People affected by Cumbria's floods at the end of last year remain frustrated, stressed and angry at the slow pace of the flood recovery.

That's according to the National Flood Forum, which says flood-hit residents are feeling traumatised as they face problems with insurance, confusion about how to reinstate their properties and difficulties with the £5,000 government grant.

The charity took enquiries from more than 350 people during a 16-day tour of 20 flood-hit locations across the county.

Many people only just starting to come to terms with the realisation that they will be unable to return home for several months - and the uncertainty of not knowing when they’ll be able to move back in.

Heather Shepherd, Community Support and Flood Recovery Specialist for the National Flood Forum said: “We are seeing people who have never been flooded before who don’t know what to expect or who to turn to for help with the recovery process. Many feel as though they’re banging their head against a brick wall.

“We can offer independent advice and guidance about how best to approach insurance problems or how to reinstate homes; who to talk to and where to go for help with grant applications.  Whilst the £5,000 sum is welcome it isn’t actually very much when you think about the types of measures that are needed to make a property more resilient to flood if it should happen again.

“And that’s another major issue, we are also hearing from people who have now been flooded multiple times, some have spent thousands of pounds making their homes resilient inside and resistant with flood products outside. They have done as much as they can yet still the floods are wrecking their lives.”

Speaking at a Flood Exhibition in Keswick last week, local businessman Roger Scoon said when he flooded he just felt numb: “I didn’t feel anything as it was happening.  I just wanted to do what I could to stop water getting into my house.  But it was pointless. I ended up with 4ft of water destroying the downstairs of my property.  

"This is the third time I’ve been flooded.  From past experience it’s a month or two later when you really start to feel it.  You worry about when you might be able to get back into your house.  The stressful battles with insurance companies and builders as you try to get everything reinstated. It’s almost a fear of the future.”   

Heather Shepherd added: “In many cases there is a feeling of resignation immediately after the flood because this has happened to them before.  People want to take action to ensure their rebuild is progressing with a positive and advancing approach. All they want is to return to some sense of normality but problems with insurance, finance, builders, surveyors, grant processes, and the worry that the continuing rain will flood them again and take them back to square one proves a major issue and seriously hinders the rate at which they can get things done.

“Even where these problems don’t arise the bottom line is that recovery is a long process and being out of your home for months is tough.”

The National Flood Forum has also heard from a lot of people who have very clear and credible ideas about how they think flood risk should be managed in the future.

Heather added: “We firmly believe that communities should lead the flooding debate and that their local knowledge and aspirations should be heard and used as part of a multi-agency approach to a wider look at flood risk management. We support flood affected people to set up Flood Action Groups and help them map out the issues they’ve faced. We then bring them together with key agencies in a multi-agency meetings to address these problems with the intention of working in partnership to reduce the flood risk.”

For further information or advice you can contact the National Flood Forum’s helpline on 01299 403 055 or go here.

Below: Hannah Tankard, Flood Risk Support Officer at the Keswick Flood Fair

Five men believed to include all four members of north-west based indie band 'Viola Beach' - who were due to play at this year's Kendal Calling festival, have been killed after their car plunged off a bridge in Sweden.

Their Nissan Qashqai crashed through a motorway bridge barrier at Sodertalje and fell more than 80ft into a canal. Police divers recovered the bodies of five men - aged between 19 and 32 - from the water, around 40km (25 miles) from Stockholm.

Their names have not been released, but they are understood to include Viola Beach singer Kris Leonard, guitarist River Reeves, bassist Tomas Lowe and drummer Jack Dakin. The fifth man killed was their manager Craig Tarry, it's reported.

The Warrington group had played a gig in Sweden on Friday night, and were part of the 2016 Kendal Calling line-up.

They were due back in the UK to play in Guildford, Surrey, last night (Saturday), but the venue said the gig had been cancelled due to "unforeseen circumstances".

Tributes have been paid on their social media accounts Twitter and Facebook.

