April 2004 by Voluntary Action Cumbria Part of the Countryside Agency’s Vital Villages Programme, supported Council. Plan Steering Group and the Witherslack, Meathop Ulpha Parish Written 30/11/03 by Michael Clarke, in consultation with the Parish Published April 2004 A Five Year Parish Plan Witherslack, Meathop & Ulpha Parish Council, National Park in the village survive Can a working foreword Meathop and Ulpha Parish Council Agency Countryside The contents forewordforeword contents Living and working in the Parish* of Witherslack, Meathop and Section Page No. Ulpha gives our community opportunities not afforded to the l majority of people in the UK. It also sets some unique chal- Executive Summary 2 i lenges. This plan strives to assess those challenges. It offers 1. The Consultation Process 4 ideas and solutions to the problems of surviving as a viable 2. Purpose of the Plan 4 nc community in rural Cumbria and in the Lake District National 3. Placing the Parish in Context 3.1 Location 5 u Park. The plan has been formulated throughout by the input 3.2 Characteristics of o and comments of the Parish. On behalf of the Parish Council of the Landscape 6 Witherslack, Meathop and Ulpha I would like to thank everyone 3.3 The Population of the for their contribution to its production. Parish 6 Anne Walshaw 4. Community Assets 4.1 Parish Hall 7 h C Chairman 4.2 Church Hall 7 s i Witherslack, Meathop and Ulpha Parish Council 4.3 Dean Barwick Primary r *the word “Parish” throughout this document refers to the Parish of School 7 Witherslack and the Parish of Meathop and Ulpha combined. 4.4 Co-ordinating the Assets 7 Pa 5. Community Services 5.1 Retail Services 8 a 5.2 The Pub is the Hub 10 h 5.3 Childcare 11 5.4 Education and Training 11 5.5 Health and Personal Care 11 Ulp 5.6 Public Transport 11 d 6. Housing 6.1 Affordable Housing 12 n 7. Business & Employment 7.1 Employment Needs & Opportunities 14 a 7.2 Visitors and Tourism 14 8. Utilities and Telecoms 8.1 Utilities and Telecoms 15 p 9. Environment o 9.1 Recycling 16 9.2 Litter 17 h 10. Community Safety 10.1 Community Safety 18 t a 10.2 Traffi c Speed and Volume 18 e 11. Leisure & Community Spirit 11.1 Childrens Interests 19 11.2 Community Spirit 21 M Traffi c Issues Questionnaire The Returns Appendix 1 23 Countryside Potential Sources of Funding Appendix 2 The Action Plan Appendix 3 Agency April 2004 1 executiveforeword summary contents • Purpose of the Plan to access them at educational rates. The Parish Plan audits existing service and facility provision and l sets out a vision of how the community wants to develop over • Health and Personal Care i the next 5 years and identifies the action needed to achieve The Parish lacks supported housing for the elderly which often these goals. forces older members of the community to relocate outside of nc the Parish to access personal care. Providing supported housing u • Community Assets within the Parish must be a priority within any planned housing Community assets include the Parish Hall, Church Hall and Dean developments. This will give older people the opportunity to o Barwick Primary School and playing fi elds. This report recom- stay within this community. mends a more coordinated approach to their use and develop- ment. • Housing h C The Parish should manage any future building development s i • Childcare work in partnership with South Lakeland District Council, a social r Providing pre school age childcare within the Parish in partner- landlord (housing association) and local landowners to create the ship with Dean Barwick School would benefi t working parents, best solution to the housing needs of the community. There is a children and the school. A pre school nursery can attract shortage of affordable housing (buy or rent) in the Parish. Pa parents and children to the school as it does in both Milnthorpe a and Lindale and subsequently help to increase or maintain pupil • Public Transport numbers and the viability of the school. There is currently no The bus service is not frequent especially in the evening. For h formal childcare provision available in the Parish for pre-school most people in the Parish getting to the bus stop would mean children or for over 5’s outside of school hours in the form of a walk of between 30 minutes and an hour. It is the older after school clubs. members of the community and the under 18’s who need help Ulp to access public transport. This Parish Plan will allow the Parish • Crime and Safety Council to apply for transport grants to provide transport for d It is important for crime prevention activity to continue in order those most at need in the Parish. n to build on the success of previous initiatives. There was little a concern about