Warcop Village

Insulating your home

2012-02-22T04:53:00.000-08:00

Libby Bateman & UECP have been encouraging everyone to insulate their homes and also as part of the Eden Insulate project in Warcop and the surrounding area in the last week or so, carrying out in depth surveys of properties.

So saw this on a Money saving website & thought it might be of interest to everyone -

Earn £50 recommending FREE £300 insulation

The push to insulatehomes is getting silly - energy firms now pay you to let them install

Bigenergy providers have 'Carbon Emission Reduction Targets'. They must pump moneyinto making homes more efficient, especially for 'tough to reach' groups. Ifthey miss targets, they get big fines. So they're desperately pushing cash outthere. Why not take advantage?

Everyone's eligible for up to £300 of free installation. Cavity wall and loft insulation can slice £100s off annual energy bills. Right now, up to £300-worth is being doled out to anyone by energy companies - even if you're not their customer. Anyone can apply, but you do need a suitable property. See the Free Insulation guide for a full list.
Recommend someone elderly / on benefits - get £50 EACH. British Gas's now offering £50 if you refer an elderly person on pension credit, or anyone else on qualifying benefits, to get free insulation. Neither of you need to be British Gas customers, and you'll both get £50. See British Gas £50 referral info.
Free insulation PLUS 10,000 Tesco points if on certain benefits. Tesco's giving 10,000 (5,000 for loft + 5,000 for cavity wall) points to anyone getting insulation if they're on qualifying benefits. While 10,000 is worth £100 redeemed in store, it can be worth up to £400 on Tesco Rewards. Alternatively, Eon's offering anyone on qualifying benefits £100 cash for getting free insulation. Full details in Get paid for free insulation

Warcop & Drybeck Oil Club

2012-02-14T04:02:00.000-08:00

Warcop & Drybeck Heating Oil Club

Delivering within a 10 mile radius of CA16. 6

Want to make savings on your annual oil bills? Then join Warcop & Drybeck Oil Club.

Find us on www.oil-club.co.uk this website is free to use and there are no annual fees or lock-ins.

Want to register? Have any questions or queries? – contact:
www.oil-club.co.uk

‘together we can all save more’

We could raise £9000 by end of March.....find out how

2012-02-01T09:59:00.000-08:00

Cyberbarn needs just 30 minutes of your time. Whether you have ever used a computer or not, you can help us to make the most of a one-off opportunity to access a considerable sum of grant funding for Warcop and Sandford projects. But you MUST visit Cyberbarn before the end of March, and the sooner the better so we will know how many more people we need to persuade to come and enjoy our coffee and broadband before the deadline.

This is a funding pot that will NOT be repeated and if we miss the chance to access this money, it will be more fool us. All of us. All it needs is for as many residents of this parish as possible to drop in for a mere 30 minutes. Bring your own laptop if you would like, or your iPad or Kindle, and check your emails, download a few ebooks, or update your software whilst you are here.

The catch? We are asking everyone to complete a simple Online Basics course, which takes around half an hour. That's all you need to do, and the courses are useful to anyone wanting to use the Internet more effectively. If you are an experienced computer user, please come and do the course anyway - you never know what you might learn, and bring a newbie so you can share your experience.

We do ask for a small donation of at least £2/hour to cover the heat, light and keep the coffee machine topped up, but considering what your visit could release for this Parish, it is a small price to pay to help other projects in Warcop and Sandford get under way.

All ages and abilities welcome, as well as people from outside Warcop, Eden, Cumbria or even UK! We recently had a visitor from the Brecon Beacons who had driven all the way from Wales to visit Cyberbarn, and have also had visitors from as far afield as Texas, North Carolina, Italy and Bosnia in the last month alone due to our online publicity and widespread interest in the project.

We are happy to answer and hopefully solve any IT questions or problems you may have.

Please help as this is a considerable sum of money which could be used to very good effect in this Parish. It is almost equivalent to 2 year's parish precept and we have only 2 months to reach the target by getting as many people through the door as possible. Please tell others who may not read the blog and let's start Spring with a fab sum of money in the village coffers.

Reports from meetings, events etc

2012-01-31T08:44:00.000-08:00

Please do use this website to share reports from meetings, dates for upcoming events, news about village activities and committees, fund raising efforts and any other interesting snippets about Warcop life.

We would like to create a calendar of events so that the many people who are giving freely of their time and energy to make Warcop a thriving village are fully supported. Please let us know of any dates, times, venue for any event during 2012 so this calendar can become a useful resource. Thanks.

Grants for Warcop

2012-01-31T08:40:00.000-08:00

As we enter the new year, and despite the economic environment and cuts, there are many new grants available to this area and for projects which could be run here. However, in order to access these grants in a manner most likely to assist Warcop and Upper Eden projects, it is essential that the many committees and organisations are aware of who else in the area is applying so as not to jeopardise other applications. (We had a little communication problem with this for Village SOS when two Warcop projects applied but only one application could be accepted ....)

So, perhaps those looking to do projects in Warcop and the surrounding area could use this website to post intentions of grant applications or ideas about possible projects? This will prevent duplication, give an opportunity for projects to join up and/or work together, as well as having the additional benefit that more people will know and understand what is going on and may like to get involved in some of the projects in this village and Parish, as well as in the wider Upper Eden area.

To start the ball rolling, Cyberbarn is actively seeking further grant funding to cover revenue costs (wages), for crime prevention and CCTV equipment to sell to farms and properties in the area, for young people's activities including smartphone app development, digital entrepreneurship and start-ups, and for the 5-11 age group (currently being trialled with Appleby Nursery). We are also considering a possible relocation of the Cyberbarn into the village to encourage more people to use it - open currently at Cote House Farm, Bleatarn, Monday, Wednesday and Friday 1-7pm (weather and volunteer availability permitting).

On this last proposal, Cyberbarn would welcome thoughts from the village about moving the Portakabin into the village - where? It would be ideal if the Cyberbarn could act as the home for the Village IT Suite until the new village hall is built, when the equipment could be transferred to the village hall to kickstart the cybercafe. All thoughts on the pros and cons would be appreciated.

(If you are having problems leaving a comment on the blog, just open a Google account, which will also allow you to use Google docs, Gmail, Picasa, Google +, Google search, Youtube and the rest of Google's multiple services - all under one username and password.)

Cyberbarn Visit by Rory Stewart MP & Guests today

2011-12-16T00:51:00.000-08:00

Cyberbarn is to be visited this afternoon by Rory Stewart MP and guests to offer their seal of approval. It was hoped he'd be the first to dig some fibre optic cable for Bleatarn, but not sure the snow will allow!

More to follow.......................

Latest planning applications for the pub

2011-11-24T09:03:00.000-08:00

The new plans for the conversion of the pub are now online at www.eden.gov.uk application numbers 11/0848 and 11/0849

There is a plan to hold a public meeting for villagers in the near future, details to be announced shortly.

Eden District Council Development Control Visit

2011-11-18T20:11:00.000-08:00

Monday 21st November, 11am at the Chamley Arms. Villagers welcome to attend to see what work has been done and air their views with the Planning Enforcement Officer, Adam McNally about listed building consent, conversion, planning applications submitted and refused for the pub, etc.

Warcop Newsletter

2011-11-12T17:27:00.000-08:00

Over the coming days, we will be putting together a printed newsletter detailing all meetings and events through to the end of the year, and news from the many organisations and groups in Warcop. This is to ensure that all events and groups receive maximum support from residents and local businesses.

The printed newsletter will be going through every door in Warcop and Bleatarn shortly - volunteers for letterbox stuffing welcomed. If you have any news you want adding, we are looking for short and snappy details

e.g. Christmas Quiz, Village Hall, time and date.

so that the maximum information can be fitted onto a sheet of A4.

Currently, we have no information for Sandford and we would like this to be Parish-wide if possible in future.

Please let Caroline Shaw or the Cyberbarn or the blog know if you have anything to add.

(Thanks to Caroline for an impressive memory and knowledge of the village for helping to make this happen!)

VIllage SOS - We're through to the next round of the competion!

2011-11-11T12:41:00.000-08:00

WREG page has been updated.

Please click on the tab for news regarding entry to Village SOS

Warcop Pub - page updated

2011-11-09T18:58:00.001-08:00

Click on the tab.

Cyberbarn - Opened by Jeremy Hunt!

2011-11-09T18:33:00.000-08:00

We've had to keep a little quiet about this for the last three days, but the Cyberbarn has now been officially opened, from a distance, by Jeremy Hunt, Minister of Culture, Media and Sport. We hope Warcop might make the Herald this weekend, but meanwhile, it's definitely here on Cumbria Crack and also on 5tth with the videos of the Minister and Lindsey.

As ever, the Minister's schedule had been squished into a nanosecond before he had to move on to Carlisle to celebrate the Olympics and sport, which was his true motivation for the visit to the region. Warcop Cyberbarn has, at least, been recognised by Westminster during this visit, and for that we have to thank Rory Stewart for bringing the Minister to meet East Cumbria Community Broadband Forum, which represents 26 parishes.

Just to reiterate - the Cyberbarn is open Mon, Wed, Fri, 1-7pm. Each visit you make, even if just for a coffee, helps. And we really want you to understand what you can do with technology. It might be a security solution, such as CCTv. It could be in reducing your fuel bills. It could be overcoming the hurdles of uploading videos, removing red eye from digital photos, or how to input that cow passport.

Whatever it is, drop in and give it a go! And tell others to call in too.

Warcop Village Hall Event Monday 14th November 2011

2011-11-09T12:32:00.000-08:00

Lords and especially Ladies...

After a succesfull event held in Warcop village hall Monday there is another event planned next Monday making cake decorations for the festive season.

Caroline or Pat have more details until I get back home.

Hallowe'en and Bonfire Night

2011-10-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

Rumours are landing here that there is a kids' Hallowe'en party next Monday at the Chamley Arms from 6pm. Turn up on your broomstick and be prepared for spooky games and frightening food......

For the grown-ups, this might be a chance to take stock of what exactly is happening at the pub and to ask just who are the ghouls and ghosts in all of the ongoing saga!

Cyberbarn - Get ONline!

2011-10-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

The lights are on! Next, we will be adding a little of the IT factor, and we would appreciate your contributions during Get ONline Week. All we are asking is one hour of your time from 31st October to 6th November.

We would like everyone to draw an animal - preferably on a computer - so we can print it out and decorate the Cyberbarn with the help of Warcop, Sandford, Bleatarn and Upper Eden residents.

And if you are already a Photoshop whizz, a digital camera expert or you can wiggle a mouse in Paint, why not drop up and offer your help?!

Cyberbarn news

2011-10-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

The purchase of the portakabin to go in the Cyberbarn was completed today and it will arrive on Thursday. All the funding for fitting it out with ICT equipment, desks, chairs, greenscreen video software etc is already in the bank, and we hope to have the doors open for Get Online week at the end of October, beginning of November. (Note to burglars - no equipment of any value will EVER be kept in the Cyberbarn overnight).

Everyone is welcome to come and learn how to get online, to enjoy access to the UK Online courses -beginners to advanced, to ask questions about using your computer, laptop, smartphone or any other device, and to tell/ask us what you would like to know about ICT. Whether it is how to remove red eyes from a digital photo, upload a Youtube video, or customise your computer so it glows in the dark - come and ask!

