Meet the buyer event
Following on from the news of the Town Deal, just a reminder that we are inviting local firms to a 'meet-the-buyer' event to find out how they can benefit from the construction and regeneration opportunities in Allerdale and the wider Cumbria area.
The event is being organised by ourselves in partnership with Kier and Morgan Sindall.
It is designed to ensure local suppliers have the opportunity to provide services and be part of the local supply chain, thereby benefitting from the multi-million-pound schemes that are in the pipeline. The council has successfully bid for almost £40m in funding for schemes in Maryport and Workington alone.
The invite is open to all sorts of businesses – from sole traders to larger firms.
At the event attendees can talk to people from all the organisations involved. They can also get advice from the council’s procurement staff on the bidding process.
The event will also allow attendees to promote their business, develop relationships with other suppliers and apply to register as a key supply chain member.
Attendees can drop-in on the event anytime between 10am and 2pm on Thursday 30 June 2022. It is being held at Allerdale Borough Council’s office in Workington. It’s free to attend and there is no need to register.
Anyone wishing to know more about the event should contact Steve Caunce, Allerdale Borough Council’s Strategic Advisor – Capital Programmes by email at: steven.caunce@allerdale.gov.uk
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Lakesman success
Many congratulations to Catherine Nicholson and Ernie Davidson for completing the half-Lakesman on Sunday.
The event, which we support, went off really well and it was great to see so many people supporting it. The fastest time on the day for the full Lakesman was 8hours, 50 minutes and 36 seconds. I can’t even imagine how you would swim 2.4miles, cycle 112m and then run 26.2miles in that time. The first lady to finish came in at 11 hours, 4 minutes and 37 seconds which is a massive achievement.
If you wish to do it next year, entries are open now.
Image credit: The Lakesman
Allerdale Amigos
And last week I mentioned that a number of our colleagues were taking part in the Macmillan Mighty Hike on Saturday. Many congratulations to you all for taking part. I understand that they have so far raised over £2,200. But there is still time to donate at: https://www.justgiving.com/team/AllerdaleAmigos
Taste Cumbria Maryport – cake-off
It was such a success in Wigton, that we’ve decided to have a cake-off for the bakers of Maryport at Taste Cumbria in August.
So if you fancy entering, go to the Visit Allerdale website and register for the event on 13 August.
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New technology to tackle fly-tipping
Our Enforcement Team have recently purchased and will be deploying cameras at several fly-tipping hotspots across Allerdale. This is a new bit of kit to help us deter and catch those who flytip.
Officers have also been out in Workington’s Vulcans Park this week, speaking with people and repainting the stencilling warning people of the fines they face if they fail to pick up after their dog.
Armed Forces Day
This week we marked Armed Forces Day. The Mayor, Cllr Allan Daniels, led the parade at Allerdale House and raised the Armed Forces Day flag. Amongst those joining him were local school children, members of the Armed Forces, local mayors, and our Armed Forces Champion Cllr Alan Pitcher.
Local Government Reorganisation in Cumbria
You should have received an invite to an all staff briefing on Local Government Reorganisation on 4 July. Please do attend this if you can. It will be recorded for those who can’t make it.
I would ask managers to flag with staff who do not have ready access to emails – perhaps they are off on maternity leave, or are out and about – to make sure they don’t miss out and have the chance to attend if they can.
If you haven’t had an invite, contact Andrew Gilbert in the communications team.
Executive meeting
Our Executive met this week. They voted against the motion from the Overview and Scrutiny panel recommending amendments to the Delivery Plan.
They also approved the changes to the Taxi Table of Fares, the Q4 and 2021/22 Performance Report, the Affordable Housing Scheme and the update to the Climate Change Action Plan which includes activities for the next few months.
I would like to focus on the Performance Report which outlines all the achievements of the last year. It is often easy to miss all the things we have all achieved collectively, but this report details the work carried out on our priority projects. Thank you to you all.
Other meetings this week
The Overview and Scrutiny Committee will today be considering the Performance Report amongst other items. Next week sees the Licensing Regulatory Panel meeting.
Wellbeing day
Just a reminder to keep 13th July free in your diaries for the Wellbeing Day. There are lots of activities planned, plenty of opportunities to speak with colleagues about issues of importance, but also it’ll be great to get together in person again and catch up as a team.
