St Michael’s Church will be hosting a harvest and gift day outside the church from 10.30am on Sunday the 27th of September 2020.  The church will be collecting for Food Bank and would welcome Harvest gifts or donations.  For further details please click this link.

Kirkby Thore Parish Council currently has a vacancy for a Parish Councillor.  The Parish Council is involved with many issues that effect the community and really need help from enthusiastic people who want to make a difference for the benefit of everyone.  The positions are voluntary and for further details of what’s involved read “The Good Councillor Guide”.  The Parish Council meets 12 times a year on the 1st Monday of every month and all meetings are open to the public so if you are interested please contact us.

Cumbria Household Waste Recycling Centers will be re-opening on Tuesday the 12th of May 2020.  This follows updated guidance from the Government which states that a visit to a HWRC is acceptable under the current travel and social distancing measures but only where you can’t continue to safely store your additional waste and recycling safely at home.

Cumbria County Council is expecting the sites to be busy in the first few days and weeks of reopening and would ask that wherever possible you continue to make use of your kerbside waste and recycling collections. A number of district councils have also restarted their garden waste collections so this should help avoid an unnecessary visit to the HWRC site too.

Please be advised that if you do have to visit a HWRC that there will be a number of site restrictions in place which aim to keep both staff and visitors safe. Ideally only one person should attend, but if one additional passenger has to come, they must be from the same household. The HWRC operatives will also not be able to assist you as they would usually do. No vans, trailers or commercial type vehicles will be permitted access.

We would be grateful if you could share this message with your friends and family too so that they also only take their waste to a HWRC at this current time if absolutely necessary. This will help prevent the sites being overwhelmed and help to keep everyone safe.

For the latest news and information follow the county council’s social media channels or visit https://www.cumbria.gov.uk/planning-environment/waste-management/default.asp

Cumbria County Council and partners have launched a new emergency support service for people at high risk of becoming seriously ill, as a result of COVID-19, and who do not have support available from friends, family or neighbours.

The Emergency telephone support line is 0800 783 1966.

Or you can email your request for help to COVID19support@cumbria.gov.uk.

The telephone ‘call’ centre will operate Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and 10am to 2pm at weekends. The service will also accepts referrals from members of the public who may be concerned about people in their community.  For more information click here

Please travel only if it is essential in line with Government requirements

Bank Holidays Fri 8 May and Mon 25 May – no services

Otherwise the 563 emergency timetable continues to be:-

9.50 and 14.25 from Appleby (Mon – Fri) as normal
11.25 from Appleby (Mon – Fri) is cancelled
Returns from Penrith (Mon – Fri) at 13.30 as normal
Plus a Saturday service from Appleby at 9.50 and 14.25, returns from
Penrith at 13.30

The bus will now make two trips a day.  For up to date times please check the County Council website, you can access this by clicking here.

We are seeing many communities and individuals volunteering to support friends, families and neighbours during the COVID-19 outbreak.  They are providing an important and much valued service, which we are grateful for.  A guide to supporting others in your community has been produced to offer guidance to volunteers, it can be accessed here.

The parish council had been advised of a temporary road closure to Main Street on the 21st July 2019 for approximately 1 day.  The location and diversion route map can be accessed here.

Highways England are undertaking a non-statutory public consultation which opened on 16^th May 2019 and is due to end on 11^th July 2019.  If you haven’t already shared your views with Highways England either,

• In person at one of the consultation meetings
• On-line
• By Email
• By Post

Then please join us at an open meeting at the Village Hall on Tuesday 2^nd July 2019 between 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

We will have large maps showing the proposed routes, brochures to review and forms that can be filled out on the night.   We will also document any questions that you have and forward these to Highways England.

Kirkby Thore Parish Council

Stagecoach have just given us the good news that they will be operating the 563 Appleby – Penrith service until at least September 2021, provided that passenger numbers continue to do well. Thank you to everyone who already uses the 563; new users are most welcome to join them. Details of the 563 bus service are available on www.cumbria.gov.uk/buses/eden