There are currently problems with Cumbria County Council and CLEO (now run by BT) in getting a superfast broadband connection from the school to the Barn, but as there is no logical reason for any hurdles being placed in the way of Warcop's Online Learning Centre being connected, we are now escalating this to the Prime Minister, associated Govt departments, UK Online, Cumbria County Councillors, and the press, to ensure that common sense is applied to make something extremely simple happen in Warcop.

The Cyberbarn is a Big Society initiative and obstructive public and private sector players are precisely those that such projects have been encouraged to displace to see forward motion in rural areas such as ours. Especially when the community and many organisations have already shown support for this project, and others directly associated with it, to make miracles happen now and in the future in our village.

Videos, photos etc will shortly be posted of the Cyberbarn set up and we look forward to welcoming you there. We will be arranging visits to the Cyberbarn for all residents, young and old, over the coming weeks so please do not be shy in asking for a lift up to visit us if you don't fancy the stroll.

This Blog, the Parish and the police

2011-10-12T17:50:00.000-07:00

This website was set up in order to keep people informed about events and news in the parish of Warcop.

It was not set up so that people could write libellous comments, make accusations against village residents, or write malicious gossip. Accusations of wrongdoing etc should be directed through the appropriate channels viz the police.

Due to recent comments made on this blog, I have received a call (in Holland) this evening that means any information available to us as administrators of this blog, including traceable IP addresses, will be freely shared with the police investigating the Chamley Arms burglary, or any other Warcop Parish matter, as required.

On Monday last at the Parish Council meeting, we celebrated Linda, Joyce and Barbara's staggering 52 years of service to the village. Too many people have given untold hours to try very hard to keep Warcop on track over the years for any individual to be permitted to derail those efforts for this community. Both Julie and I will do our best to prevent this website being used in such a way in future.

Thank you - Lindsey and Julie

Chamley Arms Now Open.

2011-10-08T07:23:00.000-07:00

The Chamley Arms re-opened a while ago but the phone line is still down due to renovations.

Now open for food also, details and to book by email, please visit http://www.chamleyarms.co.uk/

Update:

Apparently the Chamley Arms is no longer serving meals, just a few snacks and the dining room is closed currently.

If anyone knows anything different, please comment to update everyone.

Parish Council Agenda for 10th October 2011

2011-10-04T22:48:00.001-07:00

A Meeting of Warcop Parish Council will be held on Monday 10^th October 2011 at 7.30pm in Warcop Village Hall.

AGENDA

Apologies for absence
Minutes of the last meeting to be approved
Matters arising
Public Session – Presentation to former Councillors
Travellers
Finance
1. To consider payments
Highways Report
Big Society/#cyber Café/New Village Hall/ Broadband
Chairman/Deputy Chairman/Calender for meetings
Report back from meetings attended
Community Issues
1. Permissive Footpath update
2. Planning
Correspondence
Councillors reports & items for future agenda
Date & Time of next meeting

Yours sincerely

Heidi Strong (Clerk to Warcop Parish Council)

To: All Parish Councillors:- Mr W J Heron Mr T Dent Mr G Deighton Mr J Evans Miss L Annison Mrs J Donaldson – Allen Mrs A Daldry and District Councillor W Patterson for information and for publication on all Parish Notice Boards.

White Saxo

2011-10-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

There is a white Saxo that is being driven around the village at all hours, inappropriately.

It has been reported to us over the last few weeks on several occasions, and we have now been asked to mention here that the number plate is on record.

The number of complaints against this driver (who is, we understand, from Penrith) will shortly mean that a tug from the police is highly likely. #justsaying

Warcop Fuel Buying Group - action required

2011-09-25T05:04:00.000-07:00

Rural residents are being urged to set up fuel buying groups and this has already been proposed in Warcop by Julie Bayley. However, we need to act now to get the best prices before winter arrives.

There is a very good document and information about Oil Buying Groups on the Rural Services Network.

It is likely that there are already people in our community keeping a close eye on prices who can advise the best time to buy, as well as having established relationships with suppliers which may improve the discounts.

http://www.rsnonline.org.uk/Community/How-to-save-money-on-heating-oil.html

Every penny saved will help all of us who rely on heating oil, so the sooner we begin to buy in bulk, the better!

Could anyone interested in joining such a scheme please get in touch with Julie at the Old Mill? (opposite the Chamley and beneath what was Dowson's Electrical workshop) Tel: 42875.

More contributors required

2011-09-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

There are still only five of us writing content for the village website, which means that unless one of us knows about an event, a news story or something of interest to the parish, it does not get added to the site.

It is a simple task to add content because you only need to type the text into a box and click submit for it to appear on the site. Adding photos is also an easy task, so we would like to encourage more people to come forward and contribute. It takes literally 5 minutes to show you what to do so you can add news, events etc from anywhere you can get online, when you choose.

We are increasing the numbers of readers from outside the Parish too by also using Twitter and Facebook to get the word out about Warcop and Sandford, so more content would be great.

I'd like to welcome our new young blogger, Chelsea Venning, who will be writing about the exciting Dream Scheme programme, as well as the many other things that this young Warcopian is involved in for the young people of our County.

Warcop's FibreWalk in the Herald

2011-09-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

From Section 2 of the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald 24th September:

Above: Freddy Markham, armed with laptop, and other enthusiasts prepare to board the 1946 Leyland bus.

It was a case of old meets new on Friday as a group of internet enthusiasts gathered in Kirkby Stepehn's Market Square in order to be transported to Warcop via a classic coach for the UK's first public "Fibre Walk".

The group, led by broadband campaigner and Warcop parish councillor Lindsey Annison, walked a route from Warcop School towards the proposed site of the UK's first cyberbarn. Along the route, a group of 23 people discussed the challenges presented by DIY fibre cable laying across the landscape.

Present on the walk were representatives of a number of remote villages in different parts of the country who have grown tired of waiting for their lack of Internet access to be solved by the big telecoms companies and government, and have decided that their only solution is to take up spades and ploughs to dig the trenches that will house the fibre cables that bring future-proofed internet to their communities and businesses.

Also present were parish and county councillors, broadband consultants and fibre optic experts from across the north of England.

Special guest Donny Smith, of Minnesota-based Jaguar Communications, which has rolled out an extensive fibre broadband network in an extremely remote part of the United States, shared his expertise.

"Donny's experience in all aspects of fibre optic broadband, from the pitfalls to solutions, was incredibly valuable," said Lindsey, who was joined by John Heron, chairman of Warcop Parish Council, and Richard and Liz Wynne, of Warcop village hall new build committee.

The event was sponsored by ITS Technology, which is experienced in fibre and advanced network technologies. John Bookless, its chief executive,, said, "This event has done fibre to the home in rural communities proud, and ITS is delighted to have had the opportunity to share our expertise and be involved in such a fantastic initiative to increase awareness of the challenges we all face with hyperfast broadband."

Changes to Local Planning

2011-09-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

Upper Eden is seeking to adopt neighbourhood planning policies for the future which are directly relevant to our community and the needs of this area.

There is a consultation document available online on the UECP website and everyone is asked to respond with their views about the proposed policies as soon as possible. These policies affect many aspects of our lives and will help to ensure that Upper Eden has planning policies to fit the actuality of life here and our requirements, now and in the future.

The links are here:

Upper Eden Community Partnership - http://www.uecp.org.uk
Survey - http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/UENPresponse
UECP on Twitter - https://twitter.com/#!/UpperEden
UECP on LinkedIn - http://linkd.in/oCZENI

Warcop Village Hall and Reading Room Newsletter

2011-09-18T07:39:00.000-07:00

The following newsletter has been distributed around the Parish to bring everyone up to date with the plans and progress with the Village Hall and Reading Room.

WARCOP VILLAGE HALL.

In 2009/10 the Warcop Village Hall Trustees found themselves in a hall where they were unable to use the first floor due to the lack of a disabled access and safe escape, also that in addition to damp, condensation damage, rotten window frames and doors, there were serious Health and Safety issues, inadequate toilets, kitchen and disabled facilities, plus rot in the ground floor due to the high water table and the roof needed attention.

After a detailed look into the cost of refurbishing the existing hall they rapidly reached the conclusion that it would cost between £300,000.00 and £400,000.00 which was the cost at that time of the new Village Hall being built at Newbiggin near Penrith. Further more the Trustees had been looking into removing the Temperance restriction on the hall with regards to the sale of alcohol and later learnt from the Licensing Authority that due to the location of the current hall in the centre of the community, with housing on either side there would be a restriction on opening hours with the premises having to close early, which would severely restrict its potential for increased use by the community and more importantly its ability to get funding.

Coupled with this and the warning from the Lottery Fund that moneys were more readily available for new build schemes due to reduced maintenance costs over forthcoming years forced the Trustees to consider the option of a new hall in a new location. A piece of land next to the Warcop Church of England Primary School was identified and the planners and highways in principle gave their backing as it will group the community facilities in one place and provide a much needed car park for the school plus the possibility of an off the road footpath route to all these facilities. They also gave their support to the existing Village Hall becoming 4, two bedroomed apartments and the income from its sale plus the Reading Room disposal will make a substantial improvement to the scheme.

So the Village Hall Trustees recognised this was a once in a lifetime opportunity that had to be shared with the community and so launched a survey of the Parish to obtain views on whether to refurbish the existing hall or to build a new hall. The survey was delivered to every household representing 488 people and 43% of all households replied.

12.5% said they didn’t know or had no preference.
32% wanted to refurbish the existing.
55.5% wanted a new hall.

So the option for a new Village Hall, won by a unanimous 2 to 1 when the votes of those with no preference are combined with those who voted for a new hall, a decision which has been ratified by the Village Hall Trustees and they would like to thank everyone who returned their survey for taking part. A Building Sub Committee has been appointed under the chairmanship of Cumbria County Councillor, Martin Stephenson assisted by representatives of the community including Sandford Institute and Eden District Council with Rory Stewart’s backing.

As you will recall this is an unusual challenge in that unlike most Village Hall projects, by locating it next to the primary school in Warcop, a school which is short of space, it will be
able to share the facilities. Along with other groups or organisations it will mean the new hall achieves 80% utilisation, which is unheard of in Cumbria. Work has commenced on preparing the brief by visiting recently constructed Village Halls and consulting all potential users so that a key outcome of the project is the potential to improve community cohesion by involving all age groups including providing facilities for the school who wish to use it for PE, Drama, Music, Assembly and the kitchen as they are a “Let’s get Cooking” school.

We are now developing a business plan so that we can apply for funding for this sustainable purpose built facility and so far funding has been received from the Local Strategic Partnership and Neighbourhood Forum for the parish survey.

WARCOP READING ROOM.

The Reading Room sadly closed in 2009 and since that time the remaining Trustees have been struggling with the increasing risk of insolvency and in order to explain the charities current circumstances it is necessary to step back in time.

Warcop Reading Society was founded in 1857 and the single large room was constructed in 1872 with the stated “objects” of “being for use by the inhabitants of the area without distinction of political, religious or other opinions for a) meetings, lectures and classes and b) other forms of recreation and leisure-time occupation”. An extension on the west side was constructed in 1920 so that a billiard table and later a pool table could be located in the main room. An outside toilet and log store were also added at that time.

The Reading Room closed its doors for the last time in June 2009, following a period of falling numbers and two public meetings which concluded that as nobody had come forward and because the charities funds were low the building would close with immediate effect.

