News

Wigton Town Council would like to wish all the people of Wigton a happy and peaceful Christmas with your loved ones and our very best wishes for a much better 2022. Although, we may be heading into further restrictions to halt the spread of yet another Covid variant which I am sure our community will respond to with our usual positive attitude and resilience.

There has been much to be positive about this year not least the rollout of 3 doses of the vaccine and thanks must go to our local health care services and volunteers who rose to this enormous challenge. It is heartwarming to know that the people of Wigton are continuing to do their bit to help us all stay safe and get through this new challenge.

We hope you like our new Christmas lights especially the feature lights on the Fountain. The Council was very disappointed that we could not have our usual Christmas Lights switch on again this year but we have already started making bookings for next year and this will surely go ahead! The Festivals Committee are already planning outdoor events for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee next June including being part of the nationwide Beacon lighting ceremony.

Our key project of the Barton Laws changing rooms is now complete and doesn’t it look good! We are delighted with this fantastic facility which will be a real asset to the town and thanks go to all those funders who helped to make it a reality.  Football Foundation and Sports England. We are planning a grand opening event in the Spring when the weather is better. We are also pleased to have our new CCTV system up and running in the centre of town.

Our new project over the next 3 or 4 years is the development of the land next to Barton Laws which we are very excited about. You may have noticed the pop up putting green on here over the summer which was a great success and thanks go to Councillors Armstrong and Hodson for all their work on this. We are hoping that this will be back next year and become a more permanent feature. This was only the start! Many of you will have seen the tree planting and construction of a new pond and these are the first stages of our plan to transform this area into a natural public space which everyone in Wigton can enjoy. We also want to include walks, play areas and seating and will be consulting with people in Wigton in the new year to ask you for your views on what you would like to see in this area. We are grateful for a grant from Cumbria County Council which has kick-started the project, the trees supplied by the Woodland Trust and the vision and hard work of Councillor Nick Robson in leading the project.

Councillors are also very much involved in the Wigton Town Team which is leading our bid for funding from the Borderlands project. A Wigton Place Plan is being produced which will highlight the key areas where we can further develop economic growth in Wigton and earmark projects for the future.

Thanks must also go to our staff who have worked tirelessly again this year to maintain our services, open spaces and the town centre. The floral displays over the summer months looked lovely and were much admired. We also wished a fond farewell for a happy retirement to Julia Webster after 10 years as our Assistant Clerk and welcomed Annemarie Robson as our new Assistant Clerk.

WE WISH YOU ALL A PEACEFUL AND JOYOUS CHRISTMAS WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND ALL OUR VERY BEST WISHES FOR A BETTER 2022.

Wigton finally got to see our beautiful new Christmas lights slap bang in the middle of the first two storms of the year, Arwen and Barra. We now have a wonderful dislay of icicles and stars across our roads, with the Memorial Fountain covered in an ever changing display of rainbow colours to see us through some of the darkest nights.

Lights are on from 3pm to 11pm each night.

Whether you’re in a space that requires you to keep your dog on a lead or they can run free, you must always pick up after your dog.

Grab a couple of dog-poo bags with you every time you go out.

If you don’t, you can be fined £100.

It is important to pick up dog poo properly because it can be a health hazard for humans and other animals. If you leave dog poo somewhere a child or adult may step in it – we all know how horrible that is – you risk making them very sick. In rare cases, it can even lead to brain damage and blindness.

Even if a dog poos somewhere you feel does not pose a risk to humans, leaving dog poo lying around could be dangerous for other dogs as it can spread parvovirus. Dog poo left on the ground can also have a very serious effect.

Whilst the vast majority of dog owners do the right thing, unfortunately it’s not 100%. We all known the ‘poo hotspots’ around Wigton – behind the Junior School, footpath to Wigton Baths, Speet Gill… and now Barton Laws football pitches. And that’s a real problem.

If you are aware of a regular dog fouling issue, you can report it on Allerdale Borough Council’s website or My Allerdale app.

https://www.allerdale.gov.uk/en/report/report-dog-mess/

Top tips

• Never let your dog walk too far from you as this makes it difficult to see where they foul.
• Dogs will usually foul soon after being let off the lead or out of the car/at the start of a walk so be ready.
• Pay attention at all times to what your dog is doing, don’t be distracted – especially not by your mobile ’phone!
• Always carry poo bags. It’s an offence not to carry the ‘means’ to pick up.
• Take a torch with you on dark evenings and early morning walks in winter – darkness is not an excuse for laziness.
• Dispose of bags in a dog or litter bin, or take it home to dispose of in your household bin.
• Not disposing of a bag correctly is also a dog fouling and littering offence.
• Keep your dog off sports pitches and out of children’s playgrounds.
• Even if you clean up poo from a pitch, residual deposits can remain. We’ve had youngsters covered in poo and it is disgusting.
• Dog faeces left on grazing or farm land can contaminate water courses and grass where cattle and sheep graze. These sheep and cattle may eventually find their way into the food chain.
• Please pick up after your dogs on country walks – do not use the so-called “stick and flick method.

To read more about Allerdale Borough Council’s policy on dogs in public places, visit:

https://www.allerdale.gov.uk/en/your-environment/dogs-public-places/