28/10/2009 - Hensingham residents to find out how Together We Can

Residents in Hensingham are preparing to take control of their neighbourhood in a week-long event.

Local people will be telling representatives from organisations including county and district councils, the police and fire and rescue service about the about the issues that could improve their quality of life and the local environment.

A team of canvassers will be going door-to-door to ask residents about what changes they want to make that will help spruce up their neighbourhoods, from removing graffiti to fixing streetlights or giving road signs a good spring clean. 

The five day event, Together We Can, will see a raft of community improvements from Monday 2 November to Friday 6 November, with Cumbria County Council, Copeland Borough Council, Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service, Cumbria Constabulary, Copeland Homes, South Whitehaven Neighbourhood Management and other community and voluntary organisations working together to make a visible difference in the area.

Officers from the county council's highways team will be on hand to hear local views on traffic and road safety, whilst county and district councillors will go on a 'ward walk' around the area, seeking residents' views on improving the local area. 

Cumbria County Councillor Oliver Pearson, Cabinet member for Communities, said: "We work with local residents all through the year to improve communities across the county, but Together We Can events give us the opportunity to focus intensively on specific neighbourhoods. 

"We want to tackle the things that really matter to Hensingham residents, so we're looking forward to hearing from as many people as possible next week about the improvements that will have an impact on their lives."

In October last year residents in Cleator Moor were be given the power to change their community for the better with their own Together We Can event.

The event was a huge success and after speaking to local people after the event the percentage who felt they could influence decision making in their local area jumped from nine per cent to 20 per cent and there was a 13 per cent drop in the number of people who were dissatisfied with Cleator Moor as a place to live.

Together We Can has shown it can have a very positive impact on the opportunities that people have to influence local decision making.

If you would like to find out more about Together We Can in Hensingham, or any of Cumbria County Council's work to support communities in Copeland, contact Marilyn Pritchard, Neighbourhood Development Officer, on 01946 505023. 

ENDS

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