The Trustees spent some time consulting with the Charity Commissioners before and after the public meetings and concluded that Warcop Village Hall was the only other charity within the area that had matching ‘objects’ and on the 19th March 2010 the Trustees of the Reading Room confirmed to the Village Hall their wish to transfer all assets to them so that the Hall could improve its facilities. For its part the Village Hall Trustees accepted the generous offer and proposed to name one of its rooms as The Reading Room as a tribute to the former institution and a plaque will be erected to honour its founders and objectives.

The Charity Commissioners confirmed their approval of this on the 29th March 2010 with the only restriction being that all assets must achieve the highest price possible for the benefit of the Village Hall. Based on this restriction and advice given by Land Agents the Trustees have applied for Planning Permission for the ‘change of use’ of the land and buildings from a Reading Room to a domestic bungalow and garden so that the property can be marketed, along with the contents.

Successful FibreWalk

2011-09-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

More than 20 people joined us yesterday to walk around the village and discuss the challenges and benefits of fibre optic broadband in rural areas. The weather just about behaved itself, and now many of the photos and videos from the day are online here http://storify.com/johnpopham/fibre-walk

It was a very successful event, sponsored by ITS Technology, and I hope that over the coming weeks Warcop will be hearing more about what is happening as plans are finalised and formalised. Thanks to John Heron, Richard and Liz Wynn for accompanying the attendees, who came from as far afield as Northumberland, Surrey and Minnesota in the USA. Also a big thanks to Darren at the Chamley Arms for laying on a great spread and offering warm (and dry!) hospitality to everyone after the Walk.

Videos of the event filmed by John Popham

Photos of the Walk

The Storify of the Fibrewalk and colloquium

More on Twitter under the hashtag #Fibrewalk

Cyberbarn - Front page of the Herald

2011-09-10T23:53:00.000-07:00

I've read this out loud twice today already to people in Warcop. Whilst cheering. It's such good news!

However, it has dawned on me that both the journalist and I may know too much about the subject - does it make sense what we have here now? If not, the new Cyberbarn really needs you to get involved.

You may hate computers and not see why they are needed. Please tell us why. You may love them ,but they never work as you wish. Please get in touch so we can help you and you can help us Do IT.

Cyberbarn has been funded to help this village have the computer club and training so many people have asked for. Now, it's here! Almost.
.
I hope that we can persuade you to overcome any confusion and join us in the Cyberbarn to try out this fantastic new facility.

But, we are only part way there, and suddenly one of your newest Parish Councillors has found herself the potential project manager of a building site - Grand Designs, come on down. OK, I've been told it's not a building at all, but to a computer fiend anything involving breeze blocks instead of mice is out of my comfort zone!

Now we have the money, we seriously need help from the village to make this better. You cannot begin to imagine what skills we need right now (I know I am struggling as your project manager to work this through!) so if you have time on your hands, then please drop by Croft House and volunteer your skills.

I can pretty much guarantee that there is something that you can do to help make this work. Whether it's making coffee and cakes, painting, laying lino, writing an ad for The Way, or just talking to the team as we work on the Cyberbarn, we need the village to help out please.

Our aim is to get the Cyberbarn open from October onwards for Get Online Week and with your help in the village, we know we can.

Village SOS

2011-09-10T23:28:00.000-07:00

Has anyone any intention of signing up for Village SOS? Please get in touch urgently with the Parish Council if you are.

http://www.villagesos.org.uk/

There is LESS THAN ONE MONTH TO APPLY but we can only make one application per village.

Needed: someone who feels artistic!

2011-09-10T23:25:00.000-07:00

If you fancy getting into big art for the benefit of the village, please contact Julie or Lindsey asap.

Whatever your skills, please let us know because it seems to us that Warcop needs a huge variety of people to get involved now in the many projects that are ongoing.

If all you can do is doodle whilst on the telephone, that might be what we need!

FibreWalk Colloquium

2011-09-09T02:26:00.000-07:00

On Friday, 16th September, there is a FibreWalk Colloquium event. This is an informal yet informative walking 'conference', which begins at 1.30pm in Kirkby Stephen. The attendees, which include the American, Donny Smith from Minnesota, who is one of the world's leading rural broadband network builders, will be getting a Cumbria Classic Coaches bus to Warcop to begin a 1 mile walk through the village.

We will be looking at and discussing all the issues surrounding rural broadband, in particular when laying fibre optics through rural villages and countryside. Cumbria has £17.1M (shortly to increase to £23M) to spend on resolving this problem, and Warcop is taking up the challenge to be one of the first parishes to do so.

Villagers are welcome to join us. We know it will be muddy. We know it will probably rain. But we hope that by understanding some of the issues, the parishioners of Warcop will begin to see how this village can achieve the seeming impossible where the telcos are failing, and put in a telecommunications infrastructure fit for the next generations.

"Do it once and do it right" is the aim.

Warcop & Sandford Exchange

2011-09-08T11:15:00.000-07:00

Saturday 10th September 10-12 noon in Warcop Village Hall.

Produce exchange - do you have any surplus produce from your garden? Perhaps a few too many fruit and vegetables for you to consumer by yourself? Or some plants that need thinning out? Other people in the community may benefit from your surplus produce. Bring along to the exchange or advertise at the exchange for people to come and collect.

Free range eggs. Bargain toilet rolls 4 Andrex Velvet for £1.50.

Book & Toy Exchange.

Tea, coffee, biscuits and lively conversation.

Funding for Warcop's Cyberbarn has been awarded

2011-09-08T11:12:00.000-07:00

We have just heard that, through the Upper Eden Community Partnership, we have been awarded £5000 to open a UK Online Outreach Centre in the Parish. This is fantastic news for Warcop and brings with it additional benefits in improving broadband for the whole village.

Work has been ongoing for several months to make this possible and we start this Friday with the route planning for a fast connection to the Cyberbarn. We will be laying a fibre optic cable through the village, which could be used in future to connect Warcop parish homes to much faster and more stable next generation fibre optic broadband. We hope the Cyberbarn will be open and operational within weeks rather than months and that the village will support this unique and exciting project.

More news shortly!

Parish Council

2011-08-21T19:38:00.000-07:00

22nd August 7.30pm - click on the link for agenda and minutes of previous meetings

Warcop Village Treasure Hunt

2011-08-17T22:59:00.000-07:00

There is a Treasure hunt next Tuesday 23rd August, taking place round Warcop

Meet 6pm at Village Hall £2 in aid of village hall funds.

Social Media Surgery

2011-07-12T18:16:00.000-07:00

(N.B. This is one of those posts where the links are everything. Click on 'em!)

I've just returned from a day at the Great Yorkshire Show running a Social Media Surgery on the Country and Landowner's Business Association stand as a 'surgeon' with John Popham (who may be best known for #twicket in Wray but deserves far more recognition), Paul Webster aka @watfordgap from Retford/Nottingham, @grahamrichards from Harrogate but active in Richmond and Lower Wensleydale area, and @MonicaTailor from Leeds/Harrogate. Exhausting but exhilarating!

What's on the end of his stethoscope?! Surgeons with an iPhone and an Android trying to organise a mobile Huddle....

Monica......

Meeting Lord Henley was one thing, but having Sir Ken Morrison (Clue: he doesn't own Tescos!) quizzing us about Facebook and Twitter was quite something else.

(Youtube links to follow: they are taking eons to upload and I need sleep!)

The day was full of visits from rural businesses - from caravan parks to country house hotels, from shooting schools to voluntary organisations seeking to help their members. People travel to the GYS from not just local counties, but we met people from Devon and Cornwall too. (We googled it, it's a long way!)

It was quite depressing how few rural businesses can even cope with the email inundation of today, let alone who understood what they should be doing with Flickr, Tumblr, LinkedIn and Google+. BUT, it was also fantastic to meet a wealth of people who get IT. Hopefully, the suggestions of five voluntary social media surgeons helped to provide advice and suggestions for those who came to our luxury abode.

It would be great to follow up on many of those people so if you find this website, please get in touch. (I have linked to a couple of our visitors above, and checked your online presence - please get in touch!).

Many interesting questions were asked and our live broadcast to the world over an iPhone allowed people from elsewhere who could not be in Harrogate to ask questions to be answered by our live debate. Question Time had nothing on this!

I visited the cow sheds (slightly bizarre and unexpected chat about straws and AI with a total stranger!) and went to admire the Shires, as well as visiting estate agents to ask what effect lack of broadband was having on their house sales, and talking to NFU and CLA about support for Upper Eden projects. One day simply was not enough and if I could, I would return again tomorrow (Weds).

I've stuck a few photos up!

I came home with two things: a full tummy from the Food Hall, and a poster which will be displayed on my window as soon as I can track down the lost sellotape, which I suspect the advent of the summer holidays and the return of the twins might explain!

Please, if you need help, come and ask. And come to the Warcop & Sandford Exchange for hands-on and 1-2-1 help and advice from a variety of people who can help you out with t'interweb and computers.

Where's the fire?!

2011-07-12T17:02:00.000-07:00

Spotted on a summer's day in July as we were rushing to Penrith. Sadly, there simply was not time to discover all the details of this vehicle and what is needed is another visit to conduct an interview with the owner at Woodbine Cottage.

Maybe someone else would like to take the opportunity to ask a few questions of a neighbour? It would help if others in the village became involved in the website as we continue to ramp up community activities. And you never know what you might learn!

Here are a few of the questions we would ask:

What make, model and year is the vehicle?
How did it come into the owner's possession?
What is its history?
What other vehicles are owned?
How long has the owner lived in Warcop?
Where did the family live previously?
Why Warcop?
Any thoughts about the village you would care to share?

And please, if you would like to interview people around the village, we have a digital recorder, digital cameras, paper, pens, and much more we are willing to lend to discover a few snippets about the fascinating people of Warcop... please volunteer to help build a community website we can all value.

Red Squirrels Nursery

2011-07-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

Red squirrels nursery on the Warcop school site is filling up fast for September, if you would like a place or to come and visit please contact Caroline on 01768341472 or e-mail, redsquirrelsn-at-yahoodotcodotuk (Replace the at and dots!). Available from 2-5 years.
From 3 years we can offer wrap around care from 8-5.30. We link with Warcop children's club.

Warcop Children's Club

2011-07-11T13:20:00.000-07:00

Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the summer holidays why not join Warcop children's club. We have swimming planned along with a visit to the fire station and the mountain rescue hut. We will be doing outdoor sports and also have time to just chill with friends. Age 3-14.

Broadband for the Parish and Beyond

2011-07-10T06:28:00.001-07:00

As many of you will have already seen, Cumbria has been awarded £16.8M for the next generation of broadband. Some of this, and other funds, is due to be spent on community broadband projects.

As Warcop Parish representative of East Cumbria Community Broadband Forum, I was invited to attend the Broadband Industry Day at Stoneybeck Inn on Friday last, and spoke at length with Mike Kiely of BDUK (Broadband Delivery UK) as well as representatives of Cumbria County Council.

Due to a rapidly approaching funding deadline, Warcop will be submitting two outline proposals for fibre optic broadband, and will follow these up with a public meeting for the parish to refine these and align them closely to the community needs. The last two days have seen a flurry of activity in and around the Parish to establish what will be possible as a first phase and we have got in principle agreements for future-proofed plans to begin ASAP, dependent on some more conversations with external parties.

