A Quick Reminder: Looking back through the archives of The Keswick Reminder from around this week 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago.
20 years ago
Children In Need
Keswick Lions were on the Market Square last Saturday, collecting for Children In Need, and raised £887.00. In this special effort the Lions were supported by Peter Nelson of Cars of the Stars who loaned Del Boy’s Reliant Regal which attracted many locals and residents.
The new ‘friendly’ traffic wardens gave their support by booking the Del Boy vehicle for parking on the Market Square – in spite of the bright yellow lines!!
30 years ago
Letter to the Editor
A recent public meeting in Keswick called for union with Eden; yet Keswick Town Council, so far as it has an opinion, appears to favour the Victorian tenet “always keep tight hold of Nurse for the fear of meeting something worse”, and to trot along dutifully behind Allerdale as before.
Yet Eden has much in common with Keswick (even if “neighbours never agree”) and indeed Threlkeld – only four miles from Keswick – is already in Eden. Keswick has little in common with the bulk of Allerdale where the emphasis is on Workington, Cockermouth, etc. Despite rumours to the contrary, the timeshare lodges are Allerdale’s (not Keswick’s) baby, and cannot be conveniently unloaded.
Whatever Keswickians think, they have each a chance to influence the outcome. Write, in plain speech, to the Local Government Commission before January, and state your views. Otherwise, if you stay silent, the result could be worse than it needs to be.
Jeremy Godwin
Penrith
40 years ago
Publicity association
Wednesday night’s annual meeting of Keswick Publicity Association heard a call from hotelier Mr. Fred Wilkinson for money to be put into tourism by Allerdale Council to counter the adverse publicity which the area has received from the Sellafield nuclear waste controversy. Tourism, he said, was the only sound industry in the district in the area and Allerdale should put forward money to counter the “awful publicity” from the Sellafield issue.
However Mr. Michael Phelan felt the Association should “let sleeping pipes lie” and commented that the fact there had been a plant there had never previously acted adversely on Keswick and the Lake District as a whole.
Mr. Paul Coleman queried whether the Association should write to Sellafield but Mrs. Jan Lysser said: “If a letter is sent there you should look into press and T.V. coverage as well. It is scaremongering how it is reported. I think it is terrible the way it has been blown up by press and television.”
After the chairman Sean Crawford had said this was not an area in which the Association had not become involved in the past members decided to take no further action.
However they did renew their call on Allerdale Council to put money into tourism and give financial support to the Association.
Planner to hold fresh talks on Keswick garden battle
The Lake District Planning Board have kept their options open on the controversial proposed re-development at Tithebarn Street, Keswick.
The Board’s Development Control Committee on Tuesday decided to seek a site meeting with the County Highways Authority to see if an access to the site can be agreed without the need to compulsory purchase Miss Ethel Young’s garden at the rear of her home in lower Main Street.
The Board’s solicitor Mr. John Chapman told the meeting: “Legally we have not issued the planning consent. You are committed in principle only and are negotiating the best development for the Board and for Keswick. If you want to break it off, you should refuse consent. Your options are still open.”
Referring to Keswick Town Councillor Eric Impey’s threat to report the issue to the Ombudsman, Mr. Chapman said: “I hope these deliberations this afternoon amply demonstrate that there are no ‘skeletons in the cupboard’.”
Committee chairman Roger Hannah said: “I am delighted to see we haven’t committed ourselves to a planning permission that there is no way out of.”
Concern was expressed about the attitude of Keswick Town Council who, according to Chief Planning Officer Rex Baynes, had always supported the re-development of the site but now said they were not prepared to support the acquisition of the garden and instead wanted the end chopping off the development to form an alternative access.
Keswick Civic Society had also written saying they have reservations about the additional shops in Tithebarn Street and are reluctant to see residential development on the first floor.
Mr. Baynes said planning consent for the proposed shops and flats would not be issued until the developers, Twinames, had signed an agreement to acquire the land after compulsory purchase. “This they have not yet done,” he said, and added that even if they did not get the garden plot, rear service access would still be needed.
Up to now the County Surveyor has agreed that any direct access from Heads Toad would be too dangerous and would take up so much of the area that re-development would be impractical.
Mrs. Muriel Dinning said: I am concerned about the attitude of Keswick Town Council. They wanted it for a long time and now they have asked us to drop it.” Board chairman Peter Phizacklea felt there had been a “turnabout” within the organisations of Keswick.
Mr. Joe Valentine asked: “Why has Keswick Town Council backed down? It’s the euphoria built up by the media.” However Mrs. Margaret Capstick commented: “We are not committed to giving the developers everything they want.”
50 years ago
Ramblers’ Association
At a meeting of the Ramblers’ Association held at Kendal last Saturday, Mr. Christopher Hall, National Secretary, criticised British Rail for what he termed their “deliberate policy” which is causing the Windermere railway line – the last railway into the heart of the Lake District National Park – to die by inches.
Mr. Hall pointed out that this year the Lake District had suffered the worst traffic jams in its history. The Planning Board and the local authorities are desperately and belatedly trying to work out a traffic management scheme, but the motorway network is pouring more cars into the national park every year. After giving details of the disgraceful condition of Windermere station, the poor service and the worst connections in the history of the line, and the many inconveniences caused by the electrification of the main line, Mr. Hall put forward a four-point plan which, he said, would show “whether British Rail mean environmental business or not.” The plan was:
1. Restore sidings facilities at Windermere, so that excursion trains can use the branch again.
2. Restore the Carnforth connections with the West Riding and East Midlands.
3. Give the Windermere branch a better service and main line connections, plus a Sunday service.
4. Create an integrated Lake District rail/bus network based on Windermere with buses connecting to the trains, through rail/bus tickets available from B.R. stations and aggressive publicity.
Electrification of the main line, Mr. Hall considered, brings the opportunity to revitalise the branch line and put the Lake District back on the British Rail map, from which it has almost vanished with the closure of the lines to Keswick, Coniston and Lakeside. The Windermere line, considered, is an asset which could have a vital role to play in any sensible traffic management scheme for the Lake District.
