Parish News

This week was the one-year anniversary of Russia invading Ukraine and much to my surprise, Ukraine still stands. We have all felt the impact of the war in our pockets as commodity prices have increased but the war is robbing the people of stability, safety, friends, family and hopes for the future. A different, but equally sad plight, for many Syrians and Turks following the devastating earthquake back on 6 February, I am sure life is at the very least as bad there as it is in the worst areas of the Ukraine.

Not meaning to sound cynical, but the press would have us be equally worried about a shortage of tomatoes, lettuce and citrus fruits over the coming weeks. The times we live in have not changed that much in terms of the perspective some of our journalists put on matters to grab our attention. I hope I do not have to miss my tomatoes but I would gladly trade it for the stability of life for others in the world.

The parish council have this month been further investing in the car park. We have carried out some minor drainage and surfacing works which should ensure water is quickly drained from the lower car park and a couple of soft areas are now more solid. We have tidied up the upper car park area and extended the size of the parking area. At a time when we are encouraging LCC to introduce more double yellow lines at the edges of the village we are persuading that we are offering matching increased car parking capacity on the car park.

There is no update yet on the proposed resident parking scheme since the formal consultation process came to an end. I am hoping that we will know more in March. What I can report is that the double yellow lines we have around the village have progressed from being enforceable through a Temporary Regulation Order (TRO) to a Permanent TRO and so they are here to stay. For information, I can add that thirty three parking charge enforcement notices have been issued on the Turning Area to date and the vast majority have been paid; others will have heard from the Courts and can expect a visit from a debt collection agency.

In recent years the PC has spent a lot of money resurfacing the car park. The Parish Council did not have sufficient funds to construct a car park that can take the loading of large vehicles, we could only afford a surface for light vehicles. The surfacing is thin and the turning manoeuvres of large vehicles could damage the surface, hence the ban on coaches. However, the PC is being approached by walking clubs etc who want to bring a coach and need to park somewhere. Where we are approached we are advocating the wide space next to the bullion garages if available or by arrangement just inside the car park gate so they do not drive over the macadam.

Please note there will be a Fell Race in Barley on Saturday 4 March centred around the Village Hall – it will be a busy day for traffic and visitors. There is also a Craft Fair in the Chapel on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th March and I hope we can all visit and support this fund raising event.