For those who have not been involved in the discussions to date, (15 years long for me!), this may not be the appropriate place to bring you up to speed (scuse the pun) with all that has been going on and what Warcop will be able to do. Suffice to say that if you are interested in better connectivity, improved mobile coverage and a chance to bring new jobs to the area, please stay tuned and please, please, please come and knock on my door at Croft House on Brookside if you are a resident of Upper Eden and would like to talk about the broadband plans.

If you are a landowner in the area and I have not yet seen you, please do get in touch. We may need access to your land and would like to discuss this with you at the earliest opportunity. Maps will be available shortly, both online and in print, that will show the proposed routes for the fibre optic dig. There will be opportunities for many to get involved and to be paid for their involvement so if you have a mole plough, digger or a spade, we may need your muscle!

Please keep an eye on the notice boards and this website for more news, dates of meetings and so on. There will be full updates given at the next Parish Council meeting on August 22nd.

Broadband for the Parish and Beyond

2011-07-10T06:27:00.000-07:00

Please keep an eye on the notice boards and this website for more news, dates of meetings and so on. There will be full updates given at the next Parish Council meeting on August 22nd.

The Chamley Arms

2011-07-02T21:45:00.000-07:00

It is difficult to ignore the ongoing works in the pub. We have therefore, as Friends of Warcop Pub, sought expert legal advice on behalf of the village, as we were mandated to do by the village.

The Pub 'tab' is back. We will update you via that page as is appropriate.

Comments will be left open and unmoderated, as we feel it is a valuable mechanism for expression of open views by any visitor to the website. Please be aware therefore that your opinions can be read and recorded by ANYONE. A full record of all dialogue via this website to date is available from the Parish Council.

Warcop Parish Council

2011-06-13T15:45:00.000-07:00

WARCOP PARISH COUNCIL

PARISH COUNCILLORS

Chairman:
John Heron
Brooklyn, Warcop

Gordon Deighton
Orchard Farm, Bleatarn

Lindsey Annison
Croft House, Warcop

Jeffrey Evans
Ghyll Bank, Warcop Tower Court, Warcop

Jane Donaldson-Allen, Flitholme

Upper Eden Neighbourhood Plan

2011-06-06T04:39:00.000-07:00

As one of the Big Society vanguard areas, and in tandem with the Localism bill, Upper Eden has to develop planning policies for a Neighbourhood Plan for the area. All Parish Councils and residents are being asked to respond.

Broadly, these cover:

• Housing that is affordable and suitable for local people in rural areas
• Housing on farms and for rural businesses
• Housing for the elderly
• Housing densities that are suitable for the area
• Helping to deliver Broadband Internet Access through planning policy
• Monitoring and managing development to prevent over-development

Warcop is being asked to respond and we are therefore asking everyone with an interest in housing and broadband, now and in the future, to take a moment to read the attached documents and respond via the Parish Council or on this website.

Thank you

Parish Letter PDF to download

Issues and Consultation PDF to download

Upper Eden Neighbourhood Plan
Local Links
Vicarage Lane
Kirkby Stephen
CA17 4QX
2nd June 2011

Dear Parish

As you may know the Upper Eden Community Plan Group has been sponsored by the
Government (Department of Communities and Local Government) to prepare a
Neighbourhood Plan as part of its ʻBig Societyʼ project in the Eden Valley. These
Neighbourhood Plans are due to be one of the rights given to Communities as part of the
Governmentʼs Localism Bill later this year. Our opportunity is to be one of the first
communities to prepare our own planning policy, and; to do so with Government support.
There are three main criteria for Neighbourhood Plans. These are:
• The preparation must be supported by a Parish Council or Meeting
• The policies must fit with Strategic Policy
• It must be supported by the community in a local referendum

The Upper Eden Community Plan Steering Group has been campaigning over many years
for better planning policies in the area to help communities become more sustainable and
help local people get housing which they can afford where they need it. This is now our
opportunity to make a real difference.

The policies we want to put forward are aimed at:
• helping local people build their own houses in sensible locations,
• allow farmers and rural businesses the flexibility to manage growth and change better,
• remove density targets within existing policy,
• encourage specialist housing for older people, and
• encourage better broadband connections
• monitor and manage development rates better

In the first instance, I am writing to you to let you know that this process is starting. I will
be sending another document outlining the policy ideas in more detail very soon.
Secondly, if your parish wants a chance to vote for these policies in the referendum we will
need a letter of support for the preparation of the Neighbourhood Plan. This does not
mean that you, as a parish, necessarily support the policies, only that you support the idea
of preparing the plan. All electors will have a chance to vote for, or against, the policies

The policy ideas are not fixed, and we will be consulting people and parishes over the next
5 months; but they do represent a sensible response to the issues facing our area.
Further information will be made available on our web page on www.uecp.org.uk, and you
can always call, or email me at the address shown for further information.

Yours sincerely
Tom Woof
DPS Ltd
017683 71532
tom.woof@development-planning.co.uk

Parish Council Agenda - 6th June

2011-06-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

7.30pm Village Hall

AGENDA

1) Apologies for absence
2) Minutes of the last meeting to be approved
3) Matters arising
4) Public Session
5) Travellers
6) Finance
a) To consider payments
7) Appointment of Highways Representative
8) Co-option of Parish Councillor
9) Report back from Meetings Attended
10) Community Issues
a) Permissive Footpath update
b) Parish Land
c) Planning
11) Correspondence
12) Councillors Reports and items for future agenda
13) Date & Time of next meeting

Please note the public session will be approximately 5-10 minutes only.

Appleby Fair and Warcop Public Meeting

2011-06-03T06:27:00.000-07:00

A public meeting about Warcop and Sandford's arrangements for next year's Fair will be called by the Parish Council after a debrief with the police and other agencies about this year's event.

If anyone has any feedback, comments or issues to raise, please contact a Parish Councillor so that everything can be included in our report.

Parish Council Meeting 6th June

2011-06-03T06:17:00.000-07:00

The next Parish Council meeting will be next Monday, 6th June at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.

We are still looking for residents in Sandford and Coupland Beck to be co-opted onto the Parish Council to provide representation for all areas of the Parish. It is important that the whole Parish has voices on the Parish Council if decisions are to be made which are best for the Parish.

Please contact any of the Parish Councillors if you would be interested and/or attend the meeting next Monday.

Festival of Warcop Life

2011-06-03T06:16:00.000-07:00

The Festival of Warcop Life will be held in the Methodist Chapel on 2nd and 3rd July and will feature exhibitions by the groups active in the area.

Saturday 10am - 4pm and Sunday 12pm - 4pm.

Come and see what is going on in our Parish, meet those involved, contribute by getting involved, and enjoy the cream teas offered! Donations will be in aid of Warcop Methodist Chapel and the Air Ambulance.

Appleby Fair Policing via Twitter

2011-05-29T16:12:00.000-07:00

It has been an interesting evening, with two Police Sergeants dispatched from Ravenstonedale to Warcop to help clarify the policing arrangements for the following days after a short conversation on Twitter with the Deputy Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary and the Chairman of the Cumbrian Police Federation.

Twitter, as you may or may not know, is a micro-communication tool, similar to text messaging, that allows messages of up to 140 characters to be sent to single or multiple recipients over the Internet. No conversation is long! Whilst Twitter is frequently dismissed as trivial, those who use it regularly know that it can bring untold levels of information, news, and contacts that are difficult to obtain by any other means.

The recent uptake of Twitter as a customer services tool by businesses and local government has meant that it is currently far easier to reach people in charge in our government departments, and who can make decisions or provide information than has previously been possible. However, I wasn't quite expecting to reach the DCC in one small step!

I discovered on a trip to Kirkby Stephen police station earlier today that the station was well and truly closed.

I needed to contact Roly Earl, not the Helpline, and I tweeted the photo that highlighted my predicament. Shortly afterwards, the DCC of Cumbria, affectionately known as 'Big Stu' picked it up and within very little time, it had been passed on to other Police officials, who put me in touch with the right people to answer my queries. By sending them down from Cote Moor to my door within under 40 minutes!

Whilst there will undoubtedly be questions asked about policing of the Fair after the event, however it goes, at this point in time it is hats off to Cumbria Constabulary for adopting the Internet, making great use of it, sending friendly and helpful staff, who will ensure that the required email will be received when the day shift come on duty.

Am suitably impressed!

{EAV_BLOG_VER:2179c038668c7657}

Warcop Parish Hall Village Survey Report

2011-05-16T12:35:00.000-07:00

Libby has asked me to post this on the Blog for everyone to have a read through.

Warcop Parish Hall Village Survey Report

I (Julie) was fortunate enough to be invited to Gamblesby Village Hall near Lazonby last week as part of CAFS renewable energy site visits and it's a really fantastic example of what can be achieved. The Hall has been refurbished and extended and is now powered by a small wind turbine and a ground source heat pump. It's a real community asset! EST case Study

Warcop Children's Club

2011-05-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

Warcop Children's Club is now linked from our Blog List (in the right hand column) as well as from this post.

Warcop Children's Club was established 3 years ago to help support those who need out of hours and holiday childcare, and is run from the Primary School premises. Fundraising to support this vital initiative is ongoing and the voluntary management team need your support, so please do help by attending all of their events so this club can continue to provide fun for children aged 3-14 years. (Read all about the Warcop Children's Club activities here).

Red Squirrels Nursery for children aged 2-5 is also going from strength to strength, and numbers at Warcop school, both during schooltime and after hours, are on the up, which is great news for the village.

Blogger has been offline

2011-05-13T18:18:00.000-07:00

We have been unable to update the website/blog for Warcop for a day. The image shows why.

So, apologies but it really was out of our control. Blame Google!

The village website is being updated as regularly as we can, with info we receive from those who live in the Parish. We are very pleased to hear from all of you that you like the site, and next week we are training more editors who will take control of certain sections of the site - school, Parish Council etc.

We are happy to add links to other websites within the Parish and also to help those with websites make them far more effective in promoting businesses and organisations in the Parish of Warcop. Please get in touch if you are having problems updating your websites, or with photos, calendars etc.

We need Warcop to show the world what we are capable of, particularly in the run up to Appleby Fair.

Reminder: the next Parish Council meeting is 6th June. The travellers will still be here so your views will be more than welcome. Rory Stewart has been invited to the meeting.

Parish Council

2011-05-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

Due to the lack of candidates for the Parish Council, no election was held on 5th May. At the meeting held tonight, only 3 Councillors were present at the start of the meeting - John Heron, Chair, Jeff Evans, and Tony Dent. A decision was taken to co-opt on more councillors, and Gordon Deayton (Bleatarn), Lindsey Annison (Warcop) and Jane Donaldson-Allen (Flitholme) were all co-opted.

It is hoped that a further councillor will come forward from Sandford or Coupland Beck to give full representation from the Parish area. Please contact John Heron or Heidi Strong if you would be interested in this.

Warcop on Facebook and Twitter

2011-05-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

There is now a Warcop Village page on Facebook - added today. And you can follow the village on Twitter @warcopvillage

I've also added a Search Box so you can find information more easily.

Photos of Warcop

2011-05-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

Sunny day in May, so we took a few photos of the village.

All photos can be seen on the Warcop Village account on Flickr - anyone can add photos to this account, so please get in touch if you would like to.

