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DENTDALE METHODIST CHAPEL
What a wonderful Harvest Festival weekend we had, folk got busy for weeks beforehand re-decorating the kitchen, hall-way and toilet rooms, when the work is all finished inc the floor covering and the car-park area we might just have an "Open Day"!
On the Saturday a group got together and decorated the chapel most beautifully with flowers, fruit, veg etc, we had an amazing service with the Brewer family and friends on Sunday afternoon, it was a joy to see those little children getting up and saying recitations and Bible verses, well done! The theme of Karens sermon was "Obedience", a friend sang a solo and another shared his testimony. Then it was into the schoolroom for Tea, and we shared a happy friendly time in there.
On Monday the speaker was Andrew Woof and he encouraged us to keep close to Jesus and not water-down the Gospel, his wife, Tina sang a solo. Then Geoffrey Woof very amusingly and ably auctioned all the harvest gifts. A great weekend, sorry if you missed it!
This month sees the AGM on Thursday 5th October at 7.30, the Bible Study on Thursday 21st 7.45 (all are welcome) and our Sunday services move to 2pm except on the 8th when we join Dent Foot Harvest festival. As ever, the Prayer Room is open daily and Prayer requests can be left there, the suggestion has been made to have a prayer-line number where requests can be left, if you would be willing to be a prayer-partner for this do get in touch.
DENT PARISH COUNCIL
Stonehouse Bridge
The recent Westmorland Gazette article about Stonehouse Bridge in Dentdale gave a good account of what has happened, but didn't explain all the work that has been going on behind the scenes.
The bridge was first damaged by a lorry in February. In May, two more lorries hit it and knocked a large part of the parapet into the river. In June, a coach reversed into the bridge and demolished almost half the damaged parapet down to ground level. Some of these incidents had been witnessed by local people, who reported them to the police. All of them were reported to the Highways Department, who fastened some orange plastic mesh across the gap.
In late June the Parish Council was asked for ideas for topics for the next Neighbourhood Forum meeting. We suggested Stonehouse bridge, and as a result, Cumbria's Area Engineer for South Lakeland came to the meeting. He explained that he was waiting for consent from the Environment Agency (EA) to put scaffolding on the river bed so that the parapet could be repaired, but that work would start on the bridge at the end of July.
When it didn't, the Parish Council contacted the Area Engineer who said he was still waiting for EA approval. We then rang the EA, who said they hadn't had an application. When told this, the Highways Department explained that it wasn't actually they who had applied for consent - they had passed the request on to Capita Symonds, and Capita Symonds had passed it on Amey, their contractor. But the EA still said they had had no request from anyone, and no-one seemed to know what - if anything - was happening.
The Parish Council felt that this wasn't good enough, so we decided to write to Peter Stybelski, the Chief Executive of Cumbria CC, to make a formal complaint. We also decided to involve as many other people and agencies as we could, and as a result:
the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority wrote to Mr Stybelski insisting that the bridge be repaired because it is a Grade II listed structure;
the police also raised the matter as they were concerned not only about the dangerous state of the bridge but also about the heavy vehicles - including a low loader carrying army tanks and a car transporter - that were trying to use the bridge;
the local MP, Tim Farron, met with the head of Capita, wrote to Mr Stybelski demanding action and also asked the Department of Transport to intervene;
the two local District Councillors tried to get North Yorkshire CC to alter the signs at Newby Head, and tackled the Environment Agency to try and find out what was going on;
the local County Councillor put pressure on from within the County Council to try and get some action.
We've now had a reply from Mr Stybelski, which says:
the consent application was submitted for approval to the EA in early August, but was not received by the Environment Agency
no-one noticed this until early in September
the consent application has now been re-submitted
the delays have been unacceptable
there has been a failure to deliver an adequate service
he has asked for a weekly update to ensure the work can now be drawn to a rapid conclusion.
As I write this article the bridge is still in a dangerous state, and the Parish Council is still extremely concerned about it, particularly as it can take the Environment Agency up to eight weeks to process an application. It may be that by the time you read this the bridge will be fully repaired and all will be well - but if it isn't, we will continue to put pressure on in any way that we can until the matter is resolved. Jock Cairns, Chair, Dent Parish Council
DENT PLAYERS
We hope to get together monthly throughout the winter to read a series of plays. We meet at a variety of venues in Dent and Sedbergh, usually on a Thursday at 7.30pm.
If you would like to join us please ring Susan Garnett on 21138 or email msg@fish.co.uk or contact any of the Players. We look forward to seeing you!
DENTDALE SHEEP SHOW
Many thanks to those who entered the first Dentdale Sheep Show.
The show attracted many spectators both local and tourists who took great interest in the judging and showing of the sheep.
A big thank you to the Judges John Capstick and Peter Handley for their expertise and also to the sponsors for their generosity, Eden Farm Supplies, James Bainbridge, J. Hathon (Nigel Hoggarth), WCF, CT Haytons, W. Dawson, Austin Robinson, Preston & Bramley (Vets), Hawes Auction for the pens, W. Redfern, Carrs Billington (Hawes).
Thank you again to all who made the event a great success and looking forward to more entries and support for next year.
The results are as follows:-
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