Carus Green Golf Club recovered from a shocking fire to host the Mayor of Kendal’s Charity Dinner on Friday evening. Staff at the Burneside Road club pulled out all the stops to ensure that Mayor Cllr Doug Rathbone’s event could go ahead. Diners raised over £1,000 for the Mayor’s two charities – Kendal Debt Centre and The Well Communities.

Before the meal, guests were entertained by the massed voices of the K-Shoes Male Voice Choir, the award-winning performers who take their name from the K-Shoe Factory, which once dominated the southern half of Kendal. An extra bonus was the natural light display through the venue’s picture windows, as an evening shower created vivid rainbows before a golden sunset over the surrounding fells.

In the company of newly installed High Sherriff of Cumbria, Samantha Scott, and a complement of Deputy Lord Lieutenants, Mayors, Councillors, businesses and charities guests enjoyed a three course meal of local beef, chicken or a meat-free option, saving space for warm chocolate brownie, banoffee trifle or lemon and ginger cheesecake, all accompanied by locally produced ice cream.

Speakers from the Well Communities and Kendal Debt Centre spoke passionately about their work, reminding diners what the cause was for. Mayor of Kendal Cllr Rathbone said, ‘it was a fantastic effort from staff at Carus Green to be back in business so soon after the challenge of a fire, but everyone was delighted with the event. It was amazing to be able to enjoy the K Shoes Choir entertaining us and wonderful to share the stories and work done in our town by my two mayoral charities.”

Cllr Rathbone concludes his Mayoral Year at the end of April, and will make his charity presentations at the Town Council’s Mayor Making Ceremony in the Town Hall on 18

Kendal Town Council, with support from local volunteers, have created three new wildflower areas at Kendal Green, a historic open space in the northern part of the town. The volunteer team will see their efforts rewarded when native wildflowers including Ragged Robin, Birds Foot Trefoil and Lady’s Bed Straw start to flower in June. Temporary signs have been installed while the flowers are growing to inform Green users that wildflowers will be arriving soon.

The Town Council has funded the project via its dedicated biodiversity budget which is committed to increasing the biodiversity of Kendal’s green spaces. The initiative follows successful wildflower planting at Somervell Garden by the River Kent, and at Aynam Road, where they complement new planting installed to mark the Queen’s Jubilee in 2022. It’s hoped another well-received project will lead to more wildflower planting in the future. One volunteer said, ‘Its great to be creating a habitat that supports pollinators. We have so much green space on Kendal Green its fantastic that parts of it can be utilised in this way’.

Town Councillor, Kate Simpson, who instigated the project, hopes many more wildflower areas will be created. “I hope it encourages more local groups to get in touch with the Town Council, to apply for a biodiversity grant to help enhance more of our green spaces”.

The initiative was supported by grounds maintenance contractor Continental Landscapes Ltd, and by Westmorland and Furness Council, who own the land at Kendal Green.

The Clean River Kent group are recruiting more volunteers to support their dedicated actions to improve the water quality of the River Kent.

Volunteers recently presented to Kendal Town Council to share data regarding the state of the river, the causes of pollution and potential solutions to the ongoing issue.

To learn more about the group and their achievements to date, follow this link. Interested volunteers can complete this survey to register their interest and learn more.

 

 

 

 

Kendal Town Council has approved a £20,000 funding package to help local charity Waste into Wellbeing. The cash will support Waste into Wellbeing to expand their positive impact by creating a dedicated café and professional kitchen at Stricklandgate House in the centre of Kendal.

Internal building works will create an access to link a new low-carbon professional kitchen to a café area. New interior design features will ensure the newly created space is warm, welcoming and accessible to all. The funding will also support the charity’s rental costs whilst they establish the café and develop the business planning side for their operation.

Cllr Eamonn Hennessy, who chairs the Town Council’s Environment committee, welcomed the decision. ‘This is a real step forward in developing awareness of positive action on climate change in Kendal. It’s brilliant to bring partners together at Stricklandgate House – a historic building at the heart of our town’.