Has anyone else got recent or historic photos of Warcop we can add to the website?

This Week's News

2011-05-05T15:58:00.000-07:00

The website can now be found at warcopvillage.co.uk

The Parish Council meeting minutes have been added, as well as the agenda for the next meeting on Monday 9th May at 7.30pm. There was no election for Parish Councillors due to the lack of candidates.

The turnout for the AV referendum was higher than expected, according to the officers.

Details of the parking arrangements for Gipsy Fair have been added to the site.

"I Knew My Place" is the book about Warcop that all residents should try to read. We would love to see it reprinted to celebrate Ted Short's 100th birthday next year.

The pub opens officially on Friday 6th May. See www.chamleyarms.co.uk for full details of events, plans, the refurb, etc. The FOWP (Friends of Warcop Pub) page of this website has been temporarily removed.

A search box has been added to the site to enable finding older information more easily.

Since winning the grant funding, the Warcop Renewable Energy Group has plenty of news! From the Energy Savings Trust Report to the Cumbria Woodlands proposals for the village, to a community-wide solar panel project on all south facing roofs, to hydro and the Sustainable Energy Eden group. Please come forward if you are interested in saving the planet; Warcop needs to do its bit and it will reduce your fuel bills.

There is a report on the Eden Credit Union which could prove beneficial to many in this area.

Anyone interested in connecting this village to a decent broadband connection is asked to attend an Upper Eden Community Project meeting to be called shortly in the village. There are also plans to start an informal IT club in the village hall which already has a wireless broadband connection.

Everyone in the village can contribute to this website - whether it is a photo of the noticeboard to share event posters, a scene in the village, event dates and reports, your memories of Warcop, or an ad for an item for sale ....please contribute. And if you have an internet connection, we can make you an author on the site in about 2 secs if you email us.

And apart from Rushbearing - more next month - I think that's it for yet another quiet week in Warcop!

IT Club and T'interweb

2011-05-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

There are substantial plans afoot across Cumbria to try to deliver broadband to the Final Third First. The Final Third is that 35%+ of the country's population in which the telecom companies are unwilling to invest and who are likely to be left behind on the wrong side of the Digital Divide on very slow connections.

However, all is not lost! Cumbria has been chosen as one of 4 rural broadband pilots (the others are North Yorkshire, Highlands and Islands, and Herefordshire) in line to receive approx £10million each for Better Broadband.

So, we need to know what people use the Internet for, what broadband you would like here, and also to help everyone who chooses to get access to the information available online.

We also know there are a few digitally reluctant people about! So, we would also like to start an informal IT club in the village hall, which already has a wireless connection from the previous broadband project 7 years ago. If you would be interested in:

learning what computers can do
playing with an iPad, iPhone or the latest digital technology
discovering how to make free phone calls to your friends and family across the world
removing the red eye from your digital photos and learning about digital cameras
finding out what the fuss is over Twitter and Facebook
scanning your precious photos
or even doing a mail merge for your Christmas card envelopes

you will be more than welcome to come along. Details to be announced shortly.

This is another great way to support and use our village hall, and to get out and meet others in Warcop who may be new here, or isolated, or just plain confused about these new-fangled computers and their benefits! All ages more than welcome - it's amazing what the kids learn from the older generation at these events.

And if you are reading this online, and know you have a neighbour who cannot access the Net, please print out a copy and put it through the door.

Warcop Green Communities Report

2011-05-04T01:05:00.000-07:00

I've managed to hopefully get to grips with Dropbox this morning.

Here is the link to the Energy Savings Trust report for everyone to read:

Warcop Green Communities Report as a PDF

You'll see Warcop has potential to become more self sustainable regarding energy supplies, utilising a mixture of hydro, wind, PV & not forgetting woodfuel.

Subsequently we also had a follow up meeting with Neville Elstone, who spoke at SEE meeting on the same evening, from Cumbria Woodlands, whose given us a planned way forward regarding utilising Warcop's woodland resources for woodfuel etc.

From Neville's email back to WREG.

"Many thanks for taking the time to show me around the village and explain your ideas. Woodfuel has plenty of potential to help the villagers both reduce their fuel bills and carbon foot print.

We spoke about several ways that Woodfuel could work harder within the village to help the community, this ranged from helping those who currently burn wood find sources of timber and burn it more efficiently to district heating schemes such as we saw in the film (shown at SEE meeting). The community need to decide what, from a wide range of potential opportunities they want to go for, in full knowledge that the bigger the project the greater the risk and time commitment. Below I have set out a table which details some objectives and ways to achieve them, it’s important to remember you can start with the first ones and then move on to the next. Please note that this could be further sub divided or other options could be added in"

Objective	Ways to achieve it
Increase knowledge about burning wood well for those with existing Woodfuel stoves and open fires	A knowledge event on how to burn wood well and where to buy it from locally
Raise awareness of the potential for burning more wood in clever ways, log batch boilers for single homes, pellet stoves etc	Through a mix of events, articles, visits and information provision
Increase the management of woodlands within the area, say a 10 mile radius	A mix of events, local promotion, visits, information provision and sign posting existing free woodland advisory services
Community owned firewood business	Obtain access to a range of woodlands or buy in timber from local owners who manage woodlands
Community owned pellet/briquette business	Obtain the interest and buy in of local sawmills, ensure the business model makes sense, balance supply of pellets with demand
Community owned district heating system	Obtain buy in from community Obtain finance Set up legal agreements

WREG Update

2011-05-03T18:38:00.000-07:00

Since the report by the Energy Savings Trust, there have been umpteen visits to the village and communications to/from the village about the options available to Warcop.

Please can anyone interested in renewable energy, recycling, sustainable solutions, solar, wind, biomass, etc etc, please get in touch with Julie at the Old Mill?

Warcop Parish Council Meeting

2011-05-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

The next meeting is 9th May at 7.30pm in the Village Hall

Appleby Horse Fair

2011-05-03T07:34:00.000-07:00

The dates for the Appleby Gipsy Horse Fair are 2nd - 8th June with Fair Hill opening at 4am on Thursday 2nd June. The Spring Bank Holiday is Monday 30th May.

Warcop is a stopping place for horses and bowtops, up to a maximum of 20. Permitted areas for stopping in Warcop are shown on the map on the official Appleby Fair website here.

No motorised vehicles or caravans are allowed this year and full details of the temporary stopping place in Warcop are available on the official Appleby Fair website.

Sandford - 10-15 vehicles are permitted between the A66 and the railway bridge. No parking is permitted beyond the Railway Bridge, as shown on the map here. Full details of the Sandford temporary stopping place can be found here.

Sandford Road End has room for 15 vehicles between the A66 and the Railway Bridge

I Knew My Place

2011-05-03T05:35:00.000-07:00

Cover Photo: Horse Fair at Kirkby Stephen
Copyright Kendal Library, Cumbria County Council

Edward Short's book about Warcop, entitled, "I Knew My Place" is a must-read for anyone who lives in the village. It is not particularly easy to find a copy, even online, but there is a copy in the Warcop Archives (The Gregson Collection) and a comfortable sofa on which to read it!

Ted Short was born and grew up on Brookside, Warcop. He became Postmaster General in 1967 and then Chairman of Cable & Wireless. Now Lord Glenarama, he is the second oldest peer in the House of Lords and his political career has been illustrious. He will be 100 years old next December.

The back cover blurb reads:

Warcop in the Twenties was still a feudal pyramid with the Lady of the Manor sitting on the top like a cock on a farmyard midden, and the tenant cottagers at the bottom of the socio-economic heap. Everyone had his place in the structure and knew it; few aspired to to change their place and even fewer were successful in doing so. But we were an independent lot, everyone regarded himself as being as good as, perhaps better than, the next one, not in an arrogant way but with a fierce belief that what he did was as important in the village as what anyone else did. Jack Watt, the rabbit catcher who came down from the fell each morning (when there was an 'r' in the month) with his bicycle festooned with rabbits, was as proud of his calling as the vicar and a good deal more successful with rabbits than Mr Shaw with sinners.

The frontispiece reads:

In this deeply-felt but clear-eyed description of his first ten childhood years in a remote Cumberland village during the First World War and the early twenties, Edward Short evokes with exceptional power his reactions - then and now- to the place and the rich variety of its people.
At a time when wireless and motor cars were still toys for the wealthy or greatly adventurous, such a village depended for entertainment and amusement almost entirely on its own efforts and perceptions. Those perceptions were keener if sometimes narrower, idiosyncracies had freer rein, the infrequent fair or local celebration stood out from everyday working life with a sharpness few events can parallel today. Above all, the power of the class system still dominated people's lives, with its careful stratification into "gentry", shopkeepers, farmers and labourers.
All this and more - people and their relationships, rural scenes, much-loved animals, personal pleasures and terrors - Edward Short conjures up with intimate understanding and a sympathy always warm if occasionally wry. Later Postmaster General, Secretary of State for Education and Science and Leader of the House of Commons, he looks back today, as Lord Glenamara, on these early influences that moulded him into schoolmaster, painter and Labour politician, not only finding them good but conveying to the reader the full depth of his pleasure in them.

Published by Macdonald, if you can get hold of a copy, it is a great insight into this village during the last century.

Broadband in Warcop

2011-05-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

As was recently mentioned in the Parish Council meeting, there are plans afoot to improve the broadband connections into rural Parishes such as Warcop. Recently, several people in Warcop, Bleatarn and Sandford, who have previously expressed an interest in broadband (e.g. at the Great Asby Meeting last year and at the Rheged Conference last September) have received this email from Libby Bateman, Upper Eden Community Project Officer.....

As the broadband campaign is hotting up across Cumbria, we are getting down to the local level plans and ideas for the 'first mile' networks. But I am not too sure what the plans are for Warcop.

Other communities are getting themselves organised for their first mile networks and we could do with getting a Warcop Broadband meeting together if possible to investigate solutions and demand.

Would it be possible to arrange a parish meeting on the subject?

There is now a new group called East Cumbria Community Broadband Forum (ECCBF) which includes representatives of many of the villages from Eden. Broadband Delivery UK are fully engaged in all that is happening within Cumbria at present, and for everyone interested in broadband, the broadbandcumbria site is the local source of information from all Parishes in Cumbria.

Warcop, Bleatarn and Sandford have several choices for solutions to the broadband problem many face in areas such as this. The existing wireless network can serve a far wider area if the village chose, but we still need to resolve the problems of backhaul into the village. Work is ongoing on this issue but many rural areas suffer similar problems to those faced here.

As soon as a date is received from BIS for the next ECCBF meeting, we will post it here so that Warcop Parish can be represented, and if anyone is interested in joining the Warcop Broadband Group, please contact John Heron, Chairman of the Parish Council, David Shaw at Cote House, or Libby Bateman UECP c/o the Community Centre in Kirkby Stephen.

Congratulations to the village

2011-05-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

Driving past the Chamley Arms on this gorgeous spring evening, it would seem that all the work everyone in the village has done to ensure the refusal of the planning applications for 2/3 residential conversion has been worth it. People are sitting outside in the sun drinking and talking, and include many who have not seen each other for months.

It is only because those plans were refused that the pub is open tonight, under new management/tenancy, brightened up, and welcoming. The village knew that all the pub required was a little TLC and some vision of the potential that particular building holds to serve this community's needs. The Planning Inspector realised this too. Now the village can enjoy the benefits.

