Parish council news, notices, & planning

Several sites in and around Levens have been suggested for future development as part of a new 20-year Local Plan from Westmorland & Furness Council.

These are early-stage proposals and nothing has been decided yet. A public consultation is expected in the autumn.

Parish Council updates include progress on village projects, a new 20mph zone consultation, and ongoing input opportunities from Westmorland & Furness Council.

At the new village hall site, the project progresses, albeit steadily, towards the construction phase. Summary: village hall costs cut to match funds, affordable housing still in limbo.

Welcome to this first Parish Council Newsletter of 2025. I will start by thanking all the people involved in the erection and decoration of the Christmas Tree on The Green, especially overcoming the problems caused by the weather. The “switch on” saw a good number of people attend and I think all enjoyed the event. I certainly did and thanks also to everyone who contributed to the Christmas Fund by whatever means.

At present, the Project is deeply engaged in the procurement process whereby a contractor will be appointed to take on the build phase for the new village hall and the affordable houses.

In the previous issue, the project was pleased to report that it had issued invitations to tender to several building contractors for the construction phase for the new village hall and the affordable houses. That process has gone well and each of the five contractors approached has submitted quotes for consideration.

An election for Levens Parish Council in May did not take place because there were only seven candidates for the eight places. Susan Bagot did not offer herself for re-election after having been a Parish Councillor for about 40 years and I take this opportunity to sincerely thank her for all those years of service to our village.

Are you passionate about your local area? Do you want to support efforts to enhance the quality of life in Levens?
If so, have you considered putting yourself forward to become a co-opted member of Levens Parish Council?

In late April 2024, Levens Jubilee (Coronation) Orchard project was awarded £4,500 from the Westmorland & Furness, Coronation Community Orchard Fund.

Work towards levelling the site on Underhill next to the affordable homes plot and preparing for seeding, planting fruit trees with appropriate tree supports and guards should start quite soon.

Residents will have noted the work done on Parish Council woodland at Cotes. This work was not commissioned by the Parish Council (which is not allowed to fell trees within a set distance of power lines) but was undertaken as part of its maintenance responsibilities by Electricity NorthWest Ltd (ENWL).

Exciting news from the Project as invitations to tender (ITTs) for the construction phase of the new Village Hall, and the affordable houses at Underhill have just been issued to a number of building contractors.

Welcome to this first Parish Council Newsletter of 2024. It seems a long time ago but I would like to thank all those involved in the erection and decoration of the Christmas Tree on The Green. It was good to be able to have a “Switch-on” gathering which everyone seemed to enjoy. Thanks to all who contributed to the Christmas Fund. The cost of a real tree is a concern and how we deal with this is being considered.

Financing the project has always been a key priority in the minds of those tasked with delivering it, and so far it has been extraordinarily successful in generating the funds necessary to realise its objectives.

Welcome to this edition of the parish council newsletter, which I hope you will find of interest as we all want the best for our village. With Westmorland and Furness Council replacing Cumbria County Council in April the progress of some matters, unsurprisingly, slowed but all are now back underway.

Welcome to this Summer edition of the Parish Council Newsletter. At the Annual Parish Council Meeting in May, I was re-elected as Chair and Councillor Roger Mason was re-elected as Vice Chair.  As I said in the annual village meeting back in March, I thank my fellow Councillors for everything they do to support our village.

Quick facts

• The new notice board cost £2000 and is made primarily of aluminium

• A plaque to commemorate the Coronation of King Charles III features

Groundworks and initial infrastructure work on the four affordable houses at Underhill have now been completed (pictured above). This has been funded primarily from the Community Led Housing Fund (a Government fund administered by SLDC) which awarded £249,235 to the Underhill work.

Since our last Newsletter in November, Christmas has come and gone and 2023 has arrived. I would like to thank the small dedicated team responsible for erecting, decorating and lighting the Tree on The Green. It was really good to see. Thanks also to all who contributed to the Christmas Fund by donating on line or in the Village Shop.

The last remaining self-build plot at Cotes, Levens is on the market at £175,000. This is plot number 1, which is the northernmost plot nearest to Wayside Cottage with a deceptively large area of land stretching up to the east.

Levens Parish Council is delighted to hear from the Highways Department at Cumbria County Council that it has agreed to install flashing warning lights at three key points around Levens Primary School.

This comes after many years of lobbying by Levens Parish Council for road safety improvements in the Village and particularly around the School.

It is just three months since our last newsletter - but what a three months it has proved to be. Our meeting on 13th September began with a one minute silence in recognition of Queen Elizabeth II; the only monarch most of us have ever known. Since then the Government line-up has changed - and as I write this seems to be changing at an ever increasing speed! As you know Cumbria County Council will cease on 1st April next year and Levens Parish Council are monitoring the progress of the change to the new Unitary Council and what the possible effects to us could be.

As reported previously it was always anticipated that work at the new Village Hall site was unlikely to progress until the Autumn, so it is good to report that work has indeed recommenced. Now the site has been levelled and cut-back to its perimeter, and following a competitive tendering exercise to identify and appoint a contractor, this next phase of physical work is the construction of the perimeter walls.

Progress with the Project continues in a positive way: the ground preparation (or infrastructure) work at Underhill has gone well and is nearly finished, including the diversion of the mains sewer in liaison with United Utilities.

Other items currently under consideration include the possible replacement of the Parish Council Notice Board by the Methodist Church, because it is showing signs of age and is not really large enough for all the information we feel we have to display these days. The picnic area on the old W.I. site on Brigsteer Road needs the northern boundary wall extended and possibly some other changes. As mentioned elsewhere the Levens Charity has made two recent awards and hopefully will receive a boost to its funds in the near future. At our July meeting we heard about the 20 mile an hour limit recently introduced to the centre of Arnside. It has taken years to be implemented with several surveys and questionnaires on the way.