crime in the Parish survey. In fact the low level of crime was often stated as the reason people enjoyed living p in the Parish. It would be a mistake to become complacent o about this issue. h t • Education and Training a More basic courses should be offered locally to increase access e to lifelong learning. There are few formal adult education or training opportunities in the Parish. However there are many M opportunities to access these throughout the south lakes area. Encouraging the community to take advantage of these oppor- The tunities is the responsibility of the local authority. The local Countryside authority uses the Parish Hall and it should be made aware of all the available venues in the Parish and be given the opportunity Agency April 2004 2 foreword contents • Employment Needs and Opportunities • Environment For new and existing businesses to grow and provide employ- The full report recommends organised voluntary litter picking. l ment in the Parish appropriate space and access to communica- Litter, including silage wrap and dog fouling, was highlighted i tions must be made available. Traditionally the economy of the as a problem in the public meeting and respondents to the Parish has been based on the original work/home based model, questionnaire also placed it at the top of their environmental nc that of farming. If farming continues to decline and the number worries along with untidy road verges and hedges. u of farming families working within the Parish is reduced then the Parish would cease to be a working community. • Traffi c Speed and Volume o This report recommends a review of all the traffi c issues raised in • Utilities and Telecommunications the questionnaires and the formal identifi cation of danger spots The Parish Council should act as an advocate for the community and parking problems in partnership with the Cumbria County h C and communicate with the appropriate providers to lobby for Council road safety offi cer. s i a better service and to provide answers to the communities’ r questions. The Parish Council has no direct control over the • Children’s Interests & Encouraging Citizenship provision of utilities or telecommunications technology within Respondents to the questionnaire have placed the provision of a the Parish. A reliable electricity supply was the biggest concern youth club, a playground for over 5’s, school holiday activities, Pa of questionnaire respondents. a playground for under 5’s and an after school club as their top a five priorities. • Recycling h It would be more effi cient to have a dedicated recycling point • Community Spirit & Citizenship where all recycling can take place. It may also be useful to Communication was an issue that came up in the public meeting. provide some recycling points in Meathop and Mill Side as cur- This plan recommends a free quarterly Parish newsletter shared Ulp rently all recycling happens in Witherslack. It is evident that with its neighbours Cartmel Fell, Crosthwaite and Winster. (This the community is actively recycling, with paper and glass at the would complement the subscription only Parochial Monthly Maga- d top of the list, both of which can be deposited here in the zine). People were concerned there was no formal communi- n Parish. Currently there is a glass recycling collection point in cation method within the Parish to share information about a the car park of the Derby Arms and paper and tin can recycling activities and events, as well as Parish news. collection points in the car park behind the Parish Hall. p • Visitors and Tourism o • Retail Services The Parish relies on a certain level of tourism to maintain busi- h As a community we should begin to work in partnership with nesses including the shop and the pub. It would make economic t the owners of the Witherslack shop and Post Offi ce Ltd and the sense to manage the current level of tourism, provide better a owners and tenants of the Derby Arms pub to head off any facilities (including off road parking) and more information so e threats to these important community assets. A working group visitors can enjoy and spend in the Parish with as little disruption to link the community with the owners of these services would to the community as possible. M help to ensure their sustainability. The Countryside Agency April 2004 3 2 purpose of the plan 1 the consultationforeword process contents A thorough public consultation took place to gather information • The Action Plan for this (see Appendix 3) l document. The process of events are listed below: i This plan has been paid for by the Countryside Agency with • A public meeting with 72 residents using the Metaplanning additional fi nancial support from Witherslack Estate.