Talks are underway to open a street in Kirkby Lonsdale devastated by fire last month.
Westmorland and Furness Council said it was working towards being able to open Market Street to vehicles again soon.
Over 100 residential properties and 84 business properties in the town centre were impacted by the devastating fire in the early hours of Sunday December 8.
One man died and one person was injured.
The authority said: “In the immediate aftermath, the council addressed the immediate dangers posed by the damaged structures.
“Urgent measures, including a combination of demolition and structural scaffolding, were implemented to ensure public safety, particularly concerning the compromised front of the Old Market Hall.
“These critical stabilisation efforts were completed in two weeks, allowing residents to return to their homes and businesses to begin reopening.”
The temporary measures resulted in Market Street being too narrow to safely accommodate both pedestrians and vehicles and as a precaution, the road has been temporarily closed.
The council said it was now collaborating with structural engineers and representatives from the Old Market Hall to redesign key elements of the scaffolding with the aim of achieving the necessary road width while maintaining public safety.
A site meeting was recently held, and the project is now in the design phase. The council said once the complexity of the required solution was fully understood, the council will provide an accurate timeline for the implementation of the works and the reopening of Market Street.
Angela Jones, director of thriving places at Westmorland and Furness Council, said: “Our efforts continue to support the community of Kirkby Lonsdale recover from the devastating events in early December.
“We know the challenges the continued road closure poses and are prioritising efforts to reopen the road as soon as possible.
“We will continue to keep residents and businesses informed of progress on this issue and all the other work we are undertaking with the Kirkby Lonsdale Community Recovery Partnership and other partners.”
Council officers are currently working with the Community Recovery Partnership to develop a town recovery strategy, which will focus on economic, community and humanitarian/welfare matters.
The strategies are being informed by information gathered at the regular public meetings and the meeting for businesses arranged by Lizzi Collinge MP in Kirkby Lonsdale Rugby Club on January 17.
The three key aims of Kirkby Lonsdale recovery are:
- To support the community to rebuild their lives and find their own personal paths to recovery. This includes supporting residents and businesses to access financial support, to move and settle into new homes and business premises and to provide ongoing emotional and wellbeing support.
- To facilitate community and business led recovery, creating a partnership between the Council, residents, businesses, the voluntary and community sector, local elected members, the local MP and key stakeholders.
- To work with the community and businesses to co-develop recovery plans for the two core elements of recovery – community and economy. The plans will identify the opportunities and actions for longer term regeneration, economic development, and community resilience.
Meanwhile, the Kirkby Lonsdale Fire Disaster Recovery Appeal, launched by Cumbria Community Foundation at the request of the Kirkby Lonsdale Community Recovery Partnership to help support the immediate and long-term recovery of people affected by the fire, remains open.
The appeal launched with a donation of £50,000 from Westmorland and Furness Council and is focused on individual hardship caused by the fire and will broadly support the following:
- People who have lost their homes and possessions to the fire and have been displaced, and
- People who are suffering hardship due to business closure linked to the fire and the loss of income to their households.
- If funds allow, community recovery activities will also be supported where groups have played a vital role in the immediate response and recovery phases.
It has so far raised over £90,000.
To donate to the fund, visit: https://cumbriafoundation.enthuse.com/cf/kirkby-lonsdale-fire-disaster-recovery-appeal/
To find out more about the fund visit https://www.cumbriafoundation.org/fund/kirkby-lonsdale-fire-disaster-recovery-fund/
More than 70 initial grants for immediate aid to people in urgent need have been made, most of these before Christmas. A second round of grants will be made shortly.
An online GoFundMe page set up by Lunesdale Hall (Institute) charitable trust working with Kirkby Lonsdale Community Recovery Partnership and Cumbria Community Foundation has closed.
Discussions are taking place around the governance of grants from this fund and the disaster recovery appeal.
Parking
Booths has agreed to extend the temporary unrestricted parking in Wellington Court, next to the A65 and before the Lunesdale Surgery (with the exception of the specified staff parking bays) until the end of February.
This does not apply to the Booths main store car park, which remains one hour free with an option to purchase a second hour as normal.
The Lunesdale Surgery parking is for patients of the doctor’s surgery only.
Illuminate Festival
Visitors to Kirkby Lonsdale this February can expect to enjoy a packed schedule of events and entertainment, as the town’s first Festival of Ideas gets under way.
The festival is the brainchild of the team behind St Mary’s Events, an initiative launched in 2024 by St Mary’s Church and designed to bring a varied programme of live drama, music and comedy events to the town, as well as to inspire and support local groups to engage, create and volunteer.
