Penrith Annual Town Meeting held.

The annual town meeting was held on Monday evening with the meeting chaired by the chair of Penrith Town Council.

The annual town meeting or parish meeting as the official title is offers the residents and electorate of the parish of Penrith the opportunity to come together and discuss items relating to the parish area of Penrith.

The electorate of the parish can raise issues speak on items and vote on items.

The meetings are required by legislation to start at 6pm and those attending a parish meeting can call for a parish poll on issues also as part of the meeting.

Despite a peaceful protest before the meeting got underway at 6pm by a resident about speeding in Penrith.

The meeting lasted just 38 minutes with 2 written questions submitted regarding the town council position on parking meters and the loss of the ability to pay by cash for parking.

A second question asked about representation the town would have as work gets underway on the A66 upgrades.

A third question from a member of public in the room was asked about n the lack of consultation about work underway by Westmorland and Furness Council in CastlePark. 

The member of the public stated that the bowling club located next to the tennis courts that work is taking place on have had no consultation and no planning application has resulted in no public ability to comment.

The meeting then had a presentation by Cumbria Wildlife Trust about its work underway to create a community wildlife reserve on land gifted to the trust along Beacon Edge.

The meeting concluded with a short presentation about the risk to Cumbria Asian hornets are now posing to the UK and Cumbria specifically with an ideal climate and environment for the Asian Hornet.

After the meeting concluded those attending had the opportunity to speak with some local groups and organisations who do work in and around Penrith.