Members of the newly formed Alston and Fellside Place Action Group hosted economic development officers from Westmorland and Furness Council on a tour of ongoing projects in the area.
The place action group, which was set up in September, is made up of residents, businesses, parish council representatives and members of community groups in the area.
Eden is the only part of the Westmorland and Furness Council area to have place action groups, which are known as PAGs.
Mary Robinson (Ind, Alston and Fellside) said PAGs had been set up at eight locations in Eden because it was felt to be important to work directly with communities.
Mrs Robinson, who is chair of the Alston and Fellside PAG, said there were about 20 to 30 people involved, with Alix Martin being the group’s vice-chair.
Meetings have taken place so far in Ainstable and Melmerby. Priorities set by the group include looking at affordable housing, supporting the provision of public transport and addressing poverty.
The rollout of a food bank to cover the Fellside area is also said to be high on the list. Before Christmas, Mrs Robinson and fellow Westmorland and Furness councillor Michael Hanley (Lab, Alston and Fellside) took officers from the unitary authority on a tour of a number of projects which are currently under way in the Alston and Fellside PAG area which, it is hoped, will act as economic drivers.
One of the stops on the tour was at the High Mill project in Alston which is being led by Jonathan Muir, to transform a redundant factory building in the town into workshops for a community of craftspeople.
A visit was also made to All Saints’ Church at Renwick where a £200,000 fundraising drive has been launched to safeguard the future of the church by taking out its pews in order to make it more of a community facility which can be used as a space for residents and visitors to meet for social activities.
A pit stop was also made at Armathwaite Bridge where planning permission has been secured for a new car park which will help support the area’s visitor economy.
Matt Williams, senior service manager — economic development and regeneration (interim) for Westmorland and Furness Council, said: “It was fantastic to see these projects first hand, meet the dedicated members of the community working hard to improve their communities and get a better understanding of the projects’ aims and objectives and the benefits they could bring.
“Westmorland and Furness is England’s most sparsely populated local authority area and we recognise the challenges this brings — but also recognise the strength of the area’s many, diverse and varied communities and are committed to supporting their development.
“We look forward to seeing these projects develop and working with them to see what support the council can offer.”
Charles Thornton, economic development officer for Westmorland and Furness Council, also went on the tour.
