated 12:19, Thursday, 25 September 2008

A public meeting will be held on Monday to debate proposals to charge for on-street parking in the Rickergate area of Carlisle.

The meeting has been called in response to mounting pressure against the plans. Earlier this month a 560-name petition was presented to Carlisle City Council opposing the idea.

The Tithe Barn at West Walls will host the special meeting of the Castle neighbourhood forum from 6.30pm.

Richard Hayward, Cumbria County Council’s highways engineer for Carlisle, will be attending the meeting together with a highways representative from the city council.

Local ward councillors Olwyn Luckley, Jim Tootle and Kimberley Hunter are also expected to attend the meeting.

Notices promoting the event state that it will allow residents and tenants from the Rickergate areas to discuss the proposed stopping-up order for parts of Lowther Street and Corporation Road.

Julia Clifford, from women-only gym Curves, has been battling the proposals. She believes it will seriously damage local businesses in the area, not just her own.

She handed over a petition to the city council two weeks ago.

She said: “This meeting is absolutely necessary and I hope they stand up and listen to what is said.”

City councillor Ray Bloxham, the portfolio holder for infrastructure, said he hoped there was “scope to compromise”.

County councillors recently agreed to apply for a stopping-up order as the first step towards introducing pay-and-display car parking behind Corporation Road, between Dixon Street and Corporation Road, and at the north end of Lowther Street.

At present motorists can park free for an hour by displaying a parking disc.

Under the proposals, free parking would be limited to spaces in Corporation Road and Rickergate itself.

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

Renaissance traffic plans have to change – council
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]

Pampered like a princess, Alice is made up about her grand day
Last updated 05:44, Friday, 19 September 2008

LITTLE Alice Tyson was pretty in pink as Carlisle businesses rallied round to make her a princess for the day.

Three-year-old Alice, of Moorhouse, has a rare condition which means exposure to sunlight will permanently damage her skin and increase her chances of getting skin cancer.

Affecting one in a million people, Alice’s Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP) means she cannot go outside without being completely covered up including wearing a mask over her face.

But after a tremendous response to Alice’s story from business owners in the city, on Wednesday the little girl who is mostly confined to the darkness of the family sitting room was beaming as she and mum Tracey were pampered.

A chauffeur-driven silver Bentley, donated for the day by Stacey’s Coaches of Willowholme, ferried the pair between appointments, with Alice protected by gloves and a face mask.

First stop was Estilo hair salon on Corporation Road where owner Marcie Bowman and her girls set to work beautifying them both with a trim and blow dry.

Marcie said: “It’s fantastic and she’s such a lovely little girl – she’s so special.”

Joanne Alexander of Little Miss Tiara on Empire Road stopped by to deliver a specially made silver plated tiara headband for Alice adorned with Swarovski crystals. She was pleased to take on the special commission: “I jumped at the chance and I thought it was a great idea.”

Alice and Tracey, 43, were also invited to pick out outfits for their special day from Debenhams. Alice chose a pink princess dress with ballet pumps and tights while the store’s personal shopper coaxed mum into wearing a dress for the first time in years. Tracey said on Wednesday: “I even got married in a trouser suit! But Alice picked her dress herself. She’s been so worked up about today it was gone 11pm before I could get her to bed last night. Then she was up at 6.30 this morning.

“Normally she’s shy with people she doesn’t know, but not today!”

Their chauffeur then whisked them to Hoopers department store for mum to have her make-up done.

The pair were then treated to a photo-shoot at Aperture Photography on Corporation Road, and finished the day with a meal at Adriano’s Italian restaurant in Rickergate, joined by dad Neil, 46, and grandma Edie.

As the sun beamed and temperatures reached 23C Alice needed her protective mask and gloves as she was taken between appointments.

Tracey said: “She gets too warm under the mask – 20 minutes is her limit. All of her exposed skin has to be covered up. And because the windows of the car we’ve got today aren’t protected, I’m making her wear the mask inside that too. Summer is going to be difficult.”

Because of her rare illness, Alice spends a lot of time at the Cumberland Infirmary’s dermatology unit where she was diagnosed with XP around two months ago.

It was senior nurse Julie Bowman who organised Alice’s grand day out after being bowled over by the little girl’s bravery about her condition. Julie said: “To see her smile and have fun is reward enough for us all.”

Alice, who is the only known XP sufferer in Cumbria and one of only 50 nationally, is having more tests next month at a hospital in Dundee where her family will discover exactly what the condition will mean for her in the long-term.

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

Rickergate homes saved after Renaissance re-think
Last updated 08:19, Friday, 12 September 2008

Save Our Streets campaigners in Carlisle are jubilant after it was confirmed this week that plans to bulldoze much of Rickergate have been dropped.

The controversial Renaissance scheme would have demolished the Civic Centre, the police and fire stations, magistrates’ court, Adriano’s restaurant and private homes in Warwick Street. In their place would have been a plaza with shops, flats, offices and possibly a four-star hotel.

Bryan Gray, chairman of the new private sector-led Carlisle Renaissance board, had previously expressed grave doubts about the development. Speaking after the board met on Monday, he went further and ruled it out completely.

