Cumbria Charity Convoy that had passed through Penrith Town centre in previous years on its convoy route back to Clifton Dykes for its annual charity weekend and gathering will not pass through Penrith this year but due to restrictions including a 7.5 tonne weight restriction on vehicles passing through the town centre.
Westmorland and Furness Council Highways have said they “were not notified of this convoy through the Event Notification Process. We could have secured the road space for the event, but without sufficient notification this is not possible, and the organisers will need to manage the Convoy.”
Event organisers were provided with the following guidance on limitations regarding the proposed route which Westmorland and Furness Council have said must be addressed:
Penrith Town Centre is subject to a 7.5T restriction. An application for a Traffic Regulation Order must be submitted to be temporarily suspend the limit for the holding of the event.
A full closure is in place on Carleton Hall and Pategill Road for planned road resurfacing works. This will mean that all on-street parking provisions along Pategill and Carleton Hall Road will not be accessible and likely to increase parking on Carleton Road, which in turn would likely cause obstructions for the convoy.
Although it is not a part of the proposed route, there is a planned road closure in place on Mile Lane, which may result in an increase in traffic around the Town and should also be considered with regard to the disruption that this may cause.
The route plans to travel over Ousenstand Bridge which is restricted to 18T, therefore no vehicles must to exceed this weight.
It is tight through Culgaith past the railway line heading towards Temple Sowerby, with quite a severe bend for large vehicles.
The highway through Morland is very narrow and consideration needs to be given to the size of the vehicles being used.
The organisers of the charity convoy and gathering have said “we have unfortunately run into some, unforeseen, issues this year