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This
page archives 2007 Old News items.
Return
to News
Natland.info
Update: 2007 Summary
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Those
who read the Parish Council's notice board
outside the Post Office will have seen a
new poster (reproduced on the right) promoting
Natland.info to anyone who wants
to be kept up-to-date about what is happening
in Natland.
In
2007, Natland.info published the
dates for over 130 village events and featured
more than 150 items of local news, including:
- Reports
on all Parish Council Meetings
- Details
of all new Planning Applications
- Monthly
Wildlife Notes
- Monthly
Weather Reports
- Neighbourhood
Forum Reports
- Neighbourhood
Watch Alerts
- Village
Hall 200 Club Winning Numbers
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December
was a relatively quiet month for news. Only four
update alerts were issued of which three were each opened
at least 72 times however the fourth was less succesful.
The
number of visitors to the web site was a bit down on the previous year. George's
Story and the Wildlife
page proved popular.
Record
of visitors to www.natland.info/News (previous
year in grey)
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July
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Aug
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Sept
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Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
|
502
|
372
|
347
|
356
|
381
|
314
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
231
|
238
|
197
|
251
|
303
|
330
|
307
|
313
|
358
|
373
|
551
|
453
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If you are
not on the list to receive e-mail notification of significant new items
so that you don't have to remember to visit the website, click on
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Editor, 8th
January 2008
Natland
Weather Report
Summary
of the month:
December
was a month of contrasts. The first and last weeks were
mild and very wet. The middle of the month was freezing
but dry.
Despite
the very wet months of June and July, the annual rainfall
for 2007 was 56 inches, only one more than 2006.
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Rainfall
for Month
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Average
Temperature at 8 a.m.
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|
|
2007
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2006
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2007
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2006
|
|
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mm
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ins
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mm
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ins
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oC
|
oC
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December
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187
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7.5
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213.5
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8.5
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2.8
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4.2
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November
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77.5
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3.1
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142.5
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5.7
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6.2
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6.2
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October
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69
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2.8
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175.5
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7.0
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8.3
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9.6
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September
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87
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3.5
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126
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5.0
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11.1
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13.1
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August
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103.5
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4.1
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118.5
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4.7
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14.1
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13.7
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July
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224.5
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9.0
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35.5
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1.4
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14.0
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16.9
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June
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129.5
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5.2
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53.5
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2.1
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14.2
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14.2
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May
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77
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3.1
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110
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4.4
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11.2
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9.7
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April
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72
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2.9
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80
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3.2
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8.8
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6.2
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March
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85.5
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3.4
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152
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6.1
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5.1
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2.5
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February
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67
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2.7
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92.5
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3.7
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2.6
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3.6
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January
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197.5
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7.9
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100
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4.0
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5.1
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2.6
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November
had again lower rainfall than usual. The first
half of the month was particularly dry. The avaerage
temperature was exactly the same as 2006.
October
has been the driest month of the year in marked contrast
to 2006. It has been cooler with several nights producing
ground frost.
We had some quite cold days towards the end of September,
which brought the average down. Rainfall was below average due to a dry spell in the
first half of the month.
After
a very wet July, August was back to normal both
temperature and rainfall being average.
July
was the wettest month in Natland since August 2004 !
Although we have had more rain than parts of the country
where serious flooding occurred, it has been more evenly
spread and the geography of the district means that
the rivers soon drain the water. As to be expected,
the month was cooler than usual.
In
common with the rest of the country, June was
very wet. We did, however, escape the torrential rainfall
as it was spread more evenly during the month. The worst
day was the 28th when we had 35 mm in 6 hours. Temperatures
were not too bad although it was certainly not
"Flaming June"!
Although
rainfall in May was similar to April, it was
spread more evenly over the month. Unusually, we had
dryer weather than in the South East of England! The
temperatures were more typical for May than last year,
which was cold.
We
had no rain until 20th April! We then had nearly
2 inches on 23rd / 24th April. The total is not unusual
for April and the temperature was similar to 2004. Last
year was cooler than average.
In
common with the rest of the winter, March was
warmer than last year. Rainfall was down but 2006 was
very wet so this year is similar to 2004 and 2005.
We had a rare snowfall on 18 March.