Speculative development of community assets in villages such as Warcop will not be permitted under the new Localism Bill and it seems Warcop has bucked the trend by preventing it before the Bill is made law.

Well done, Warcop. And thanks to all those within and for FOWP (who have not been forced to stick their heads above the parapet!) and who have helped behind the scenes for the last 20+ months to ensure that the Chamley could open its doors again with a warm welcome for villagers and as a venue for food, beer, village events, etc. Much needed B&B accommodation next, we hope...

Salud!

Eden Credit Union

2011-04-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

The study group for Eden Credit Union has established a bank account, appointed Committee Members, and is now seeking to find 1000 members in Eden to become a reality.

A Credit Union is for local savings and loans that runs on a co-operative basis for the benefit of its members. Low-interest loans are available to members, and at just 1-2% interest, this means that if you need to pay bills, buy a new car, have a holiday, you can afford to borrow without "breaking the bank".

You can pledge your support (this is a non-binding pledge) through the website and it literally takes a couple of minutes. There are plenty of links to further information about Credit Unions, details of the progress of the group and news of meetings at www.edencreditunion.org.uk

Chamley Arms Premises Licence

2011-04-19T22:00:00.000-07:00

The plans for the pub - as presented at the Parish Council Meeting by Phil Pepper (March 2011)

The plan *appears* to be to have two flats (disabled downstairs) as holiday lets. The current dining room as a carvery is due to be closed if and when planning is permitted for the new build at the rear of the pub.

We hope the LOUNGE BAR will see plenty of new customers. Especially with the new carvery. Go eat there!! There is no need for any new build behind the pub.........

----------------------------
An application has been submitted to Eden District Council for a new Premises Licence by Phil Pepper and Mandy Simpson. (Ask on Camp for their references). The premises application should be displayed publicly, and at 50m intervals around any building/premises over 50 square meters - it is currently missing. If anyone has seen the missing application(s) and can inform the rest of the village as to its content, please let us all know in the comments box below.

In the interim, EDC have been asked by FOWP for further information as to the detail of that application. You can see the bare bones of the application on the EDC website here.

(Sorry, there is no direct link as the information is protected from search engines etc, so you will need to scroll right down to the bottom of the page, click on Online Register under the Licensing Register heading, and then click on Premises Licence. Enter the Chamley Arms as the Premises name, and then click on New Application 008380. Might be worth reading the previous applications too....)

(See update: until the planning is permitted, the new TENANT (not owner) will be serving food in the lounge bar/dining room, as expected).

The plans shown at the Parish Council meeting in March are endeavouring to turn over 2/3 of the pub into residential which, unless protected by Planning Law, could be sold independently of the pub and leave Warcop with a "1 up 1 down" village pub cum Tap Room.

Do you want the Chamley Arms to operate as a Tap Room....instead as a village shop, Post Office, cafe etc?

http://www.chamleyarms.co.uk/?page_id=21

............Which cannot operate independently into the future as a sustainable business.

Or do you want a 'puff piece' from Norfolk to be the reality for this Cumbrian village?

Warcop Exchange - this Saturday

2011-04-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

9th April 10 - 12 noon PLUS Social Media Surgery 11 -1pm

Books + Toys + Clothes Exchanges, Recycling of unwanted items.

Warcop Parish Village Hall Survey Report - NOW available.

Groceries and provisions.

Warcop Renewable Energy Group - new report from the Energy Saving Trust about how Warcop as a village can help reduce our carbon footprint, plus job opportunities

Time to talk about the Reading Room

Get Online and learn all about social media with our Social Media Surgery from 11am.

How can Twitter help you, your business and your family
What is Facebook good for?
How can we use social media for the good in Upper Eden?
Come and see!

Plus, how Cumbrians have done their little bit for Japan through #Quakebook..............see Quakebook for yourself.

Street Party for Royal Wedding 29th April 2011

2011-03-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

We'd like to arrange a community street party for the Royal Wedding bank holiday of 29th April.

Please can we have some ideas and some support and decide whose organising the event.

The village green is favoured spot & not forgetting the Chamley Arms should be open by then.

Warcop school & nursery are desperately trying to raise funds for resources and a new classroom, so we wondered whether some proceeds might be able to be donate to this or some other village need.

Solar Panels

2011-03-17T20:31:00.000-07:00

Julie went to the SEE (Sustainable Energy Eden) meeting last night and brought back a printed pack. Big thanks to her for giving up her evening - I was in London and couldn't make it back in time.

(Apparently, I'm not allowed to ask how much these bits of paper in the pack cost to produce, whether this is an environmentally friendly way of sharing info, or suggesting that it could all have been read online for micropennies on a website!)

How do we get involved with Sustainable Energy Eden?

Warcop is not in the Heart of Eden project area. We are Upper Eden. This is an invisible boundary, but we are working on getting our new hydro and renewable schemes involved in SEE. Watch this space! (Or the Herald next week)

We do have access to thermal cameras to see where your house is leaking heat, plus a new bulk buying scheme for solar panels, electricity, oil, underfloor heating etc.

If you are considering any form of carbon reduction solution, please contact WREG via Julie or Lindsey. We can help reduce your costs through the bulk buying scheme.

If every household in the village informed WREG of their buying plans for insulation, PVs, etc, we could negotiate better prices for you all.

Please, get in touch.

Parish Council Meeting 14th March

2011-03-14T17:42:00.000-07:00

Nice to see so many people at the Parish Council meeting - I counted 37, which is a great turn out.

Subjects covered included minutes from last meeting, a report from our District Councillor Willy Patterson (including the likely impact of cuts on services such as the buses), a report from the school, the Highways report from Joyce, the Village Hall survey report (results due at the end of the month), WREG report from Julie, Appleby Fair discussion led by Roly Earl, details of the Chamley Arms plans by Phil Pepper, and the Parish Council elections to be held in May.

Some Councillors intend to stand down at this election, so anyone wishing to stand for the Parish Council needs to get hold of the required forms from Heidi.

The minutes will be made available shortly, and we will be updating the Parish Council area of the blog over the coming weeks with as much info as possible.

Warcop Action Group raise £2300 for local groups

2011-03-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

Warcop Action Group has raised more than £2,300 for local good causes in 2010, and presented the local medical practice with a cheque for £600 at their latest fundraising event. Dr Alan MacDonald attended the coffee shop in the Village Hall to receive the cheque from WAG organisers Jean Hoyle, Elizabeth Atkinson and George Atkinson.

(As reported in the Eden Valley Messenger)

Mrs Atkinson said: “The last two of our fundraising events in 2010 were to raise money for Brough and Kirkby Stephen Medical Centre funds. The Autumn Fair and Christmas Fair raised a total of £600 to hand over.

“We would like to thank everyone for their support throughout last year. In total we made £435 for Warcop Village Hall, £1,340 from our Fun Day for Eden Valley Hospice and finally £600 for Brough and Kirkby Stephen Medical Centre – the final total made by WAG in 2010 was £2, 365.

“All this could not be possible without the support from our helpers, the goodwill of everyone who donates to the vast amount of prizes needed and lastly to everyone who attended our events.”

Dr MacDonald said: “We are so grateful for this donation which will be used to replace equipment at the medical centre.”

Mrs Hoyle said: “This year we were asked if we would help with the costs of a defibrillator, to be based at Warcop and used by the group of Upper Eden Community First Responders. Our first coffee shop on January 26 made £40 plus a £50 donation. Hopefully by our third event on March 5 we will be able to hand over our third share of the £1000 needed.”

Members of the First Responders attended the coffee shop and were available to explain more about the voluntary service and equipment needed.

(As reported in the Eden Valley Messenger)

The Upper Eden First Responders have also recently been awarded £3000 from the Royal Bank of Scotland to purchase further defibrillators for Upper Eden, as announced recently by the Upper Eden Community Plan Project Officer, Libby Bateman, after successful local support via Facebook and local media.

(The blog team will endeavour to find out the dates for the Coffee Shop and publicise future events here. If you know when it is, please get in touch.)

WREG wins grant funding

2011-03-07T11:04:00.000-08:00

Warcop Renewable Energy Group has been awarded grant funding by the Energy Savings Trust to look at the options available to the village for carbon savings schemes, a hydro scheme, biomass, carbon reduction on a public building, and various other potential solutions to generate electricity, save money on fuels, and use village assets (including land, buildings, water and trees). The work is ongoing as of today - a very quick, and reasonably painless, turnaround on grant funding!

This is great news, and luckily it was a lovely day today for wandering around with CORE looking at water courses, woods, village buildings, and talking about possible schemes.

We also discussed holding a short seminar for landowners and farmers to discover what options are available for us to work together to get the best feed-in tariffs, deals on equipment and so on. More news on this shortly, and WREG will be at The Exchange on Saturday in Sandford if anyone would like to come and have a chat.

EVENT: Brough Farmer's Market

2011-03-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

Saturday March 19th from 9.30am - 1pm in the Memorial Hall.

Please support the stallholders from our area.

Stock up on locally produced lamb, beef, pork, venison, ducks, eggs, and poultry. Cakes and quiches, fudge and chocolate, vegetables and cheese, jams and chutneys. Plants, creams, a silversmith and more!

For more information,check out the Brough Farmer's market website.

EVENT: Warcop & Sandford Exchange

2011-03-05T05:08:00.000-08:00

The next Exchange is Saturday 12th March from 10am -12pm in Sandford Institute.

These events are getting more and more popular as they become more established. It's a great opportunity to find out what is happening in the Parish and beyond, so don't miss out!

Warcop Renewable Energy Group

2011-03-05T03:31:00.000-08:00

WREG have submitted an application to the Energy Savings Trust for grant funding to begin the process of investigating how we can achieve some of the ideas for Warcop. We hope to hear very shortly whether we have been awarded the grant funding.

The plans are to restore the electricity generating capabilities of the village, reduce the carbon footprint of the whole village, and save money for residents and businesses. Additional to this are plans to "join a few dots" - more news on that soon!

Reducing the carbon footprint:

Ashton Hayes in Cheshire (1000 residents) has just announced that it is the first village to go carbon neutral. There are fantastic carbon reduction and carbon neutral resources on the website which we should all begin looking at.

The video can be watched below

Eden Broadband

2011-03-05T02:44:00.000-08:00

A meeting was held on Thursday 3rd March in Kirkby Stephen with a rep. from the Broadband Delivery UK team (Mike Kiely from the DTI/BIS) to update everyone on the BDUK pilot project progress and to discuss next steps.

There were approximately 20 people present from parishes such as Warcop, Ravenstonedale, Kaber, Great Asby, Mallerstang, Morlands, as well as far afield as Dacre, Northern Fells, and Sedbergh/Dent. Peter Thornton (Councillor) and Upper Eden Community Plan officers, Libby Bateman and Tom Woof, were present.

Originally, the plan was for 3 areas to be invited to run innovative pilot projects for Next Generation Access, but this was extended to 4 after the Rheged broadband conference last September and the success of Eden to be chosen as a Big Society Vanguard area.

Cumbria County Council (CCC) have been chosen to administer the procurement process and project. [It has to be said that this appears to have resulted in it becoming a Cumbria-wide scheme, rather than a proper pilot trialling rural next generation broadband solutions, which is a situation which would seem to need rectifying at the CCC meeting at the end of March. Or we could end up with 'jam spread too thinly' to achieve anything future-proofed or innovative].

