Latest news with #Cumbria
BBC News
5 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
New 'bespoke' kennels for Eden Animal Rescue charity
A bespoke kennel complex to provide shelter for 20 dogs has been officially opened at an animal block at Eden Animal Rescue's base at Moorlands Head Farm, near Penrith, has been funded by a £75,000 grant from Pets Foundation, fundraising and two charity said the former accommodation had become inadequate and the new complex would offer better conditions for the dogs and make it easier to rehome is now under way to convert the former kennel block into an indoor training and exercise area, and a place for potential owners to meet prospective pets. The charity previously said having kennels which were "the next best thing to home" was important, especially for the longer-stay dogs. Chair of Eden Animal Rescue, Chris Cheetham said: "Visitors will see the greatly improved facilities for both the dogs, staff and volunteers who care for the animals. "There are still opportunities to sponsor an individual kennel and have your family or business name displayed for visitors to see the support you have given to this project." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Carlisle sign prolific Altrincham striker Linney
Prolific Altrincham striker Regan Linney has signed for Carlisle United for an undisclosed fee. The 28-year-old, whose 25 goals for the Robins earned him a place in the National League team of the season, joins the relegated Cumbrians on a three-year deal. Advertisement He scored 44 goals in 93 total appearances for Alty and head coach Mark Hughes said he likes Linney's "flexibility". "We like the way he goes about his business, he's got flexibility which is important and he can play down the middle or from the left, and he scored a lot of goals from that position last season," Hughes said.
BBC News
10 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Penrith A66 traffic problems hitting businesses, says BID
Businesses are losing over £100,000 each Friday due to traffic congestion, according to a business Broad, chair of Penrith's Business Improvement District (BID), said queues on and around the A66 were putting people off coming into Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner David Allen also said gridlocked traffic was increasing emergency response times.A plan to turn the whole of the A66 between Penrith and Scotch Corner into dual carriageway is currently under review. Mr Broad said the BID estimated it cost each business in town £300-500 every Friday, when the traffic is at its worst, and that this amounted to over £100,000 in total."Penrith in effect on a Friday becomes a place to avoid," he said. According to Mr Broad, the problem is caused by large volumes of tourist traffic, along with freight, using the A66 at Kemplay Bank roundabout and junction 40 of the believes traffic flow measures should be used to stop Kemplay Bank becoming "like a car park".Cumbria's police and fire and rescue services both have their headquarters next to Kemplay Bank Mr Allen said, while his teams met their response targets, it took longer to get to incidents when the roads were said: "If you were leaving police headquarters in a non-emergency scenario, it can take 30 minutes just to get 300 yards to the roundabout." Some locals have suggested switching off the traffic lights at Kemplay Bank or using a yellow hatched box to improve traffic Highways, which manages the A66, said traffic lights improved congested roundabouts and a recent inspection of those at Kemplay Bank "detected no issues". Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Projects awaiting potential fate ahead of government spending review in June
A NUMBER of key planned projects in Cumbria could have their fate decided by next month's government spending review. Rachel Reeves has been warned that 'tough trade-offs' await her at this summer's spending review, as she has been urged to prioritise investment that 'boosts' public services and standards for families. Projects across the country and in Cumbria have been put on hold whilst the government reviews their spending plans. A report from the Resolution Foundation has suggested that the Government should focus spending from its 'limited pot' in areas such as health and housing if it wants to increase living standards. The analysis by the think tank also urges ministers to examine investment at June's spending review in the prisons system and public transport, but describes them as 'secondary priorities'. The Treasury is currently undertaking the review, which will set the budgets for Government departments for the next three years in terms of day-to-day spending. The process will set the budgets for so-called unprotected departments, including local government, justice, transport and culture. Protected departments include defence, the NHS in health, and schools as part of the education envelope. 'The Chancellor must now decide how to allocate a limited pot of capital spending in a way that both addresses the UK's legacy of frayed infrastructure and supports future ambitions for growth and higher living standards,' the report stated. 'Focusing direct government investment in health and housing would allow the Government to deal with the legacy they have inherited, while furthering their missions of boosting growth and raising living standards.' Capital spending is money used to spend projects such as new hospitals or road schemes, rather than day-to-day running costs such as salaries. At the budget in October 2024, Ms Reeves announced more money for capital spending, but also said that there would be 'four key guardrails' introduced to ensure good value for money. 