Proposals to improve on-street parking and traffic movement in Keswick have been given a resounding thumbs down by residents, businesses and visitors.
Cumbria County Council’s so-called Back Streets plan was unveiled earlier this year as part of a wider Keswick Transport Study, with the aim of finding solutions for increasingly congested residential streets.
The package included a Community Parking Management Scheme, which would provide a flexible approach to control parking through permits and was the result of engagement with local residents, businesses and other stakeholders
But following an initial online public consultation, in which 400 people submitted views, the majority were against the proposals.
Around half said they lived within the scheme, while nearly three quarters either lived or worked in the area concerned. However, a little less than half of those who responded were ‘residents’ who did not permanently live in the area concerned.
Tony Lywood, a county councillor for Keswick, said he was keen to know how many of those against the proposals were permanent residents in the area concerned.
But he also said that the results of the consultation meant the council had to go back to drawing board.
“These initial responses are partial and I need to see the full report due at Christmas to get a full understanding of what the residents want and what is to be done. But it’s clear that the proposals as put out are now seriously in question and it’s a question now of abandoning the project or coming up with other options,” he said.
“I am also disappointed that the council did not engage more with the various stakeholders and take on board the wishes of the residents and B&B owners who pretty much worked together and put forward a set of proposals that suited many who lived in the area concerned.
“Instead they chose to ignore that counsel and go for a binary option that is now clearly not wanted. In the end for me it’s another case of those who live far away not listening to the locality who live and work permanently in the area.
“I would also like to say that the Cumbria County Council highways officers have done their very best under difficult circumstances and they are hugely under resourced and understaffed.”
The Keswick Transport Study was undertaken in 2019 and jointly funded by Cumbria County Council, the Lake District National Park Authority, Allerdale Borough Council and Keswick Town Council.
A number of its proposals have already been put in place, including an additional 296 car parking spaces at Skiddaw Street, Rawnsley Hall, the Pencil Museum and Keswick Rugby Club, as well as 70 pop-up spaces.
There has also been the introduction of the park and sail initiative, which enables visitors to park at Keswick Rugby Club and sail across Derwentwater to Catbells and walks on the western shore.
The full report by Cumbria County Council Highways is due by the end of the year.