New starters and leavers
We are welcoming a few more people to the team in the coming weeks.
Annabel Blaikie starts on Monday 27 June. She is our temporary Workington Nature Partnership Officer covering Raegan Blacker’s maternity.
And on the 1 July, Scott Roe joins us as Business Support – Customer & Fulfilment; and Rachel Pearson joins us temporarily as Business Support- Energy Assistant.
Elaine Dickinson leaves us at the end of June. Elaine has been with us for a couple of years as a cleaner, and I’d like to thank Elaine for her work over that time.
By-Election for Workington Town Council?
We have today published a Notice of Election for the Workington Town Council's Harrington Ward.
Anyone wishing to stand for election has until 4pm on 8 July to return completed nomination papers to our us. Nomination papers can be sent upon request to the elections team.
If the election is contested the poll will be held on 4 August.
Jobs at the council
There are still a few vacancies going. These are for:
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Temporary Senior Business Support - Housing Grants (12 months)
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Business Support - Customer & Fulfilment
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Senior Business Support - Information Governance
Plans submitted for the A66 Northern Trans-Pennine route
Cumbria County Council welcomes the progress by National Highways with the submission of their Development Consent Order (DCO) application for the A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) on 21 June 2022.
To ensure the project maximises the benefits for local communities and businesses along the route in Cumbria, the county council has focused on several key issues within its previous consultation responses, which seek to mitigate concerns and potentially negative impacts of the project. These include:
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Supporting the delivery of a Scotch corner to Penrith “off A66” route suitable for walking, cycling and horse riding.
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Providing high quality and dedicated service provision for HGVs along the A66 route.
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Minimising disruption for local communities and road network during construction works.
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Ensuring that key junctions, including Kemplay Bank and M6 Junction 40 are improved sufficiently to address current and future congestion.
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Providing improvements for horse-drawn traffic accessing Appleby Horse Fair on the local road network.
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Including more and smarter technology across the A66 to bolster resilience.
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Enhancing the existing strategic diversion routes, specifically the A6 and A685
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Minimising environmental harm with a clear plan for carbon offsetting.
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Maximising the socio-economic and legacy benefits and opportunities to train and employ local people.
The county council will review the DCO documents and will have the opportunity to submit representations to raise any outstanding objections or concerns.
An Examination is expected to open in October 2022 and take place over a six-month period, with the Secretary of State’s decision anticipated by the end of 2023. As part of the Examination process, the county council will be invited to prepare a local impact report setting out the impacts of the scheme upon the local area.
The project would involve making the entire route between Penrith and Scotch Corner a dual carriageway and deliver significant improvements to the A66 between J40 of the M6 at Penrith and J53 of the A1(M) at Scotch Corner.
The county council has promoted the need for investment in the route over recent years and welcomes the opportunities for boosting local economic growth with improved east-west connectivity to the local, regional and national road network through the package of proposals valued at £1bn.
Promoting careers in medicine.
The local NHS Trust is hosting an event to showcase the diverse careers in medicine that young people in Cumbria can follow.
It will take place on 1st and 2nd of July 2022 at the Cumberland infirmary and will give those school students in years 11-13 the opportunity to speak to a range of medical professionals about what it is like to work for the NHS.
Dr Louise Buchanan, is an associate medical director and consultant cardiologist. She is leading the event and said:
“This is a fantastic opportunity for those considering medicine to ask anything they would like to know and get hands on experience from our experts. “Doctors in training and consultants from a range of services including intensive care, orthopaedics, cardiology, maternity and surgery will be available to answer questions and give the students the opportunity to try their hand at delivering babies, inserting cannulas, fixing fractures, perform CPR and check for suspected cancer.”
It’s the first time that the Trust has been able to host the event since 2019 when more than 50 students benefitted from this unique experience.
Feedback from the students then included:
Oliver Brooks, 17, from Carlisle said: “The trauma workshop was really exciting, we learned how to deal with road traffic accidents.”
Another student Ainee Burrus emailed to say: “Thank you for the amazing, useful, well organised event. It was very helpful for me, and allowed me to be secure in the career path that I want.”
Students from across all secondary schools are invited to book a place for the day.
Students will require confirmation from their head of sixth form or if they are an undergraduate, will be required to demonstrate the grades they have received so far.
Thank you again for your work this week.
Andrew
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