February
was mild with freezing temperatures only at the start
of the month.
Rainfall was higher than last year
but not "February fill dyke" by any means.
We
had a very wet and stormy start to the year, although
mild for January. Most of the rainfall was recorded
in the first three weeks when only one day was dry.
There was a slight sprinkling of snow on the 23rd but
we still await any significant snow this winter.
Statistics
and comment kindly supplied by John Dobson
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Weather
Forecast
To
see the weather
forecast for the Natland and Kendal area try the following links:
If
you are going walking in the hills you might find it
helpful to consult
Monday
Club Do It Themselves!
At
the December meeting of the Monday Club the normal procedure
of an invited speaker was abandoned in favour of a "do
it yourself" afternoon of entertainment by the
members. This was entered into with great gusto,
and there were some 16 different items, including seasonal
poetry, stories and music. The "pièce de résistance"
came at the end when 4 members (plus a narrator) produced
a mini-pantomime of Cinderella which provided a fitting
and hilarious climax to a most enjoyable afternoon of
entertainment.
Afterwards
there was a splendid seasonal buffet (partly sponsored
by winnings from the Village Hall 200 Club). All
in all, an afternoon to remember.
Paul
Singleton, 30th December 2007
Parish
Council News
Upper
Kent Neighbourhood Forum Report
Topics
discussed on Wednesday 12th December 2007 included:
Harvesting
the Wind: Wind turbines and the issues to
be considered locally and
nationally.
Support
for Voluntary Groups: The Cumbrian Council
for Voluntary Services
reoganisation
explained.
University
Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust: what
Foundation Trust status would mean and details of the
open day when people can look at plans for the future
and get more details of the consultation process.
Harvesting
the Wind
Jenny
Wain, Principal Planning Officer with Cumbria County
Council, explained that as national government supports
the production of wind energy to help combat climate
change, Local Authorities need to favourably consider
renewable energy proposals. To help with
this, Cumbria County Council, in partnership with
the Cumbrian local planning authorities, has produced
a Supplementary Planning Document for Wind Energy to
provide consistent policy guidance. Wind is currently
the most advanced renewable energy source. Nationally
the target for 2020 is to have 20% of our energy sourced
from renewable sources. The Cumbrian target for 2020
is 256 megawatts of energy through wind power. It
currently produces 81 megawatts, leaving a shortfall
of 175 megawatts, though applications already in the
pipeline, being considered or going to Appeal could
contribute to this figure. Jenny said there are plans
for more wind energy in Cumbria and developers are keen
to hit both regional and Cumbrian targets. Applications
have to meet identified criteria including issues of
Visual Effect, Aircraft, Radar, Telecommunications
and Bio-diversity
Applications
have to be looked at in detail and assessed as to whether
potential energy production would offset other issues,
including whether the landscape has the capacity and
ability to accommodate the turbines, and the guidance
document is of use to everyone in the decision making
process.
Stuart
Proven and Martin Earl of Banks Development introduced
themselves and explained their involvement in property
development, energy development, minerals and clean
coal technology as well as wind power. They
stressed the government's push for renewable energy
is driven by climate change, but there is also a need
for reliable, indigenous energy supplies. Stuart
acknowledged there are a number of constraints as to
where schemes can be sited and confirmed the Armitstead
site plans were at a relatively early stage. A
spoken report has been submitted to South Lakeland District
Council. It is for the Council to carry out consultation
and let the organisation know what issues need to be
addressed. Some schemes stop because of insurmountable
issues. Stuart said although a public exhibition
of the scheme was held in August, the size and number
of turbines for the proposed Armitstead site was not
decided and a planning application would go in in March
2008 at the earliest. A planning application
for a wind monitoring mast has been made to South Lakeland
District Council to check which type of turbine would
be most suitable.
Queries
were raised about 2020 targets in the light of a recent
announcement by John Hutton. Jenny suggested it
would be several years before offshore turbines make
any contribution to the National Grid. Concerns
were expressed over suggested misleading statistics
at the public exhibition, but Stuart stressed it was
made very clear that this was very much a preliminary
layout. Stuart confirmed the factors which influence
size and number of turbines. Queries were
raised over the non-development of hydro-electric power
in Cumbria.