British band The Enemy wrote: "RIP Viola Beach and their manager. Such incredibly tragic and sad news. Thought with the friends and families of all involved x."

The Coral's James Skelly posted: "So sorry to hear about viola beach and Craig tarry's accident so sad, their families must be devastated."

Gemma Hepworth, a friend of Mr Tarry, said he was a life-long Manchester City fan who "never gave up on his dream" of working in the music industry.

She said friends would be paying tribute to him by clapping in the fifth minute at City's game against Tottenham today.

The band's car crashed through a barrier after the bridge - at the Saltskogs junction, between the E4 and the E20 motorways - opened to let a boat pass. The bridge has a middle section that rises upwards, leaving a gap that the car drove into. Officers said a barrier, 50 metres before the gap, has flashing lights and signs warning there is a bridge opening.

Swedish police spokesman Martin Bergholm said: "For some reason, the car drove through the barriers and crashed down into the canal. The witnesses just saw a car beside them and kind of disappear."

He said it is not yet known whether the men were wearing seatbelts, but added: "That would not have helped them."

Police received a call at 2.30am on Saturday local time, and arrived at the scene five minutes later. Divers found the car and three bodies. They found the other two bodies an hour later. They were identified from the passports they were carrying.

The Foreign Office confirmed the deaths of five Britons and said their families were being supported.

People affected by the recent floods are being urged to visit a flood support and advice service that's rolling into Kendal this week.

It will be parked at Asda from 3.30pm to 8pm on Wednesday and Thursday.

Reps from Age UK and the Red Cross will be there, to offer help on applying for grants and how people can access other support services.

The mobile unit will also be visiting Morrisons in Kendal on the 24th and 25th of February at the same times.

The unit has been organised as part of a co-ordinated response to the district’s flood recovery, through the South Lakeland Community Flood Recovery group, which includes representatives from Cumbria County and South Lakeland District Councils, the Environment Agency, local and national charities and representatives from the business community.

Penny Pullinger, who is helping to manage the Gateway Mobile Support Unit, said: “What we are finding now is that many people affected by the flooding before Christmas are aware of some of the support that is available, but perhaps not everything they can access.

“By understanding their situation we can help them to get the support they need now and to think about the support they may need over the coming weeks and months.

“By registering they will also be kept up to date with information about grants and flood recovery help."

For those who are interested by won't be able to visit the team, forms to apply for help are also available at the Encouragement Cabin on Sandylands, the Flood Felief Centre in the Westmorland Shopping Centre, or by calling in to the Age UK South Lakeland offices on Finkle Street.

The Gateway Group is also running a flood support advice line on 01539 792028.

A man's due in court today (Monday), charged with causing death by dangerous driving after a woman died in a crash near Shap last month.

51-year old Adam Rybicki - who's from Poland - was driving a lorry when he was involved in a collision with a car on the A6 on the morning of the 12th of January.

The driver of a Ford Focus - a 54-year old local woman - died at the scene.

Work gets underway from today (Monday), on improvements at Glebe Road in Bowness, as part of a project to make some of the Lake District’s ‘honeypot’ areas more accessible by bus, bike or car.

The first phase of the work will see the creation of additional parking on the section of Glebe Road from Glebe Road car park to the junction of Rectory Road, providing angled parking bays.

The new layout will enable works to take place later this year to re-locate on-street parking away from the waterfront section of Glebe Road and create improved footways, carriageways, and public spaces for visitors and residents.

Cumbria County Council is leading on the scheme, working closely with South Lakeland District Council and the Lake District National Park.

The scheme is part of the wider Optimising Connectivity project, which is being funded by the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership.

The LEP has allocated £2 million from the Local Growth Fund to deliver the Optimising Connectivity project.

In addition, South Lakeland District Council is making a contribution of £225,000 towards improvements on the shore area of Glebe Road.

The improvement works at Glebe Road have been planned for some time and a contractor has been appointed to carry out the work.

