Campaigners will address town councillors this week over concerns about poorly maintained street lights along a popular Keswick thoroughfare.
Members of the Lights To The Lake project say walking along the lakeshore footpath at night has become both hazardous and frightening, and are calling for the existing lights to be replaced.
Elizabeth Barraclough, a former town and county councillor, and her fellow-campaigner Tony Welton, have already succeeded in getting Cumbria County Council to produce a detailed and costed plan for a new lighting scheme to cover the full stretch of footpath, past Hope and Crow Parks to the Derwentwater foreshore.
But they are concerned that the £35,000 scheme will be shelved when Allerdale is merged into the new unitary authority.
“I like to go to the Theatre by the Lake in the evenings, but walking back along this footpath into town afterwards is extremely unnerving because the lighting is so poor,” Elizabeth said.
“It’s also used by visitors to the town and we would hate to see accidents, or attacks, particularly on women walking alone at night.
“Discussions with Allerdale and the town council about funding were ongoing when coronavirus hit. But under a new unitary authority the plan could disappear,” she warned.
Elizabeth and Tony now plan to attend Thursday’s meeting in Keswick Town Hall to urge local councillors to keep the lighting project alive.
“£30,000 is peanuts when set against the contribution Keswick makes every year to North Cumbria funding from car parking alone,” Elizabeth said.
“It would be a tragedy if this plan were lost for purely administrative reasons when re-organisation starts next year. We hope that the town council will both champion its protection, and push for its implementation as soon as possible.”
The campaign has the support of town councillor Tony Lywood, who believes it will not necessarily be derailed by the move to a unitary authority.
He said: “As an aspiration it is something we should all get behind, and while the question of who pays for it remains to be seen, I don’t think the plan itself will be forgotten about.
“Elizabeth and Tony certainly have my full support and I hope we can work together to bring the scheme to fruition and provide proper lighting for this part of Keswick.”