Mike Kiely updated us on progress with CCC, and gave some indication of the level of interest expressed by suppliers at a recent Open Day held by CCC held for that purpose. It seems that Electric North West are interested in allowing fibre optics to be run along their low voltage power lines (10-30KV), which would mean that villages such as Warcop, which has overhead power, could benefit.

Miles Mandelson of Great Asby Broadband had had a meeting with Alan Cook (Project Manager at CCC for the BDUK pilot) which seemed to counter the news on the CCC website about 30 'Hub Co-ordinators'. There was a lively discussion about how the number 30 was arrived at, how these would be chosen, what they would do etc.

Terms of reference for the group were discussed to ensure that an 'official line' is given cohesively from Eden to CCC, BDUK etc that is agreed between the members rather than mixing messages and causing confusion. [It is obvious that CCC have a difficult task in front of them, satisfying all the different needs of such a diverse county, particularly if they pursue the single supplier route rather than encouraging existing and new community groups to self-organise and deliver. Communities know best!]

Leith and Lyvennet Broadband Group reported on their recent meeting, plus a name change: to Eden Valley Digital. This name change was NOT well received because LLBG only covers 10 parishes, not the Eden Valley. However, the good news is that the public meeting voted in favour of supporting NextGen broadband initiatives in L&L and LLBG have submitted an Expression of Interest to CCC via BDUK.

Tom and I reported back on the recent FTTH Council conference in Milan, with Tom pointing out just how many ways there are to lay fibre to the home - overhead power lines, through water and gas pipes, dug into fields, fed through ducts etc etc. There were plenty of examples given of successful rural FTTH projects, and there is no reason why Eden, or more particularly Warcop, should settle for anything less than the future-proofed solution that is Fibre To The Home.

Fibre training has been organised on 10th march (next Thursday) with Lucidos near Sedbergh for anyone interested. Please contact project dot officer at uecp dot org dot uk

Chamley Arms Update

2011-03-01T08:55:00.000-08:00

Anyone interested in the plans for the pub has been invited to go and knock on the door to see and hear what is going on. The invitation has been issued by Phil Pepper through the Parish Council.

The aim is to get the pub doors open again as soon as possible. The date of April 1st has been suggested as a potential opening date (This is, we are assured, not an April Fool!)

Plans will be submitted to the Council for some changes to the building structure - more detail to follow.

As soon as one of the bloggers can track him down, we hope to publish an interview with Phil here.....

Warcop Renewable Energy Group Update

2011-03-01T05:38:00.000-08:00

Update: 01.03.2011 We have just received an email regarding group purchase of oil and electricity by a village of 215 homes in Co. Durham. (i.e. not dissimilar to Warcop + Sandford).

The potential saving to the villagers by all buying oil and electricity together in that village would be £17,000 per annum in oil and £30,000 p.a. in electricity. This sort of cost saving would make a huge difference to all of us in the village and should be discussed by all of us at the next WREG meeting.

All WREG news can be found by clicking here

More village groups join the blog

2011-02-23T16:49:00.000-08:00

We are really looking forward to including news from Warcop school and nursery after a fortuitous meeting in the Little Chef over pancakes the other day!

If you want a space for your group, please come and join us on the blog. And tell others to contribute, share news, publicise events, and comment.

Warcop author goes to Milan

2011-02-15T17:44:00.000-08:00

Quite an interesting experience this week for a Warcopian. I've been to Milan to launch a book at the Fibre To The Home conference.

A very surprising relief was bumping into Tom Woof from Kirkby Stephen at the hotel reception and feeling a little less out of my depth 30 minutes into Italy!

The conference was enormous - over 3000 delegates - and although this is not my first time there, it is always somewhat difficult to find your feet.
Even with a Press Pass (I write for Computer Weekly, amongst other publications), it can be quite overwhelming when there are more people looking for a coffee between sessions than live in our Parish. Even Fair Week on Brookside has nothing on the scramble for lunch!

I do wonder occasionally how many other people are doing things from within this Parish that require far more publicity than I would choose for me. Perhaps it is time to promote our people? Sometimes, even the smallest ripple can cause a tsunami and Warcop seems to have a history of activists, doers, thinkers and artists who have caused waves - large and small.

Andy Goldsworthy, who is now world renowned, apparently learnt his trade within the village; the history of Gregson's shops shows how family can encompass business and carry it through generations, opening the Warcop History Room when the shop closed; we had electricity here before Manchester, and Lord Glenamara (Ted Short) who became the Chairman of Cable & Wireless and was Postmaster General was born 2 doors from my house.

I am proud to live in Warcop. This village has a history that engenders pride. There is, undoubtedly, much that could be improved upon - I don't for instance see bequests in the Herald that equal those which have given us the Reading Room, a seemingly untouchable Rushbearing etc - but perhaps we can learn from our forebears and leave a legacy for future Warcopians?

2011-02-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

Upper Eden Community Plan

Renewable Energy Event

Thursday 17^th February 2011

7 – 9pm Lakeland Training Room – Eden Fitness, Kirkby Stephen

You are invited to attend an evening to explore the potential for renewable energy schemes across Upper Eden. You may have an interest in small scale hydro/wind/solar or perhaps you have ambitions to run a community owned scheme. This event is designed to answer some of you questions and make contacts to help you develop your ideas.

Hear about Feed in Tarrifs and grid connections, along with technology advice. Other local people who have already installed renewable energy technology, will be on hand to discuss their experiences with you.

Organisations attending the event include :-

Eden Rivers Trust
The Environment Agency
Envirolink Northwest – Farm Advice Programme
University of Cumbria

The event is designed to assist you to make informed choices about your renewable energy project ideas and to produce a ‘How to’ guide to renewables for the local community.

Please contact Libby Bateman on 07759665233 or projectofficer@uecp.org.uk to reserve your place at the event. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Note – please let us know if you have any access requirements when booking your place at this event.

Community & Council Centre, 17 Market Street, Kirkby Stephen,
Cumbria, CA17 4QS

Tel - 07759665233 Email - projectofficer@uecp.org.uk

Warcop Exchange 12th Feb

2011-02-06T05:44:00.001-08:00

Don't forget Warcop Exchange on Saturday between 10am and 12 in the Village Hall.

Not only can you find out about local services, buy eggs and local products, get your copy of the Herald, but this time there will also be Ian Baker from the Energy Saving Trust, who will be bringing along his very high tech driving simulator to teach you how to drive your vehicle more effieciently and save you money on your fule bill.

Dean Raine will also be there to tell you about the new homeshare scheme. Look out for the leaflets coming through your door. This is a great little event ran by volunteers from your parish so come along and have a cuppa and a chat.

Half a House: Reading Room

2011-01-24T21:49:00.000-08:00

This is a suggestion, put forward by an ex-Parish Councillor from a local village. We think it deserves consideration.

Convert the Reading Room into a house, for rent at current rates eg £400/month. Allow a young couple in the village to do some of that conversion work - the village funds materials, the young couple fund labour.

Then rent "desres" to said local couple for a 3-5 yr tenure on the understanding that:

a) they save as much as they can during the tenure
b) 50% of the rent they have paid will be used to match-fund their savings at the end of the tenure to create a deposit for a local house purchase or mortgage

c) the Reading Room is left as a rentable and desirable property for the next young couple whilst still remaining a village asset

Or we could just sell the Reading Room without offering options to our children or using the equity that so many of us are lucky to have, for the next generation's benefit. Or, as I was told on my doorstep this evening, we could lose the Reading Room for now and ever to the Charities Commission in London, who will sell it and pocket the money.

Our scheme is called "Half a House". Should we consider adopting it before we lose an invaluable part of Warcop's past and future?

Your thoughts please.

News Update - week ending 21/01/11

2011-01-21T15:08:00.000-08:00

Just a quick round-up at the end of another busy week.

The CEO of the Plunkett Foundation, Peter Couchman, has been in touch regarding help that the Foundation may be able to offer Warcop. Bearing in mind that one plan is to re-instate a shop in the pub, the Plunkett Foundation could offer us some very valuable help on that aspect as well as the pub itself. We have also been in touch with our local Pub is the Hub representative to update them on the current situation and move forwards with that organisation.

Next week sees several meetings, including with the Department of Communities and Local Government, and we hope to be able to report back positively from these.

As some may know, we are looking at renewable energy options for the village, including where this could make maximum use of the land and water that surround us. We may be able to access up to 3 days of free consultancy about Community options before March that would include the village working together to generate electricity as a community. This is being followed up.

There will be a FOWP meeting next week to discuss the contact with the owner of the pub and the latest developments. During this meeting, we will set the date of the public meeting about the Chamley. We hope that this public meeting will be attended by a number of organisations who can help us progress to the solution we desire.

For anyone involved in business, there is a business networking meeting next Thursday in Kirkby Stephen - Croglin, 7.30pm onwards. Presentations will be about using digital media in your business by Simon Bennett (Augill Castle) and turning business events and products into local news stories by Andrew Keogh (Westmorland Herald) There is a car going from Warcop if anyone would like to go with us - contact Lindsey or Julie via the blog or email.

The broadband developments continue apace, and we strongly recommend the Broadband Cumbria site for anyone who is interested or concerned about the problems being faced in Eden by lack of broadband.

And finally, please recommend this blog to others. And please feel free to contribute, we need more authors to post on all the different topics that affect those who live in Warcop, Bleatarn, Flitholme and Sandford.

Social Media Surgery

2011-01-18T22:26:00.000-08:00

Warcop will shortly be hosting a Social Media Surgery, thanks to funding from the north of Cumbria. This will be open and free to anyone - and we mean *anyone* to attend in the Village Hall. (Date to be confirmed shortly).

Whether you are on holiday in Eden, a local business, resident, or even from over the border - Yorkshire, Teasdale, Lancashire, you name it - come and learn what social media is all about with us.

We hope this will become a regular feature of the Exchange and SkillSwap so....see you there. Or if you can't make it, we'll see you on Twitter, Facebook, Skype, Digg, Stumbleupon etc!

And if that is all double Dutch, we *really* look forward to seeing you in the Hall so it can be explained and you can save money on phone calls, texts and your Internet usage.

Warcop & Sandford Exchange

2011-01-18T22:15:00.000-08:00

These are always held on Saturdays and are becoming quite the social event, as well as being

an opportunity to support local projects
buy your Herald and local produce
find out about local goings on and events
get information about local services
organise events
get together with other like-minded individuals
drink tea and eat cakes
gossip!

The dates are (Saturday):

12th Feb - Warcop
12th March - Sandford
9th April - Warcop
11th June - Warcop
9th July - Sandford
13th August - Warcop
10th September - Sandford
8th October - Warcop
12th November - Sandford

Please attend. Exchanges in other areas have produced some amazing community projects, supported existing community ventures, and each person who attends helps to prove that we must keep village halls open for the future.

Warcop Village Hall has free wireless internet access during the Exchange so bring your laptop, iPad, and get online or help others to do so!

Contributing to this blog

2011-01-18T22:05:00.000-08:00

This blog is for the Parish of Warcop, in Eden, Cumbria, which includes Bleatarn, Sandford and Flitholme.

Anyone can contribute, and the more that do so, the better it will become as a resource for all of us.