The project will therefore not affect the council’s ongoing flood recovery effort to repair roads and bridges in the county damaged in the recent floods.

Councillor Keith Little, Cumbria County Council’s Cabinet member for highways, said: “The enhancement work at Glebe Road is part of a £2 million package of improvements designed to make it easier to access key visitor destinations along the A591.

"Funding for this project was secured from the Government some time ago and we’ve taken local feedback on board when finalising the improvements.

“Since the December 2015 floods, the council has been working very hard on the flood recovery work, repairing the damage to our roads and bridges, and that remains our top priority.

"I’m pleased the Optimising Connectivity project is going ahead as planned and a contractor has been appointed to deliver the Glebe Road scheme.”

Construction of the scheme on Glebe Road is being phased to help reduce the impact on visitors and businesses. Work is being programmed to avoid the main school holidays at Easter, summer and autumn. 

It'll start on Monday the 15th of February and finish by the end of April 2016 at Glebe Road from Rectory Road junction to exit of Glebe Road car park. 

Then, work will begin on Glebe Road from the exit of Glebe Road car park to A592 junction near Information Centre, and the foreshore area between Pump House Café and Lake District Boat Club from November 2016 through until the end of March 2017. 

Traffic will be able to access Glebe Road whilst works are taking place and park on-street on sections of the road which are unaffected by works.

For more information on the scheme and future updates, go to the county council’s dedicated webpage.

A Kendal man's been jailed for climbing into his estranged wife's home and attacking her.

Michael Leavy - who'd already breached a restraining order more than once - got in through a window, grabbed a kitchen knife and threatened to kill himself in November last year.

Carlisle Crown Court heard he then launched himself at her and only fled when she started crying.

30-year old Leavy, of Nobles Place, was sentenced to 28 weeks in prison on Friday.
 

A special parking offer is on in Kendal this weekend to attract people back to the town following the reopening of Victoria Bridge.

The town's BID team and SLDC have teamed up with the Westmorland Shopping Centre where parking will be just £2.20 for the whole day on Saturday and Sunday.

It's to coincide with the 'bridgeisback' social media campaign.

A number of businesses noted a drop in footfall whilst the bridge - known locally as Batman Bridge - was closed for nearly four weeks for repairs to storm damage.

Sarah Williams, Manager of Kendal BID, said: “The feedback we have from businesses is that people, unsurprisingly, have been staying away from the town recently so its great to work with SLDC on delivering these parking incentives to encourage people back into Kendal.
 
“Despite having a difficult couple of months, businesses are still upbeat and there’s a real positive feeling in the town at the moment so there’s never been a better time to plan your visit to Kendal.”
 
Councillor Giles Archibald, South Lakeland District Council’s portfolio holder for Economic Development, Town Centres and Small Business, said: “We are always keen to support business-led initiatives and we are delighted to have worked with Kendal BID on this offer.
 
“We hope this will encourage people to come into town to enjoy the #bridgeisback offers and support Kendal’s businesses.”

Cumbria Police has targeted illegal off-road riders in the South Lakes.

Officers teamed up with Natural England, the LDNPA, the National Trust and the Forestry Commission for two days of action in recent weeks.

Six riders were spoken during the operation in Coniston, Torver, Broughton, Kirkby Moor, Satterthwaite and Grizedale.

The crackdown came after five trail motorcyclists were prosecuted for going off-road in an area of special scientific interest in December and January.

If they're caught again, their vehicles could be seized and crushed.

Sgt Rupert Johnston of the Ulverston and Furness Policing team said: “These have been very successful days of action which have targeted the illegal and anti-social use of motor vehicles that have been abusing our countryside.
 
“Most of the off-road routes in the area we cover are illegal to drive on – including by motorcyclists. There are a small number of legal routes but it is important that motorists research and seek advice to check they are driving legally.
 
“We are intending to run a number of further operations this summer as we are determined to do all we can to prevent further damage to the fells and distress to our residents and visitors.”
 
