An election for Levens Parish Council in May did not take place because there were only seven candidates for the eight places. Susan Bagot did not offer herself for re-election after having been a Parish Councillor for about 40 years and I take this opportunity to sincerely thank her for all those years of service to our village.

Welcome to this first Parish Council Newsletter of 2024. It seems a long time ago but I would like to thank all those involved in the erection and decoration of the Christmas Tree on The Green. It was good to be able to have a “Switch-on” gathering which everyone seemed to enjoy. Thanks to all who contributed to the Christmas Fund. The cost of a real tree is a concern and how we deal with this is being considered.

Welcome to this edition of the parish council newsletter, which I hope you will find of interest as we all want the best for our village. With Westmorland and Furness Council replacing Cumbria County Council in April the progress of some matters, unsurprisingly, slowed but all are now back underway.

Welcome to this Summer edition of the Parish Council Newsletter. At the Annual Parish Council Meeting in May, I was re-elected as Chair and Councillor Roger Mason was re-elected as Vice Chair.  As I said in the annual village meeting back in March, I thank my fellow Councillors for everything they do to support our village.

Since our last Newsletter in November, Christmas has come and gone and 2023 has arrived. I would like to thank the small dedicated team responsible for erecting, decorating and lighting the Tree on The Green. It was really good to see. Thanks also to all who contributed to the Christmas Fund by donating on line or in the Village Shop.

It is just three months since our last newsletter - but what a three months it has proved to be. Our meeting on 13th September began with a one minute silence in recognition of Queen Elizabeth II; the only monarch most of us have ever known. Since then the Government line-up has changed - and as I write this seems to be changing at an ever increasing speed! As you know Cumbria County Council will cease on 1st April next year and Levens Parish Council are monitoring the progress of the change to the new Unitary Council and what the possible effects to us could be.

Other items currently under consideration include the possible replacement of the Parish Council Notice Board by the Methodist Church, because it is showing signs of age and is not really large enough for all the information we feel we have to display these days. The picnic area on the old W.I. site on Brigsteer Road needs the northern boundary wall extended and possibly some other changes. As mentioned elsewhere the Levens Charity has made two recent awards and hopefully will receive a boost to its funds in the near future. At our July meeting we heard about the 20 mile an hour limit recently introduced to the centre of Arnside. It has taken years to be implemented with several surveys and questionnaires on the way.