A Review of 2022

“Christmas is a time of peace, forgiveness, and reflection. Looking back and saying goodbye to another year. We live in extraordinary times, trying to get on and get by the best we can while history continues to be written. The end of the year gives us an opportunity to reflect and plan for the future. As Mayor it has been a busy year greeting guests at events such as Remembrance, meeting visitors, dignitaries and promoting Penrith. The character, warmth and hospitality of Penrith has shone through, and it has been a pleasure to represent the town.” Cllr. Charlie Shepherd, Council Chair and Penrith Mayor.

Penrith Town Council has led, or been involved in, many positive, important, and inspiring partnerships, initiatives, and activities over the last year. Perhaps one of Penrith’s most uplifting events in 2022 was the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations which saw activities and performances at numerous spots around the town centre. This was an event focused on the local community with large numbers of local residents spilling onto the streets to participate in a fun day in the summer sunshine.

The Town Council also honoured the longest reign of any British monarch by presenting commemorative coins to nursery and primary school children. As part of these celebrations we lit beacons throughout Penrith as part of a national chain of beacons, installed a Queens Platinum Jubilee bench at Thacka Beck field and children helped to fill a ‘time capsule’ which was ceremoniously buried in Coronation Garden. The capsule was packed with evocative items that will vividly illuminate what life was like in Penrith in 2022 to a future generation.

As we enter a cold spell with the trees covered in frost, we can enjoy all the special activities, events, and traditions of the winter holiday time with the Town glittering with Christmas lights. Christmas is a time of giving and this year more than ever, as people struggle with the cost of living and hardship, and traditional core values of community and family are more important than ever. The Town Council has lobbied for an expanded entitlement to free school meals, assisted with the provision of warm spaces working with groups like Churches Together, the Salvation Army, the Eden Resilience Group and Community Action for Sustainability (CAFS) to ensure residents are able to access support and advice when they need it. The Town Council is supporting organisations that are hosting warm spots for everyone in Penrith who needs a warm place, warm food and drink by providing refreshments to relieve the pressure on these community organisations who are providing this invaluable service.

The Town Council has also contributed to planning approval processes, responded to your issues such as parking, potholes, dog waste, fly tipping, traffic, speeding motorists and eliminating graffiti. We also expect to complete the process of the agreeing the Neighbourhood Development Plan which will open up opportunities for the town to move in a planned, positive, and prosperous direction. The Town Council has been working with both Cumbria County Council and Eden District Council on the Penrith Parking and Movement Study, the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Project and the Borderlands Growth Deal which aim to deliver projects within Penrith. We look forward to continuing to develop and ultimately deliver these projects going forward.

The Council has been working closely with arts, culture, tourism and heritage stakeholders supporting the developments of, for example: arts and culture; moving towards awarding grants to support initiatives and events, involving the community in the affairs of their town, and creating a fund to support the town’s larger ‘signature’ events.

We are looking forward to working with CAFS, Penrith Action for Community Transition and the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership to campaign and develop projects to help households, schools and businesses for energy efficient retrofitting and to seek funding to establish an ‘Eco-refurbishment Skills Hub’ in Penrith providing the community with the skills to undertake or source this work. We are hopeful that this approach may also contribute to the regeneration of our local economy.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank and acknowledge the hard work, commitment and success of the last ten years of Penrith Business Improvement District and in particular the board members without whom this would not have been possible. With the unfortunate dissolution of Penrith Business Improvement District, the Council is preparing to assume some of the activities that the BiD delivered so very well for the Town. We look forward to continuing to work with the Chamber of Trade, Penrith Arts and Culture, the Industrial BiD, businesses, stakeholders and partners to add to the vitality of the town.

Over the last few months the Council have been enhancing Thacka Beck Field with improved signage, gates, fencing, pathway, benches and planted 350 trees,. We have worked in partnership with several community groups to make this positive difference and we are looking forward to the warmer weather when we can see how the area blossoms. We have also improved the gate at Fairhill, added bollards to keep children safe from vehicles and planted 70 trees. We have made every effort to improve and maintain these areas for the community. These two special green open spaces in Penrith were devolved to the Town Council along with the bus shelters, bandstand, the Musgrave Monument and benches. With the changes in local government in Cumbria we are excited about the opportunities that this will bring the Town and we are keen to take on more for the community. We expect that this reorganisation will trigger a new chapter in the process of devolving more assets and responsibilities to local Town and Parish Councils. We especially hope to complete a successful negotiation to take over the town’s significant assets.

All at the Town Council optimistically look forward to the completion of the local government reorganisation and to working with the newly created Westmorland & Furness Council when they take over in April 2023. As appropriate, we will do our best to act as a ‘critical friend’ to the new Council offering advice and support from our very local, Penrith perspective. In the coming year, and with the new Council in place, we will continue to represent the town and its residents to ensure that Penrith effectively meets the challenges of the coming year.

“As Deputy Mayor and Deputy Chair of the Penrith Town Council, it has been a privilege to serve alongside a talented and hardworking team of officers along with a committed and ambitious group of Councillors with both groups steadfastly focused on helping to make Penrith the very best it can be.” Councillor Dave Knaggs, Vice Council Chair and Deputy Mayor Wishing you a brighter and Happy New Year from Penrith Town Council.