Coniston and Hawkshead’s PCSO, Emma Forrester, responded to the concerns of her community and liaised with all the agencies to put together the operation. She said: “I am delighted by the enthusiasm of all involved, including the partners, the community and colleagues from the police.”

A South Lakes charity is amongst those getting a share of £1.8million of Lottery funding in the North West.

The Big Lottery fund's awarded nearly £7,000 to Sight Advice South Lakes.

It'll be used for an awareness project to educate people in Kendal about the needs of the visually impaired; as well as the importance of looking after your own eyes.

Lyn Cole, Big Lottery Fund, England Grant Making Director, said: “It’s great to see so many inspirational projects being funded this month, whether it's providing positive opportunities for young people at risk of crime, raising health awareness for vulnerable women during pregnancy, or improving the lives of visually impaired people. They are all excellent examples of people working together, often as volunteers, to support others in their community to build on the skills they have and reach their potential.”

The new Keswick to Grasmere A591 shuttle-bus will start operating today, following a successful test run on the route last week.

A team from Stagecoach and Cumbria County Council drove the full length of the route, including the new temporary road and Bailey bridges to ensure that there were no issues that would cause problems for the service.

After a walking inspection of the temporary road, the bus successfully made its way along the forest road and across the route's two temporary bridges.

A dedicated team of 10 drivers will cover the route. You can view a video of the test run here: 

David Lee-Kong, Operations Director at Stagecoach, said the test went very well: "The temporary road’s been constructed to a good standard and we had no issues with getting our bus over safely. We’ll now get all the drivers comfortable with the route and get ready for Tuesday. I’m pleased we’re able to offer this service and hope that it provides assistance to local people affected by the closure of the A591.”

Keith Little, Cumbria County Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said he's delighted the shuttle service can begin: “That's testament to the great job Thomas Armstrong Ltd have done on the road construction.

"This service won’t solve all the problems caused by the road closure but it will assist a very many people currently having to do difficult commutes to and from work. The over-riding priority is to get the full road reopened.”

The bus service will connect with existing bus services at Grasmere.  

It will operate on an hourly basis from 7am until 7pm six days a week, with a two hourly service on a Sunday between 10am and 5pm, and offer a journey time of 45 minutes; cutting the existing journey time between the two locations by almost two hours.

Buses will leave Keswick at 5 minutes past the hour and leave Grasmere at 10 minutes to the hour (apart from the first bus of the day which will depart at 7am).

Users of the service will also benefit from significantly reduced  ticket prices with Dayrider passes covering the two locations priced at £5 (previous equivalent of £10.80) and weekly Megarider tickets priced at £20 (previously £27.30).

Pick up and drop off points will be at all the usual 555 service stops, with the exception of those between Wythburn Church and the Dam road end (the closed section of the A591 alongside Thirlmere).

The bus will bypass the damaged sections of the A591 beside Thirlmere by using the minor road along the western shore of the reservoir; it will then cross the A591 at the bottom of Dunmail Raise and proceed up the temporary road before reconnecting with the A591 at the summit of Dunmail Raise.

The road was designed by the council’s contractors Capita and is being built by local firm Thomas Armstrong Ltd.

While the temporary road will not be open to private vehicle traffic, the potential for this to happen has not been ruled out.

Given the temporary nature of the road, engineers have advised that there should be a period of time allowed to monitor the impact of the shuttle-bus on the road’s integrity before any decision can be made about allowing higher volumes of traffic to use the road.

A lorry driver has admitted causing the death of a Cumbrian woman in an early morning road crash.

Today, Carlisle Crown Court heard that 52-year-old Adam Rybicki was travelling on the wrong side of the road when his HGV collided with a Ford Focus.

The crash occurred on the A6, south of Shap, just after 6.45am on the 12th of January.

Driving the Focus was 54-year-old Kathleen Bellas, from Shap, who worked as a receptionist at Kendal's Queen Katherine School.

