 Cllr. Doug Lawson, Chair of Penrith Town Council & Mayor of Penrith at Fairhill Play Area
As the festive season approaches once again, I want to extend my warmest wishes for a Merry Christmas and a peaceful, healthy, and prosperous New Year to all Penrith residents and their families.
Penrith’s strong sense of community has always had a lasting impression on not only me, but everyone who works, lives and visits the town, and Christmas provides a wonderful opportunity for us to come together once again in kindness and support for one another. Whether it’s spending time with loved ones, donating to local food banks or charities, shopping locally, or simply checking in on neighbours to ensure they’re okay, let’s make this festive period one of generosity and care.
The festive season also offers an opportunity for self-reflection over the past year – a year in which I am especially proud of how the Council has collaborated with every corner of our community to achieve meaningful and positive outcomes for the town.
Since April, the Council has awarded nearly £40,000 of grant funding as part of its Community and Signature Grants Schemes to fifteen organisations. This covers a range of projects, delivering tangible benefit for the people of Penrith. It has been my pleasure to meet with many of these organisations over the course of the year, to see first hand the positive impact our grant funding is enabling.
Excitingly, the Council has also announced a new £90,000 fund for play areas in Penrith – with projects in Carleton and Pategill already being backed through this new fund. Whilst many of these play areas are not in our direct ownership, the Council recognises the importance of having play areas which are fun, safe, and inclusive, so I look forward to seeing lots of projects coming forward during this term of council, with Carleton and Pategill already leading the way!
This year has also seen the Council take on the May Day Carnival Event, after forty fantastic years from the Lions Club of Penrith. This presents the Council with a great opportunity to do things differently, whilst delivering that same community feel of the event we know and love. I look forward to being able to share more with you all in the coming weeks about this exciting event for the town.
In March, the Council agreed a renewed Climate Strategy, and I am glad to see how much progress is already being made on lots of our pledges throughout the year.
In October, we had the unveiling of the iconic Paddington Bear statue on Little Dockray which has already brought so much positivity to the town, along with a surprising variety of visitors that I know of from Newcastle, Lancashire and beyond! The Council partnered with the Penrith Business Improvement District and Westmorland & Furness Council to help bring the Paddington statue to Penrith, whilst also offering one of the Council benches for him to sit on.
Finally, in November, we had the fantastic news of the positive vote for the Penrith Neighbourhood Development Plan. The positive vote was the culmination of all the hard work put in by officers, councillors and many neighbourhood groups and organisations, to ensure that Penrith people were heard. The Penrith Neighbourhood Development Plan will now be considered by Westmorland & Furness Council when they discuss any planning applications in Penrith, helping us to realise Penrith’s potential.
I also anticipate further progress in 2025 for taking ownership of assets in Penrith that are currently owned by Westmorland and Furness Council. I look forward to working with them to achieve effective asset transfer and ultimately what’s best for Penrith.
Thank you to my fellow councillors for bestowing me the honour of being Mayor of this great town and Chair of Penrith Town Council - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our residents!
Cllr. Doug Lawson, Chair of Penrith Town Council & Mayor of Penrith.
 Image Description: From left to right: Richard Utting: Chair of Penrith Lottery, Michael Eyles: Westmorland and Furness Cllr. for Penrith South, Cllr. Doug Lawson: Penrith Town Council Chair & Penrith Mayor, Valerie Bowen: Penrith Town Council Pategill Cllr. & Deputy Chair of Communities Committee, Cllr. Virginia Taylor: Westmorland and Furness Cllr. for Penrith South and Cabinet Member for Sustainable Communities and Localities, Charles Graves: Past President of Penrith Rugby Club. The solar panels are pictured behind the group.
Penrith Town Council, Westmorland & Furness Council and Penrith Lottery have
all helped fund the installation of 27 solar panels on the clubhouse of Penrith
Rugby Club.
Penrith Town Council has awarded up to £3,000 of grant funding to Penrith
Rugby Club whilst Penrith Lottery has awarded £1,000 and Westmorland & Furness Council has awarded £5,000. With this funding, the solar panels were
ordered and installed recently.
The solar panels installed on the clubhouse will allow Penrith Rugby Club to
reduce their running costs – enabling them to reinvest those cost savings into
further developing the various sports that Penrith Rugby Club already support.
The installation of solar panels will also help reduce the club’s carbon footprint.
On Friday 6 December 2024, representatives from Penrith Town Council,
Westmorland & Furness Council and Penrith Lottery were given a tour of the
upgraded facilities by Penrith Rugby Club.