The Council’s contribution acts as positive seed-funding to attract additional money and broaden the remit of the café space. It fulfils the Kendal Climate Change Citizen’s Jury recommendation to create a ‘one stop shop’ of climate action. Once completed, visitors can expect the café to link them to low carbon food, transport initiatives, repair opportunities, training events and creative invitations to share their ideas and concerns. For more information contact helen@kendaltowncouncil.gov.uk

Mayor of Kendal, Cllr Doug Rathbone has welcomed the government’s announcement that there will be a Regulator for Football. ‘Kendal Town Council publicly backed the Manifesto for Football two years ago. It called on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to implement the recommendations of the fan-led review of the game. An independent regulator was one of those recommendations. We hope this begins to draw a line under the casino economics of the Premier League, and to redistribute some of the proceeds of our national game to the grass roots and communities that make it so special. Every fan of every club dreams that their team will one day ascend the dizzy heights of the football pyramid. But recent moves by some of the biggest clubs have attempted to pull up the drawbridge. We hope this new role will counteract that. We hope that even here in Kendal, the fruits of the football’s fantastic success might be tasted, in better investment in the grass roots community game, which is still the very lifeblood of the sport.’

Chris Hogg, from Heron Hill, who championed the Manifesto for Football whilst serving as a Town Councillor, and now advises Fair Game, was equally optimistic. ‘This is a positive white paper and a really encouraging start. We should praise government for following up on the fan led review of football and Tracey Crouch’s report. However, what would really make the extra difference in creating a fairer game is to include the sustainability index as suggested by Fair Game.’

The Manifesto for Football was developed through the fan-led review, headed by Tracy Crouch MP. It is promoted by Fair Game Fair Game (fairgameuk.org), an organisation of football clubs, academics and supporters of the game.

In the heart of Kendal there are hidden treasures!

Kendal’s Mayor’s Parlour, in the Town Hall, is a small space containing items of huge importance and beauty that illustrate the history of Kendal from the Domesday book onwards.

Following successful sessions for Heritage Open Day in September, Kendal Town Council is pleased to announce that the Parlour is now available to visit in a further series of monthly sessions in which the Council’s Heritage Officer, Simon Unsworth, will give a short talk on Kendal’s history and its development as a town of international importance through its early beginnings to the wool trade and its present, vibrant incarnation!

Whether it’s Kathryn Parr’s Book of Devotions, the art of George Romney or the Charters, Sword and Maces that give Kendal is identity as a unique market town, there’s something in the Parlour to fascinate everyone! Come along and learn about Kendal’s place in history.

 

The sessions will last 90 -120 minutes, and will include time for questions and attendees are welcome to take photographs of most things in the room. The sessions will take place on:

Wednesday February 1st at 5.30p.m – fully booked

Tuesday February 7th at 10.30a.m – fully booked

Thursday February 9th at 2.00p.m – fully booked

Thursday February 23rd 2pm

Tuesday March 7th 10.30am

Booking is essential as places are limited. To book, please email simon@kendaltowncouncil.gov.uk

 

 

 Kendal Town Council has approved a plan to invest £5,000 in improving natural play facilities in Serpentine Woods, Kendal. The money will help restore many of the existing features, including the much-loved alphabet and nature trails. The move follows consultation with local schools, the Fellside Forum and Kendal Conservation Volunteers. There will also be new visitor leaflets and a dedicated area on www.visit-kendal.co.uk, matched by updated QR codes on the entrance signs.

Chair of the Town Council’s Environment and Highways Committee, Cllr Eamonn Hennessy said, ‘this is a good example of how local partnerships can improve facilities for residents and visitors. The woods are owned and managed by the district council, but we can bring additional resources and community buy-in.’ Mayor of Kendal, Cllr Doug Rathbone said, ‘Kendal Town Council is keen to ensure there is continued investment in our parks and open spaces. We know that there will be challenges as South Lakeland and Cumbria merge their operations in a few months, and we want to make sure that our vital green areas get the resources they need.’

Picture shows restored painted magpie sculpture in Serpentine Woods, Kendal, funded by Kendal Town Council.

Kendal Town Council are seeking landscape designers and gardeners to sponsor improvements to the green space at Kirkland near Nether Bridge to create a new ‘Coronation Garden’.

The area has undergone multiple changes recently due to the flood prevention scheme and is now in need of updating to complement surrounding improvements.

Sponsors will be featured in the garden and thanked across our networks.

If interested, please contact helen@kendaltowncouncil.gov.uk for more details.

Kendal residents are being encouraged to join Kendal Town Council, Waste into Wellbeing and Stricklandgate House at an event designed to help the trio create a ‘sustainability hub’ at Stricklandgate House on the 1st of February.

The initiative is a result of the towns Climate Change Citizens Jury, read more action updates here.

Email helen@kendaltowncouncil.gov.uk for more info.

Thanks to the dedication of many Kendal volunteers and organisations, there are warm spaces available Monday to Saturday across the town.

The poster below will go to all households in Kendal, please share as widely as possible to help this information reach those that might need it this winter.

For full information and contact details please follow this link to Cumbria County Council’s warms spaces map.