The
environmental reasons why large scale hydro schemes
would be unlikely to be developed were explained by
Kearon McNicol and Councillor Collins explained the
demise of small scale turbines following water privatisation
in the 1980's. Jenny confirmed there are regional
targets for hydro-electric but these are very small.
Support
for Voluntary Groups
Janet
Cherry explained how the five regional offices in Cumbria
had recently amalgamated to form Cumbria Council for
Voluntary Service. Cumbria CVS supplies a free
service supporting the voluntary sector in looking for
funding, training, advice on trusteeships etc. It
can also support social enterprises.
Janet
mentioned recent work Cumbria CVS has undertaken for
the Primary Care Trust and Local Strategic Partnerships
on health issues. She also mentioned that it can
help with office services, photocopying, payroll and
Human Resources and has an extensive library. The
Service publishes two monthly magazines - Funding News
- and a newsletter for the voluntary sector.
Cumbria
Council for Voluntary Service can be contacted on 01539
742627
University
Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust
Steve
Vaughan, Director of Operations, explained the Trust's
application for Foundation Trust status. As a Foundation
Trust, patients, public and staff have the opportunity
to join a membership scheme and elect representatives
onto the Foundation Trust's Council of Governors. The
Council of Governors will be made up of 17 public members,
6 members of staff and seven members from partner organisations.
Steve explained the benefits of Foundation
Trust status and explained how people could become members.
It is hoped to have 5,000 members by March 2008.
Open days are being held when people can look
at plans for the future and get more details of the
consultation process. - the Open Day at Westmorland
General Hospital will be from 3 - 7 p.m. on 10th January
2008.
Steve
was asked if this was privatisation by the back door?
He confirmed the Trust would still be part of
the NHS, but because of the contractual framework would
have less bureaucracy which would, in turn, improve
health care delivery. Steve confirmed the
Trust is paid a fixed tariff by the Primary Care Trust
on the basis of work done, and would remain subject
to the high professional standards of the NHS.
Concerns
were raised over bad medical experiences - unavailable
treatments and cancelled appointments. He was
also asked if there would be a net reduction in the
number of administrators. He confirmed that as
part of recovering the financial deficit, the Trust
has to become more efficient, and explained that the
Trust needed to make 3% savings year on year just to
stand still. One of the benefits of Foundation
Trust status is that the Trust would be able to accrue
benefits and deficits. For more information on
the consultation call 01539 732288.
This
Neighbourhood Forum is organised by Cumbria County Council
in order to encourage communication between residents,
service providers and Councillors. The Forums
can give details about issues of interest to local people
and give a chance to raise concerns and ideas for the
area. The next Upper Kent
Neighbourhood Forum will be held at 7.30pm on Tuesday 4th March at Old Hutton Village Hall
Kathy Craig,
Upper Kent Neighbourhood Forum, 28th December 2007
Meals
on Wheels- Help Needed
Could
you spare an hour or so each month?
This
valuable service delivers hot meals to appropriate
residents in Natland & Endmoor on Monday,
Wednesday & Friday lunch times.
New
volunteers are needed so
if you could spare an hour or so each month
to undertake these deliveries in your own
car (mileage allowance paid) or to help
an existing driver, please contact
Margaret Shore 015396 61027
Margaret
Shore, 14th December 2007
Friends
say "Thanks" re Helm
Friends
of the Lake District (FLD) would like to thank everyone
who joined us in November for our Open Day at Helm and
really appreciated everyone's help and enthusiasm on
the day - especially given the weather! There will be
some conservation work parties and other events on FLD
land at Helm in 2008 and the dates will be available
soon. Everyone will be welcome to join us and we look
forward to meeting more local people and working with
you on our land. Best wishes for Christmas from all
at FLD.
Judith
Moore, Friends of the Lake District, 14th December 2007
Helm
360 degree panavista- click on picture for enlargement
Public
Access versus Open Access
FLD
have alerted me to a technical error in the recent item
Helm:
Nearly All Open Day. They
explain that they
haven't yet dedicated the first part of Helm they bought
as Open Access land - in fact they haven't yet decided
the best way of going about creating a legal right of
permanent public access, as it is also possible to do
this by creating a new Common. So there will be Public
Access, which is what people need to know, but it isn't
all Open Access land yet!
