Whitehaven News editorial comment

And all the Kingsmen...

IF only every Monday afternoon in Whitehaven town centre could be filled with such jubilant crowds, happy returning soldiers and packed streets!

Last updated 23 May 2013
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

Fresh hopes for Beacon – how about the Civic?

WHAT a week it’s been for Whitehaven and Copeland. Smiling faces, team spirit and good old-fashioned community pride wherever you looked.

Last updated 23 May 2013
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

Dear Tesco – even a little would help

AT a time when Whitehaven could really do with a huge economic boost, Tesco reveals it is pulling out of its £20million expansion plans.

Last updated 25 April 2013
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

A double whammy

ENVIRONMENT Agency plans to install permanent a flood defence near Mill House, which collapsed into the River Ehen at Egremont, seemed reassuring news at first for the worried residents of Vale View.

Last updated 25 April 2013
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

Playing with fire – in every sense

IT is unusual to find us welcoming rainfall in this part of the world. But after a spate of more than 50 grass and gorse fires in recent days, we can understand our local firefighters praying for a downpour.

Last updated 18 April 2013
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

Even darker days ahead

ANOTHER week, another service falls by the wayside. Last week it was public toilets and doorstep recycling. This week it’s lighting.

Last updated 18 April 2013
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

Call it what you wish, it will still hit people hard

YOU can (as the Government does) call it cutting the taxpayers subsidy for spare rooms. Or you can call it (as opponents do) the Bedroom Tax. Call it what you will, within the next few weeks, the lives of 1,700 Copeland residents will be transformed.

Last updated 7 March 2013
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

Strong voice, kind friend

DURING his 12 years in Whitehaven, the Rev John Bannister has become a voice of the community, a respected, caring and genuinely concerned friend.

Last updated 15 February 2013
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

No thaw in Whitehaven’s economic winter

SOMETIMES it seems good news is hard to find. In the same week we report that almost all of the proposed council cuts look set to become a grim reality, we learn the sad news that three prominent Whitehaven town centre shops are to close – and a fourth is in doubt.

Last updated 15 February 2013
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

We say: So will Copeland go it alone?

RADICAL repercussions are likely to follow in the wake of yesterday’s decision by Cumbria County Council’s cabinet to say “no” to a potential repository site search in the west of the county.

Last updated 31 January 2013
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

Weighing up schooling versus safety in the snow

SCHOOLS up and down the land are at the centre of a controversial debate about whether they should close in wintry weather.

Last updated 24 January 2013
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

Giving with one hand, taking with the other

OUR council tax is certain to rise in Copeland. The increase (an average £3 a year per household) is not jaw dropping but remember this – Copeland always sets the smallest share of the total bill, so if (as seems likely) Cumbria Police and Cumbria County Council raise the lion’s share then it’s going to affect a large number of residents, especially those facing up to cuts in benefits.

Last updated 10 January 2013
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

Wesley’s message is as relevant as ever

THE 18th century preacher John Wesley often visited Whitehaven and stood in the Market Place to practise the “radical” notion of preaching in the open air. One of his famous edicts was: “Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can”.

Last updated 20 December 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

Hard times remind us of our duty as society

THIS week we are breaking the good news that 500 permanent new jobs have been created at Sellafield.

Last updated 6 December 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

Town takes the knocks but keeps coming back

EGREMONT is having more than its share of bad luck just now – and that’s an under-statement.

Last updated 22 November 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

Lot of noise, but have you spoken?

PUBLIC meetings and drop-in sessions are coming thick and fast as residents are urged to have their say on Copeland Council’s proposed budget cuts – but the lack of formal responses to the plans is surprising.

Last updated 22 November 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

Sellafield is back in the global goldfish bowl

BATTERED, bruised and bewildered – that’s how the operators of Sellafield might well be feeling just now. No one could blame them if they did.

Last updated 15 November 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

Have your say on police

COPELAND residents go to the polls today to elect the county’s first police and crime commissioner – but exactly how many will exercise their vote remains to be seen.

Last updated 15 November 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

Resounding wake-up call from the Audit Office

WE are repeatedly told that safety is the No1 priority at Sellafield. If that’s the case, why the damning reference by the National Audit Office to deteriorating buildings posing significant potential risks?

Last updated 8 November 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk

Let public rule on spending

WEST Cumbria looks set to become the beneficiary of many millions of pounds of new nuclear money courtesy of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, in return for Sellafield taking in a lot more radioactive material from Dounreay and other nuclear sites.

Last updated 1 November 2012
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk