The following is a statement from Penrith.Town News following complaint from Westmorland and Furness Council about three recent headlines and articles by Penrith.Town News.
Over the past week Penrith.Town News has received a complaints from a council staff member regarding three articles published on Penrith.Town News involving Westmorland and Furness Council.
The first on our article about the condition of the public footbridge at Eamont Bridge - “Sections of Footbridge Still Hanging in Mid-Air — A Year After Survey Recommended Closure be Considered”
The Council claimed the headline was “misleading”, the council also claimed the report commissioned and carried out for Westmorland and Furness Council in 2025 was by someone “not experts on that particular issue they highlighted” in a report paid for by the council.
The sections of bridge hanging in the air still today and the report issued by a qualified surveyor back our article and headline.
The second on the council consultation about new powers to force landlord to lease empty commercial properties - “Council Launching Consultation on Seizing Empty Shops from Landlords and Auctioning Leases” the council claims it will not seizing property. They stated our article was balanced but the headline was “misleading”.
The powers will mean landlords will through this if the council enacts the full powers on a property have the council decide who rents the property via an auction and set the lease amount for upto five years with the landlord powerless to stop them.
Todays Third is about the carpark charges - “Penrith Drivers to be Hit with Parking Charge Hike to £2 for One Hour While Ulverston Pays Just 70p” – the Councol claims this is misleading because as the 70p for an hour is available in one of the carparks in Ulverston a fact started in the article and still means that a car can be parked for 70p in a carpark in Ulverston compared to £2.00 in the Penrith carparks.
We stand by our articles as published and would like to share an example of a recent Westmorland and Furness Council News release about the councils Care Quality Commission Inspection compared to the news release by the Care Quality Commission on the council's inspection.
That can be seen in the images below.
Penrith.Town News is not part of the councils communications team we operate as an independent news organisation that unlike other local news media, do not receive or wish to receive any financial payments from the council for advertising or public notices allowing us to operate with no financial ties to any local authority.
While we appreciate our news articles may not always give headlines the council likes, that’s not our role or that of any local news media.
The role of news media around the world in democracies is to serves as a crucial pillar of democracy by informing the public, fostering debate, and holding power to account. Acting as a watchdog, exposes wrongdoing, and provides the essential information needed for citizens to make informed decisions and participate in the democratic process.
We make no apology for doing hard news and not fluffy news.
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