Editor,
14th December 2007
Way
to Go! Or Not?
Natlanders
may well have noticed a flurry of activity on the footpaths
around the village (and elsewhere) with the appearance
of new waymark signs and some other welcome improvements
such as vegetation clearing and a new footbridge on
the footpath down by Little Cracalt.
There
is one sign that has caused a raised eyebrow or two-
that pointing directly across the River Kent where the
road down from Sedgwick turns sharp left. This
is not in fact an error- it is the site of an ancient
ford and the right-of-way goes across the river- though
some might question the wisdom of actively directing
people into the water when there is a perfectly good
footbridge not far upstream and a road bridge downstream
offering drier and safer options!
Natland
Parish Council Chair, David Peters, believes that the
activity is probably related to a statement in the July
2007 update on the County Council's Local Transport
Plan which admitted that target for the ease of use
of the public rights-of-way network were being missed.
He hopes that SLDC will be able to add Dog
Fouling signs to appropriate waymark posts
in the near future.
Editor,
8th December 2007
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St.
Mark's School
News
Christmas
Craft Workshops
Over
100 children enjoyed a creative Saturday
last week at our annual Christmas craft
workshops.
Volunteer
staff, parents and friends of the school
ran stalls at which the children made a
wide range of different decorations and
Christmas gifts.
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Jack
and Barmy Brainstorm
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Christmas
Entertainment
The
whole school enjoyed a traditional pantomime
this week, in the comfort of their own hall.
Instead
of making a trip out to a local theatre
this year we invited Chaplins
Entertainment to bring their
production of Jack and the Beanstalk
to school.
With
excellent sets, songs and costumes and an
energetic troop of young actors they brought
an original version of the story to life.
The
children joined in with gusto and left the
sound of laughter ringing in all our ears.
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Barmy
Brainstorm mixes a magic potion
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He's
behind you!
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German
Christmas Traditions
Children
from our new German club made Christmas stockings this
week. They laid them out over night on the 5th December,
as is traditional in Germany. If children have been
good then the next day should find the stocking filled
with sweets. If not, they can expect only twigs. Fortunately
our budding linguists found what they were hoping for
on Thursday morning !
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German
Christmas Stockings .....
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.....
filled with Goodies!
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Peter
Barfoot, Headteacher, 7th December 2007
Natland
& Oxenholme Village Hall 200 Club
Winning Numbers
Did
you know that for only £1 per month you can support
the Village Hall and win the chance of a prize every
month in the
200 Club draw?
The winning
numbers were:
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Prize:
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1st
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2nd
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3rd
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December
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4
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70
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83
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November
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41
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95
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9
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October
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67
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55
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80
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September
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103
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10
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25
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August
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72
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81
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101
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July
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115
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39
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80
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June
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105
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87
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8
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May
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96
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84
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125
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April
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52
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37
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82
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March
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9
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90
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61
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February
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71
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20
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62
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January:
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124
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44
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37
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Of
course the more numbers you have, the more support you
give the Village Hall and the greater your chances of
winning! And if you take out a mortgage with the
Leeds Building Society you can nominate the Village
Hall to receive a £100 reward.
There
are plenty of numbers available. Contact Midge
Fairhurst
on 01539 731727 for more information and to book
your lucky numbers!
Midge
Fairhurst, December 2007
Planning
Applications
Several
planning applications have recently been submitted
to SLDC regarding sites in Natland. These include:
- SL/2007/1358 Stone
Gable, Newlands: Double
Garage
- SL/2007/1341
Tann Hills, Oxenholme Lane: Conservatory
- SL/2007/1315
5 Highfield Hall, Barrows Green: Front Porch
- SL/2007/1314
Highfield Lodge, Barrows Green: Single Storey Extension and
Change of Detached Equipment Store to Garage and
Store
Upper
Kent Neighbourhood Forum: December Meeting
This
Neighbourhood Forum is organised by Cumbria County Council
in order to encourage communication between residents,
service providers and Councillors. The Forums
can give details about issues of interest to local people
and give a chance to raise concerns and ideas for the
area. The Forum holds five public meetings a year
and you are v | 