She was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

During a 10-minute court hearing, Rybicki pleaded guilty to a charge of causing Mrs Bellas's death by dangerous driving.

Judge Peter Hughes QC adjourned the case and asked for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

Rybicki, who is from Poland, was remanded on bail.

One of the conditions is that he resides at an address in Luton.

He will be sentenced at the crown court next month.

Local charity action group, Hand on Heart Kendal Campaign have reached their halfway target of supplying every Kendal school with a life saving defibrillator.

Hand on Heart is a national charity which wants to see a defibrillator in every school nationwide.

Between 12 – 16 young people die every week in the UK from sudden cardiac arrest. 

A group of Kendal business women took on the challenge of making all 40 Kendal schools heartsafe in 2011.

Campaign spokeswoman, Annette Ritson from Net Development, said “It’s fabulous that 22 out of 40 schools now have this life saving equipment available but we will not rest until every school in our area has a defibrillator” 

To find out if your school is protected visit the dedicated Kendal Campaign webpage on the Hand on Heart charity website and check facebook for regular updates about the Kendal Campaign and how you can get involved to help raise more vital funds.

Students are urged to get involved and nominate their school by visiting the Hand on Heart website. 

A Kendal mother is inspiring other parents to have fun days out with their young children in Cumbria, through a beautiful picture book that encapsulates the personal joy this has brought her.

Bonnie Quantz has written the book, ‘Happy Days Out in the Lake District’ having spent many such days enjoying simple pleasures, or visiting some of the county’s attractions, with her three-year-old daughter.

‘Happy Days Out in the Lake District’ references 17 different places in which parents and grandparents can create indelible memories with their pre-school children and grandchildren.

Locations and activities include feeding ducks at Coniston Water, splashing in puddles at Tarn Hows, seeing shiny steam engines at Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, looking at mountains from an Ullswater Steamer and running around the stones at Castlerigg.

The illustrations encourage children to recall their day out when back at home, using many different visual prompts to interact and talk about their experience.

This helps with verbal development and reading, whilst finding Arbie the Owl, hidden somewhere within every scene, assists their observational skills.

‘Happy Days Out in the Lake District’ is just the first of a series of such books that Bonnie plans to write, working alongside Piers.

Bonnie says: “My days out with my daughter in Cumbria created special memories that I soon realised we needed to preserve in some way, which is how the idea for the book emerged.

"The books are a perfect way for families to remember their own days out in the Lakes, whether they have visited one of the attractions or enjoyed a picnic by a lake, but as well as being a keepsake, are also a lovely gift purchase.”

Bonnie is marketing the books in Cumbria, arranging book signings and also focusing on the drive-time area from which visitors from outside the county frequently come.

In this way, she hopes to help boost the Cumbrian economy after its setback with the December floods, by encouraging families to visit.

She says: “The books can be sold not just by visitor attractions and bookshops, but also hotels and guesthouses that wish to encourage families to keep visiting, or realise how much there is to explore, if they keep returning.

Bonnie’s book also has a charitable element to it.

Ten per cent of the money generated by sales of both the paperback and board forms of the book will be donated to CHICKS – a charity that provides disadvantaged children, from across the UK and from a variety of backgrounds, with respite breaks.

Bonnie’s next project with Piers is a colouring book that sits alongside the board book and which allows the child to colour in people, animals and objects that they can see in the book’s illustrations.

This encourages them to use the same colours as in the book and assists with creativity and artistic development.

Women and families across Cumbria and North Lancashire have set out some clear messages about what a great maternity service would look like.

In a report published by Healthwatch Cumbria following a big engagement exercise last November targeting women and families with recent experience of maternity services, there were generally high levels of satisfaction with the care received at all stages of pregnancy and after the birth of the baby.

However, there were comments about how services could be improved and these are now being taken into consideration by those currently working on the redesign of maternity services following the independent review of maternity services by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG).

There were consistent messages about a number of things. 

