A campaign is being launched this week as part of Cumbria County Council’s ‘winter ready’ plans to support the county’s residents and businesses during the coming months.
A wide range of information about all things winter-related is available via the campaign website, cumbriawinterready.org.uk.
The campaign will also involve a programme of social media activity helping to ensure that people are kept up to date with all the latest winter advice and information.
The campaign seeks to ensure people have the right information, advice and guidance at their fingertips. It has been developed, and is supported by a wide range of partners, including Cumbria County Council, the six District Councils, NHS, Cumbria Community Foundation and the Environment Agency.
The campaign provides advice and assistance on everything you need to know to help you be prepared and to get winter ready, including:
- Emergency planning – advice on how to protect your home from flooding and find out if you are at risk.
- Winter travel – how to stay safe, keep up to date with road and weather information and make sure your vehicle is ready for winter.
- Health advice – staying well this winter.
Councillor Keith Little, Cumbria County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: “Severe winter weather can have a huge impact on communities in Cumbria, as we have seen in recent years with the Beast from the East snow storms in 2018 and the devastating floods in 2015. It’s important we take some simple steps to prepare for winter – from getting a flu jab to checking over your vehicle.
“The county council is no different and we’re ready to tackle whatever the weather throws at us this winter. For example, more than 700 of our staff have now had a flu vaccination, which helps protect frontline staff and ensures they can’t unwittingly pass flu to vulnerable service users they take care of.
“We’re also geared up to keep the county moving this winter – we’ve stockpiled 23,000 tonnes of rock salt and our fleet of 38 gritters are on standby day and night to treat priority roads and keep the travelling public safe.
“We have once again been working with our partners to launch a Winter Ready campaign which includes a dedicated website to provide a one-stop source of information and advice to help residents and businesses prepare for winter.”
Launching the campaign today, Cllr Deborah Earl, the county council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Local Communities joined council leader Cllr Stewart Young, the county council’s Director of Public Health Colin Cox, and the council’s Interim Executive Director for People Nick Jarmyn for a free flu jab at the council’s head office, Cumbria House in Carlisle, this morning.
Cllr Earl said: “I’m pleased to be involved in this important Winter Ready campaign again this year. Ensuring that our communities have all of the most up to date and accessible information in one place helps to provide people with all of the advice and guidance they need to get through the winter months. I’d urge everyone to get a flu jab this year – many people are entitled to a free flu vaccine and you can visit the NHS website, speak to your GP or local health care professional to find out how to access your free jab.”
For more information on Winter Ready, visit the dedicated website www.cumbriawinterready.org.uk
