At the start of Foster Care Fortnight (Monday 15 May) Cumbria Fostering service, which works on behalf of Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council, has launched an appeal for more foster carers to help keep children in their local communities. 

Foster Care Fortnight, delivered by charity The Fostering Network, is the largest annual campaign to raise the profile of fostering nationally and show how foster care transforms lives. 

Despite already supporting a community of 275 foster carers across the county, with more than 725 children in care, Cumbria Fostering urgently needs more local people to come forward as foster carers to prevent vulnerable children being placed with families away from their local area or separated from siblings. 

Find out more at an upcoming event: 

• Wednesday 17 May - Kendal drop in at Costa Coffee in the Elephant Yard from 12pm to 1pm. 
• Friday 19 May - Fostering information stand in the lobby at The Forum, Barrow from 12pm to 1pm. 
• Tuesday 23 May - Workington drop in session at Costa Coffee in Washington Square from 12pm to 1pm. 
• Wednesday 24 May - Join our virtual information drop in on Zoom from 7pm to 8pm.  
• Thursday 25 May - Fostering Information Stand in the atrium at Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle from 12 to 2pm. 

To find out more visit cumbriafostering.org.uk or call 0300 013 2065 

Director of Public Health warns Cumbrians of risk of measles 

Cumbrian parents are urged to check children’s MMR vaccine records following national rise in measles cases.  

Parents are being asked to make sure children are fully up to date with their MMR vaccinations after cases of Measles were confirmed in the Northwest. 

Parents can check their child’s vaccine records by looking in their “Red Book” or asking their GP. Measles is a highly infectious disease that can lead to serious problems such as pneumonia, meningitis, and on rare occasions, long-term disability, or death. 

Symptoms include a high fever, sore red watery eyes, and a blotchy red brown rash, and it is particularly easy to catch in environments when in close contact with others. 

Director of Public Health warns Cumbrians of risk of measles | Cumberland Council

Half-term fun planned for The Beacon Museum 

This half-term visitors can get involved in a host of fun activities at The Beacon Museum in Whitehaven. 

The harbourside attraction is home to the ‘Romans – Are We There Yet?’ exhibition, which runs until 1 October. 

Half-term fun planned for The Beacon Museum | Cumberland Council 

Have your say on artwork proposed in the Cumberland area 

Residents in Bootle and Millom are being giving the opportunity to have their say on two art installations proposed for their areas. 

The artwork is part of the Deep Time arts programme that has already seen artwork by internationally renowned artists installed in parts of the west coast of Cumbria. 

As part of the pre-planning process, Cumberland Council and Deep Time, is giving residents the opportunity to see first hand what’s proposed for Corney Fell and the coastal path at Hodbarrow Nature Reserve. 

Two pre-planning consultation events are planned on Thursday 18 May and Saturday 20 May. 

Have your say on artwork proposed in the Cumberland area | Cumberland Council 

£12.4 million secured for energy efficiency upgrades to 600 Cumbrian homes 

Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council are delighted to announce that they have been successful in their bid for a minimum of £12.4 million in funding from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero for The Home Upgrade Grant Phase 2 (HUG2). 

The bid win will allow both councils to continue their efforts to improve the energy efficiency of homes in the area - helping residents to save money on their energy bills and reduce their carbon footprint. Locally, the Government scheme will provide energy efficiency upgrades and low carbon heating to 600 low-income homes in Cumbria. 

A range of measures are available to eligible residents, including loft insulation, cavity wall insulation and clean heat measures such as Air Sourced Heat Pumps.  

The funding is exclusively available to off-gas-grid homes with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of band D, E, F or G. To ensure that the grant is provided to those who need it the most, the HUG2 scheme is targeted towards residents who are on a low-income, those suffering from fuel poverty (referred by the Citizens Advice Bureau) and vulnerable residents suffering from health conditions which are vulnerable to the cold (referred by the NHS). 

£12.4 million secured for energy efficiency upgrades to 600 Cumbrian homes | Cumberland Council 

Roads update

A595 Moresby  

National Highways is working to deliver a £16 million improvement scheme near Moresby, providing essential upgrades to the A595 that will improve safety and help keep drivers on the move.  

They have built two site compounds, one alongside each embankment of the A595, and are using micro-tunnelling techniques to minimise disruption as they bored two tunnels under the embankment as part of our work to upgrade the drainage system along the A595.  

National Highways are committed to doing all they can to minimise the impact of our improvement scheme, however there may be delays during the upcoming critical phase of our works.  

National Highways will need to temporarily close sections of the A595 for the safety of our staff and road users. They are advising anyone using the roads in this region to allow extra time for their journeys.  

They are also working with local bus operators to ensure services and timetables remain fully operational, however there may be temporary changes to bus stop locations. Please check with your bus operator.  

National Highways understand that roadworks can cause frustration, and would like to apologise in advance for any disturbance their work may cause you, and thank you for bearing with them. 

Download the map of the works

Weekend closures  

The second phase of the works will require the full closure of the A595 from Distington Bypass to Pelican Garage. Weekend closures will take place from 8pm Friday to 5am Monday, every weekend, starting Friday 12 May 2023.  

The ten weekend closures will exclude the second May Bank Holiday weekend, from Friday 26 to Monday 29 May 2023.  

The final weekend closure is scheduled to take place from Friday 21 to Monday 24 July 2023, with the route reopening to traffic at 5am on the Monday morning.  

National Highways will aim to work to schedule, but unforeseen circumstances such as severe weather conditions may mean slight changes occur at short notice.  

If you have any questions regarding the project, you can call the National Highways customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000, or email: info@nationalhighways.co.uk   

You can visit the scheme webpage: www.nationalhighways.co.uk/A595-Moresby   

To receive regular text updates from National Highways on the progress of the work, send a text message from your device with the message ‘Moresby Hall‘ to 07723 404677. 

Meetings this week

Our first Cumberland Council Planning Committee was held on Wednesday in Carlisle's Civic Centre. 

Two major applications were approved - a tourist, cultural and heritage hub in Penton, Carlisle and the redevelopment of a car park in Lowther Street, Carlisle into a multifunctional food, drink and leisure venue (Stack).  

More on this and all our meetings can be found at: Monthly meetings calendar - May 2023 | Cumberland Council (moderngov.co.uk)