- The importance of having the same small team of staff looking after women throughout pregnancy, labour, delivery and after the birth of the baby

- The consistency and quality of the information received including to help them make decisions and choices 

- Support for breast feeding

- Accessibility of services and choice.

The findings have already been shared with the implementation group which is developing a feasibility study on the cost, viability and risks of maintaining four consultant-led maternity units at Barrow, Carlisle, Lancaster and Whitehaven.

The public engagement was led by Healthwatch Cumbria, working with the Maternity Services Liaison Committees which include women with experience of using local maternity services and representatives from local NHS organisations.

It targeted women who have used maternity services in the last five years, their partners, families and birth supporters and those who may become pregnant in the future.

The above findings came from 1,234 completed questionnaires which were analysed independently by the Health and Social Care Evaluation Team at the University of Cumbria.

There were also more than 70 events and drop-in sessions across West, North and East Cumbria and more than 30 opportunities for people to share their views at engagement sessions in South Cumbria and North Lancashire.

During the engagement feedback was sought on all stages of maternity care, before, during and after the birth of the baby.

Almost nine out of ten (88%) of those responding were positive about the antenatal care they received.

The reasons for those reporting unsatisfactory experiences included car parking difficulties, uncomfortable conditions at some community venues and excessive travels.

Those reporting low levels of satisfaction cited staff members not listening to them particularly in terms of their birthing plan and pain relief and staff being overstretched.

Overall, there was a high level of confidence (90%) reported in relation to leaving hospital after the birth of the baby.

Those who felt anxious on leaving hospital gave reasons including feeling that they were being discharged too soon after long and traumatic births, anxiety about breastfeeding and women feeling unprepared for discharge.

Once home the majority reported good or excellent levels of support.

The report published by Healthwatch Cumbria, which is available in full here, focuses on the evaluation of the questionnaire.

Sue Stevenson from Healthwatch Cumbria said: “We welcomed the close working with the MSLCs which helped us to contact so many women and their families in communities right across Cumbria and North Lancashire. 

"Their response has shown very high levels of interest in maternity care.

"While it also showed generally high levels of satisfaction with current services, it was clear where improvements could be made to make sure that future services meet the needs and wishes of local women and their families.

"We are very pleased that discussions are already taking place to make sure that the comments we received will influence the way services are provided.” 

The implementation group, set up following the independent review of maternity services by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), has been meeting since last summer and is chaired by Dr David Rogers, medical director of NHS Cumbria CCG.

It includes Dr Anthony Falconer a former past president of the RCOG who led the independent review, Cath Broderick, doctors, senior local midwives, representatives from Healthwatch Cumbria and local MSLCs.

Its work is expected to be completed by spring 2016.

It will feed into the development of a clinical strategy by the Success Regime in West, North and East Cumbria and to Better Care Together in South Cumbria and North Lancashire.

It is also taking into account the recommendations following the Morecambe Bay Investigation.

People in Keswick and its surrounding villages who joined the Big Allerdale Switch are now saving an average of £291 on their annual energy bills.

It's an initiative which has collectively saved residents more than £33,500 on their annual gas and electricity bills in the past.

Householders can still sign up to the community energy bulk-buying scheme - the next auction is in late March.

Councillor Carni McCarron-Holmes, Allerdale Borough Council’s executive member for housing and health, said: “We love how successful the Big Allerdale Switch has become. Our residents have saved thousands of pounds on their energy bills since the scheme was introduced. This council has made reducing poverty a key priority and we hope that this energy switching initiative can be extended so residents’ savings continue to increase.”
 
George Frost, UK Country Manager, iChoosr Ltd added: “Last year we helped councils participating in our schemes to save their residents more than £10 million. We are kick-starting this year with more fantastic savings for residents.
 
“The Government’s current Power To Switch campaign is attempting to grow the one in 10 households which engage in the switching market and that is precisely what council-led collective schemes have been doing over the last three years. 
 