Doug Lawson, Penrith Town Council Chair and Penrith Mayor said:
“Visiting Penrith Rugby Club to see how the club is transforming its energy use to support vital, community-centred activities, was inspiring. While their primary goal was to reduce operational costs, the added benefit of lowering the club’s carbon footprint is a win for the entire Penrith community.
"As a Council, we are deeply committed to making Penrith a cleaner, greener town, and initiatives like this - made possible through the Council’s Community Grants Scheme - demonstrate how we’re turning that commitment into tangible action.
"It’s heartening to see our Community Grants Scheme empowering a wide variety of local organisations to innovate and succeed. This project not only supports the Council’s Climate Strategy but also highlights how working together can create a more sustainable and resilient future for Penrith”.
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Virginia Taylor, Westmorland & Furness Councillor for Penrith South and Cabinet Member for Sustainable Communities and Localities said:
“Westmorland and Furness Council is pleased to contribute £5,000 toward the installation of solar panels at Penrith Rugby Club, supporting the Council’s target of becoming net zero by 2037. This project is a great example of how local partnerships can collaborate effectively to create lasting environmental and community benefits. By reducing their carbon footprint and lowering energy costs, the club can reinvest savings into supporting a wide range of sports and activities that strengthen our local community.”
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Charles Graves, Past President of Penrith Rugby Club said:
“Penrith Rugby Club are extremely thankful for the financial input towards this project from Westmorland & Furness Council, Penrith Town Council and Penrith Lottery. The installation of the Solar Panels will benefit us in 2 ways. Firstly, it will further contribute towards our focus on environmental issues when used alongside the current Biomass boiler that provides all of our ongoing heating to the premises. Secondly, it has the potential to save us around 15% of our electricity costs per annum, with the opportunity to increase this further should we install additional panels in the future.
“The financial demands of running some 20 teams with approaching 500 rugby players (Male and Female, adults and children) is significant and anything that helps us cover those costs is very much welcomed. The suppliers of the 27 panels, local company Love Solar, were able to provide and install the system on very advantageous terms, and the team provided an excellent service throughout. Roof access was enabled by regular supporters of the Club, Penrith Scaffolding Services Ltd. We now await seeing the benefits flowing through our organisation and very much look forward to working with the Grant funders on future projects.”
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Richard Utting, Chair of Penrith Lottery said:
“The Penrith Lottery Community Fund is pleased to Penrith Rugby Club to install 27 solar panels to the clubhouse.
“For over 14 years the Penrith Lottery has supported local charities and not for profit organisations in and around Penrith with grant funding.
“We continue to do so, and with the added opportunity for other good causes in Penrith and Eden to have their own lottery page under the Penrith Lottery banner, this has allowed local people to support their good cause of choice. To see more go to www.penrithlottery.com"
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Penrith Town Council has renewed its arrangement with the Eden District Talking Newspaper Association to distribute monthly editions of Penrith Town Council News.
The Eden District Talking Newspaper Association currently records and distributes readings of items of interest from the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald to visually impaired locals each week, including monthly recordings of Penrith Town Council News.
Councillor Hilary Snell, Chair of the Communities Committee said:
"I am pleased that Penrith Town Council is continuing its partnership with the EDTNA to enhance the community's access to information, ensuring that those with visual impairments can stay updated on the Council's work.
"Through this ongoing arrangement, the Council will be able to connect with visually impaired residents on a monthly basis.
"It is essential that all parts of our community remain informed, and we, as the Council, must do everything possible to reach and engage everyone within our area."
The Council resolved to provide the Eden District Talking Newspaper Association with a monthly copy of Penrith Town Council News to include in their recordings at its meeting of Communities Committee on Monday 9 December 2024.
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Please note: the Penrith Town Council Office will be closed from Tuesday 24 December 2024 - Thursday 2 January 2025.
Any member of the public can attend Council meetings. The Council's upcoming meetings are detailed below with dates, times and venues.
Full Council Meeting
- Date: Monday 13 January 2025
- Time: 6.00pm - 8.00pm
- Venue: Unit 2, Church House, 19-24 Friargate
Planning Committee:
- Date: Monday 6 January 2025
- Time: 5.15pm - 7.15pm
- Venue: Unit 2, Church House, 19-24 Friargate
Finance Committee:
- Date: Monday 17 March 2025
- Time: 5.15pm - 7.15pm
- Venue: Board Room, Unit 1 Church House, 19-24 Friargate
Communities Committee:
- Date: Monday 10 February 2025
- Time: 5.15pm - 7.15pm
- Venue: Boardroom, Unit 1, Church House, 19-24 Friargate
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