We are also not shy of our neighbouring parishes, so let us know if you are in Upper Eden and want to share news, events, etc.

You can learn how to use the blog, as well as anything on the Internet (Skype, Facebook, Twitter etc) at Warcop & Sandford Exchange or the Social Media Surgery.

Exchange Dates to follow.......you should come! We have been and they really are worth attending - you never know who you will meet.

Village Hall- reminder to all residents of the Parish

2011-01-18T21:40:00.000-08:00

Please submit your comments about the Village Hall as soon as possible.

This Parish needs to work together and to do so it needs your voice.

If you haven't received any info on the village hall proposals, please see Sue Fell or Ray.

The Pub Could be the Hub!

2011-01-15T15:44:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo I found of the Chamley Arms on Google.

Let's hope Warcop can take some inspiration from this video...

Pub is the Hub in Cumbria

English Heritage list the Chamley as a Grade II Listed Building as follows:-

"House, cottage and barn, now an Inn; late C18/early C19 with later additions and alterations. Rendered rubble with rusticated quoins to former house/cottage. Graduated slate roof with stone and brick chimneys; ball finial to west end. 2 storeys, 8 bays overall. Former house/cottage has 2 panelled doors in rusticated surrounds; 3 sashes to ground floor and 4 above, all with glazing bars in stone surrounds; 3 similar sashes to 1st floor of former barn,above two C20 garage doors. Single-storey C20 addition to east end not included."

WANTED in Warcop - your skills!

2011-01-13T16:05:00.000-08:00

Warcop needs you!

Have you a skill from your work experience or life experience that you could share?

Are there skills you would like to brush up on or learn? Confused by computers and I.T. or in knots with knitting? Come to the SkillSwap!

Whether it is using a computer or chain saw, making jam, crochet, running a book club, or swapping a lift to Penrith for shopping or the hospital, someone in Warcop needs to know! And you may have the skill they are looking for.

Warcop SkillSwap and Social starts in February. It will fit in with the Warcop & Sandford Exchange - taking place in the Village Halls:

Warcop 12th February
Sandford 12th March
Warcop 9th April
Warcop 11th June
Sandford 9th July
Warcop 13th August
Sandford 10th September
Warcop - 9th October
Sandford - 12th November

See you there!

Cumbrian Community Assets

2011-01-13T15:01:00.000-08:00

Cliburn Village Hall springs to mind as an A1 community asset, but there are also Reading Rooms, pubs, shops, and a multitude of projects which may operate below the radar for the majority of the villagers in Cumbria, and particularly in Warcop.

When we first moved to Warcop, the Kids Club, run by Ann, Joan etc was a godsend, and will never be forgotten, by parent or children!

Think about the assets in your village and how they should or could be used to better effect.

In Warcop, since I came here 8 years ago, we have lost (in order) Malcolm Peart's garage, the Reading Room, Michael Gregson's shop, the Post Office, and now the pub is closed.

We are also unable to have a community party on Rushbearing or the Village Green due to insurance costs; yet, we all know that Warcop Rushbearing was one of the highlights of the summer with Cumberland Wrestling, bands, and much more.

Enough is enough. Let's take back our assets and rebuild our communities.

Send in your village hall survey if you haven't already done so. Or go and talk to Sue Fell in the Square (ask here if you need to know where she lives!) so we can keep a Village Hall for future generations.

This year, there is also a Royal Wedding. For one day, we are allowed to party, so let's do so! Warcop has a great village and community spirit. We have a village green on which to party, and committees galore who can pull something really great together so that next year in 2012 and for many years beyond, with or without a Royal Wedding, Warcop can hold yet more duck races, BBQs, Cumberland Wrestling or Tae Kwondo tournaments, crochet competitions, a Village Show, Old Tyme Dance and Disco, and a little bit of something to suit everyone.

Think about it!

News about the Chamley Arms

2011-01-12T17:23:00.000-08:00

This letter was sent out to everyone on the Friends of Warcop Pub e-mail list on 12/10/11:

Happy New Year to all!

A letter has been received by Friends of Warcop Pub dated 11/01/11 from Mark Frankland, owner of the Chamley Arms, in response to our letter dated 16/10/09.

He confirms that the current tenant has given up the business, and he considers that there is little chance of it re-opening and trading in its present format.

He states that planning permission will once again be applied for on the bases (sic) that the pub is not viable, not trading, but keeping the village pub aspect in the hope that the site will once again become a viable proposition if planning were to be granted, and in which case, he would be prepared to offer the Village Pub aspect to the community as outlined in the Government Community Bills.

At the same time the Chamley Arms is to be put up for sale after a valuation, but before doing this, the freehold is being offered to the village at a price of £250,000. He states that this is the minimum price he is prepared to accept based on the purchase price and their losses at the premises.

Further to this letter, the Parish Council meeting on Monday was informed that an offer has been made to the Parish Council to purchase the pub on behalf of the village. In light of this letter, discussions will be ongoing about this option. Several people have also come forward with an interest in managing different aspects of the business, which is also good news.

There are likely to be views and opinions about the contents of this letter, and actions to be taken in the coming months, so a FOWP meeting will be called shortly. However, other meetings were already booked with concerned parties in the next fortnight before the arrival of this letter. It would be preferable to see the outcome of those before a public meeting is called, particularly as these meetings concern funding and ownership options already available to Warcop.

------------------------

It has taken 18 months to reach this stage. Stage 2 may not be as quick as many in the village would hope; I think all of us want to see the doors open again and a new era for the Chamley Arms. So to inspire you, watch this video from Pub is the Hub, all about Cumbrian pubs that are succeeding as community concerns.

There are plenty of ideas to choose from for helping to rejuvenate the pub, so let's get our thinking hats on!

Online Village Newsletter & Events

2011-01-11T20:46:00.001-08:00

The first 2011 Parish Council meeting for Warcop, and the Warcop & Sandford Exchange, have now been held, so shortly we will be issuing the first 2011 newsletter.

We intend to update the Parish about the pub, village hall survey, Gipsy Fair plans, Exchange dates, and more so if you have anything to add before publication, please let us know.

Events, for sale items, etc, please just post here on the blog, or give unwanted items away on Freegle.

Thanks!

Notes:

Upcoming Event: Broadband and Localism Event in Carlisle this Saturday. Car share available from Warcop.

Websites to check: BroadbandCumbria.com - for a lively debate about how Cumbria should be facing the Next Generation Broadband issue, community engagement and support, networking and the latest news from the IT world.

Skills

2010-12-11T00:11:00.001-08:00

It seems there is some money to do the feasibility study for eco energy generation. (Approx £25k). If you are interested in getting Warcop close to self-sufficiency and are also interested in helping with the data centre, please get in touch.

Sunday 7pm, village hall, Tuesday 7pm village hall.

The Chamley Arms, Warcop, has (temporarily) closed its doors

2010-12-10T21:18:00.000-08:00

The notice on the door tonight, and the piece in today's Herald could leave you thinking that this is another dying rural community.

But Warcop doesn't just give up like that. Warcop has an astounding history. Even offcumeduns are proud of it.

Warcop has had up to 5 pubs in its time, a ropemaker, tailors, haberdashers, grocers, engineers and more. Its history is preserved and cherished by Michael Gregson, whose family for years have kept more than just an anecdotal archive of this village's quite incredible history. You can enjoy a taste of it for yourself in the village archive, and having been there recently, we can guarantee you won't be easily satisfied with a single visit!

This village has a heart. It might not be instantly obvious if you drive through but it's unavoidable once you have been caught up in Warcop's charms. Even Andy Goldsworthy, who learnt his skills on the Warcop village landscape as a tentative gardener, was captured and paid his apprenticeship back by leaving a substantial legacy to the village in the form of a much-appreciated and well-visited pinfold.

You cannot live here and not love the place. It may not be easy, but once you are accepted, this unique Cumbrian village offers a perspective that no other can. In the recent snows of the last two winters, the local farmers kept the roads clear. Whilst this may seem a minimal task to an outsider, there are actually profound reasons to do so - midwifes and doctors can get to their patients, farmers can reach their flocks and cattle, children can arrive at school, each and every person in the village can get to work, wherever that may be.

We all know that this village has little to offer in the way of work, now or in the future, but we can help those who have been offered a living in Eden Valley; they have a chance to attend their jobs, the kids have an opportunity to learn, and everyone has that really simple choice - out or in! Our kids can at the very least get across the beck or the Eden to catch the bus, because our community WORKS.

Snow?! Pah. Our village hasn't been snowed in for yonks. And when it floods, it needs to be really deep before you can't get out.

So, give up on our pub? Don't expect us to give in easily. Or at all.

Skills Share!

2010-12-07T12:11:00.001-08:00

We're trying to get a IT skills share etc going in the village & a meeting arranged to discuss this & other matters about starting the Old Mill up.

I've been having a think about my skills to share:-

Julie's Skills to share:-

Financial Planning advice including retirement, investments, mortgage & debt advice. Care Fees & protection. I’m a trustworthy IFA. Complete MOT of your finances on offer! Also cash flow planning ie when will you run out of money?
Bookkeeping – part qualified CIMA Accountant.
IT Skills – to share with others
Laminating (wipe clean coating) for A4 posters etc
Cooking – dinners, lunches, baking etc
Cooking, Cleaning, washing, ironing, sewing on buttons – good at getting somewhere organised. Home help. Eco cleaning! Can change fuses & plugs etc.
Driver with car – Shopping or can car share for trip to Penrith etc
Professional carpet cleaning.
Eco clean advice – You don’t need to use all those dangerous & expensive chemicals!
Bird watching Walks – I used to work for the RSPB as a volunteer.
B & B or Rent a spare room by the night or week etc.

Wish List

Tap in bathroom fixing properly.
Fitting of a Woodburner & plumbing in off back boiler possibly
Mill laid clearance – I need a hand & to borrow some fishing waders.
Replacing new light fittings in hall.
Need a Wood store and storm porch

Can we work something out?

Wintry Warcop!!

2010-12-02T23:29:00.000-08:00

It's getting worse as well!

Starting the Old Mill up again!

2010-11-28T12:37:00.001-08:00

Lindsey and I have been chatting to quite a few people in the village about starting up the watermill again as part of a wish to create community renewable energy project for Warcop. It's been amazing to find out what villagers did 80 or so years ago on their own, because they dug a beck all the way from Hayberghyll, the other side of the A66 to a feeder pond now located within the Army camp. It was a huge project with sluice gates, overflow ponds, interconnected to the becks that flowed through the village to the River Eden. This water system provided clean water to the village (goodness knows why the authorities stopped Warcop accessing it!!!) & powered an overshot waterwheel at the Old Mill, which drove dynamos adapted from one of the saw mills located here. I'm told that even during the harshest drowts in Eden area the spring at Haberghyll never dried up it constantly flowed. I'd already been in touch with a few Hydro companies and hopefully with a bit of help from grants/loans as part of being the Big Society, we might be able to get this up & running with the addition of other forms of renewable energy such as solar panels etc.

Everytime we start chatting to anyone about this, people in the area start giving us valued ideas history and feedback, which has been absolutely brilliant.

I think we're trying to organise holding a meeting to discuss all this...but any feedback, assistance, ideas on this blog would be greatly appreciated. It would be brilliant if Warcop could be put on a firm footing to self sustainability, generating electricity as a co-operative & any excess could be sold back to the grid.