Mr Gray said: “It is not being pursued. That is not to say someone won’t come forward with ideas [for Rickergate] that might be considered but it is not our role to push something that has no particular drive.”

Renaissance director Ian McNichol relayed the news in a letter to Save Our Streets, which has consistently campaigned against the scheme. City council leader Mike Mitchelson told councillors on Tuesday night.

He said: “No work is currently being undertaken on a development brief [for Rickergate] and we are not planning to acquire further property [there] at this time.”

Elizabeth Allnutt, secretary of Save Our Streets, was delighted by the decision. She said: “Our homes, businesses and community would appear to be safe at last. The group has fought hard and persistently on many fronts since October 2006.”

But she said there were still questions that needed answers, such as what would happen to the money provided by the Northwest Development Agency to buy up property;what will the council do with property it has already bought, such as Adriano’s Restaurant, and what will become of the fire and police stations and magistrates court.

Ms Allnutt added: “Why did this battle have to be fought at all? The original consultation process and every consultation after has been a sham and a public relations exercise only.”

Mr Gray also confirmed this week that Tesco is being asked to scrap its plan for a supermarket in Viaduct Estate.

The Renaissance board wants Tesco to go elsewhere so that its land can be released to the University of Cumbria.

The university aims to build a £70m riverside campus in Viaduct Estate next to Tesco’s proposed 40,000sq ft store. Mr Gray says the university will need more room to expand and Tesco could provide it.

“The university is the single most important investment in Carlisle for a generation or more,” he said. “To shoehorn it into a small site is not appropriate. We are very keen to see if we can work with Tesco to release that part of the site.”

Work on the new Tesco was due to start last month but has been delayed. Tesco may now be offered a land swap, allowing it to build on another site in Carlisle in return for giving up its plot in Viaduct Estate.

The city council says talks with Tesco are taking place and the chain has indicated that it may be receptive to an approach.

Corporate affairs manager Douglas Wilson said: “We are still committed to the Viaduct Estate site but, if the Renaissance board want to talk to us, we are more than willing to listen and help Carlisle City Council wherever we can.”

Following the U-turn on Rickergate, Renaissance will now concentrate on four priorities – the university, the historic core, new sites for business near the M6 and boosting the city-centre economy.

Ideas include appointing a city centre manager and drawing up a plan for the cathedral, castle, Hadrian’s Wall and Tullie House museum.

Mr Gray said: “Each site is important in its own right but put the four together and you have a unique set of historic assets.”

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

Traders ‘betrayed’ by parking charge plan
Last updated 11:49, Wednesday, 10 September 2008

PRESSURE is mounting on Cumbria County Council to rethink proposals to charge for on-street parking in the Rickergate area of Carlisle.

A petition against the plan, signed by 560 people, was presented to Carlisle City Council last night.

Councillor Ray Bloxham, the portfolio holder for infrastructure, said he hoped there was “scope to compromise”.

He added: “The county council is the highways authority. On-street parking is their responsibility.

“The city council has no remit, except as consultees.

“But we do have concerns following representations from residents and businesses and we have to take note.”

County councillors recently agreed to apply for a stopping-up order as the first step towards introducing pay-and-display car parking behind Corporation Road, between Dixon Street and Corporation Road, and at the north end of Lowther Street. At present motorists can park free for an hour by displaying a parking disc.

Under the proposals, free parking would be limited to spaces in Corporation Road and Rickergate itself.

Julia Clifford, of Curves gym in Corporation Road, presented the petition at last night’s meeting.

She told councillors: “These proposals are outrageous and will seriously damage our businesses, perhaps close some of them, and damage the economy of the city centre.”

She said removing free parking would encourage shoppers to use supermarkets rather than the market hall. And she said that she and her sister Joanna would not have opened their women-only gym there had they known free parking might go.

She added: “If this proposal goes through, we will feel completely betrayed and our future will be in jeopardy.

“I beg you to admit that somebody got it wrong and forget these proposals.”

The petitioners were supported by Jim Tootle, a Liberal Democrat councillor who represents the area.

He said: “The wider implications have not been thought through at all. We should not be seen to be destroying communities. We should be helping to build them.”

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

Parking charges battle
Last updated 11:47, Tuesday, 09 September 2008

CAMPAIGNERS opposed to new parking charges for the Rickergate area of Carlisle will take their fight to the city council tonight.

Sisters Julia and Joanna Clifford, who run the women-only Curves gym in Corporation Road, will address councillors and present a 500-signature petition opposing the charges.

They say the proposed changes would damage small businesses.

At present motorists can park free for up to an hour by displaying a disc.

But Cumbria County Council is applying for a “stopping-up order” as the first step towards introducing charges, probably next year.

Spaces at the north end of Lowther Street, between Dixon Street and Corporation Road, and behind Corporation Road would be redesignated as pay-and-display car parks.

Free on-street parking in Corporation Road itself and in Rickergate would continue.

The city council’s community services director, Mike Battersby, says the county will consult the public before it brings in charging.

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