Published at 16:34, Friday, 01 August 2008

Details of the latest Neighbourhood Forum meeting

Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) will be marking childrens mini motorbikes in South Whitehaven over the summer holidays to prevent them being stolen.

Residents met at the South Whitehaven Neighbourhood Forum last week. Andrew Blaney, PCSO for Woodhouse, Greenbank, Mirehouse West said it is difficult for them to trace the owners of mini motorbikes if the bikes appeared to be stolen but had no distinguishable markings on them. 

Mr Blaney said: “Hopefully, if we mark the bikes, it will put people off stealing them, as they won’t be sure if the bike has been marked or not.” 

Representatives from the neighbourhood warden scheme spoke to the group about what initiatives are taking place in South Whitehaven. Marissa Joyce, customer relations officer for Copeland Council consulted residents about the removal of BT public phone call boxe on Cliff Road, Woodhouse. It has the second highest number of annual calls made from the phone box. In Copeland, 25 phone boxes are expected to close. 

As well as discussing issues specifically for South Whitehaven, Coun Elaine Woodburn spoke about the possibility of Copeland becoming an area to safely manage radioactive waste by building a repository.
Copeland Council has started stage one of the process, which is basically ‘expressing an interest’ in the development plans. Local communities can register ‘without commitment’ an interest in discussions, however, it does have to be a joint decision between the community and council. 

In April 2009, an independent organisation will investigate the pros and cons of getting involved. A partnership between Copeland Borough Council, Cumbria County Council, the LDNP, environmental groups and the community could be set up to discuss the plans.
Coun Woodburn concluded that managing radioactive waste is a long process and it will take several years to finalise plans for development.

Published by http://www.southwhitehavenlocal.co.uk