“Our inclusive schemes are accessible to all households irrespective of whether they are on credit or prepayment meters and, furthermore, many councils make the schemes available to households without internet access through their paper registration.”

Story Homes has secured planning permission from South Lakeland District Council for a 71 home development in Kendal.

The housing firm’s second development in the town, will be built on the Kendal Parks Farm site.

The scheme will include new affordable housing, areas of open space, landscaping, and improvements to the existing children’s play area.

Story Homes’ other development in Kendal, The Beeches off Natland Road has proved popular with buyers, and recently won a UK Property Award.

David Hayward, development planner at the firm said that over a third of the new homes would be “affordable” and exclusively for people with local roots.

Mr Hayward said: “The new development will include 25 ‘affordable’ homes available to rent and to buy which will be allocated to people with a local connection.

“Following the grant of outline consent we asked those living in households adjacent to the site for their comments, so that we could feed these into the preparation of our detailed plans.

“The high quality of our houses is well known, and also our dedication to building developments which complement the local area, through thoughtful planning and design.”

Located 2km to the south east of the town centre, the Kendal Parks Farm site is close to a number of bus routes as well as several local facilities which would be supported by the new homes.

Story Homes says that the scheme will bring a number of benefits for the local community, with local contractors given opportunities to tender for work, as well as an increased demand for local services when the new houses are occupied.

Kendal's Festival of Food returns to town next month, for the seventh time.

It's back on the 12th and 13th of March.

A brand new feature includes a ‘Grow Your Own’ area in Wainwright’s Yard.

The festival will also be bringing four lifesized model sheep to town from the Go Herdwick Calvert Trust project, along with 12 Go Herdwick lambs for a more unusual game of hide and seek around the town.

More than 80 stalls of regional produce are also booked in.

More information is here.

Residents, visitors and businesses are being given the chance to find out more about the work that got started in Bowness this week.

Glebe Road and its surrounding area is being improved, with a new layout to re-locate on-street parking away from the waterfront and create better footways, carriageways, and public spaces.

A drop-in session's being held on Friday between 11:30am and 12:30pm at the Burnside Hotel.

Representatives from the contractor Casey, Capita, and the County Council will be attending so this is an ideal opportunity to come along and meet those involved in the construction phase, and raise any concerns or issues.

Access to public parking at Braithwaite Fold car park during half term has been a concern and they are pleased that SLDC have been able to reassure businesses that public parking will be available at Braithwaite Fold this week. It will also be open at Easter.  

Capita has also confirmed that their scheme construction will stop during the Easter school holidays and restart afterwards.

The Lakes Hospitality Trade Show returns to Cumbria next week - but this time, it's at a new location.

It's on the 24th and 25th of February at the Rural Auction House in Crooklands, just off junction 36 of the M6.  

The trade-only event's previous home was in the central lakes, but it's been moved to attract more interest from outside the area, due to easier and quicker access by road.

More information about the show is here.

Improvement work on Kendal's junction with Romney Road and Milnthorpe Road will continue from Monday.

Work to improve the junction started last month, but were postponed when Victoria Bridge was closed after recent flood damage to the river bed.

Now the bridge has reopened, work will resume on the Romney Road & Milnthorpe Road junction, with temporary traffic lights in place - which will be operated manually at peak times to help reduce congestion.

Councillor Keith Little, Cumbria County Council Cabinet member for highways, said: “I’m pleased that we’ve been able to reopen Victoria Bridge after repairing damage caused in the floods. We appreciate that the bridge closure caused disruption getting around the town and we’d like to thank drivers for their patience during this period. The Romney Road junction improvement works were suspended to try to ease congestion during the bridge closure but now we can get on with completing this work as soon as possible.”

It's hoped the work will be completed by mid-March, subject to weather conditions.

During the works, vehicles will not be able to exit Romney Road on to Milnthorpe Road due to a temporary road closure. Vehicles will be diverted via Lound Road and Milnthorpe Road.