'Ultimately, if the Government wants to avoid dramatic cuts to departmental budgets, then it will likely have around £20-50 billion of capital spending to allocate over the next five years,' the Resolution Foundation report said. It added: 'The Government should prioritise investment based on areas of particularly acute historical under-investment, and the future impacts on living standards and economic growth. 'Investment that is likely to be well targeted across both of these criteria includes social investment in housing and health, with investment in the prison system and well-targeted transport infrastructure projects in the UK's second cities being secondary priorities.' Rachel Reeves told the BBC in March that 'we can't just carry on like we have been, spending on the same things that the previous government spent on'. In Cumbria there are several projects waiting on government funding approval before they can go ahead. Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron is campaigning for the Government to approve plans to dual the A66 from Penrith to Scotch Corner which he says would 'reduce congestion, boost the economy, and save lives.' Mr Farron recently met with the roads minister who said that a final decision on the project would be made in the Spending Review in June. The previous government approved the A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project which would see the 80-kilometre stretch between Penrith and Scotch Corner in North Yorkshire made into a full dual carriageway. The A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project is aimed at dualling the road between Cumbria and North Yorkshire (Image: National Highways) The project would also include improvements to multiple junctions and minor enhancements to the already existing sections of the dual carriageway on the A66. Following the election, the new Labour Government put the whole project – which would cost hundreds of millions – under review, blaming the 'dire' state of the public finances left by the Tories. The new government cancelled and put other major road and public transport infrastructure projects across the country in review following the election. Tim said: 'Dualling the A66 would bring huge benefits to our area – reducing congestion, providing a big boost to the North's economy, and helping to limit the number of serious and fatal accidents which tragically are a regular occurrence on this road.' The spending review could possibly give the green light to the University of Cumbria's request for additional funding for their ambitious Citadels project in the city centre. The university had originally pledged to give £23.5million to the £77million Borderlands Partnership project but has since requested to pay £15.5million. The request for the additional £8million funding is now with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government. The project is set to 'transform' the city centre, with a brand-new campus being built in and amongst the historic citadels. Properties on English Street and Victoria Viaduct have been purchased and vacated ahead of the build which was given planning permission in August 2022. What the Citadels could look like when the project is complete... but it needs funding In a report sent to the Borderlands Partnership at the time of their request, the university said it is suffering with 'intense inflationary pressures, increasing employer pension contributions and increased utility costs' which have all contributed to the request. The chancellor is under pressure to approve projects in the north of England with Bassetlaw Labour MP, Jo White calling for more investment in the north. Ms White said: 'Every time we [red wall constituencies] get missed out, and I'll give a very good example is when Rachel Reeves did her speech, and she talked about the third runway for Heathrow, and then she talked about the connectivity between Oxford and Cambridge via Milton Keynes, and then she's recently talked about the extension to Luton airport. "Everything in the south is very, very easy investment because the industry and the business are there to support it.' Jo White, MP for Bassetlaw (Image: UK Parliament) She went on: 'We are the more hard-to-do areas, and what we want Treasury and government to be thinking about is: how can we work with business to ensure that they come to areas like ours? 'Because that then brings the infrastructure in partnership with it. So our challenge is: don't go for the easy options, because electorally, it won't make any difference to you whatsoever.' Projects awaiting approval in Cumbria have both been called key for economic growth in the area and have been publicly backed by local MPs. The chancellor will announce the spending review on June 11.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Man goes into harbour water whilst running from police
A MAN went into Whitehaven Harbour whilst trying to run from police. The man was trying to evade officers in Whitehaven and was eventually arrested for drug driving. The chase by police saw the man enter the harbour whilst trying to escape. In a post on social media, Cumbria Police wrote: "Following a foot chase in Whitehaven, which resulted in a male trying to evade officers by going for a swim in the harbour. "Officers from Whitehaven NPT have arrested a male for section 5A Road Traffic Act driving whilst over the subscribed limit of a specified drug."
