A serious collision closed a road in South Cumbria yesterday Emergency services were called at around 5.20pm yesterday The road was closed at Elliscales roundabout and also at Crooklands Garden Centre Police are appealing for anyone who saw the collision or anyone who has any relevant dashcam footage to get in touch with officers Anyone who has any information which may assist the investigation is asked to contact police via SCIU@cumbria.police.uk quoting incident number 182 of 1 April 2025 People can also phone on 101 or contact Crimestoppers Subscribe to our mailing list to receive daily updates direct to your inbox *We hate spam as much as you do. Privacy Statement Phone: 01768 862313Email: admin@cumbriacrack.com Registered in England as Barrnon Media Limited No: 12475190VAT registration number: 343486488 © 2025 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme. Misinformation about a new mosque is being shared by far-right groups to 'whip up tension' in the area Members of Barrow's Muslim community say they are hurt by the crusade which is aiming to close the area's first mosque before it has even been built The building was granted planning permission in 2022 without any controversy to provide a place of worship for around 50 Muslim doctors at the Furness General Hospital and their families But after far right group Britain First became involved just weeks ago around 70,000 people have now signed a petition calling for that planning permission to be revoked They have called it a 'super mosque' in the heart of the Lake District - despite the fact it sits eight miles from the boundary of the national park with Muslims praying at the local cricket club To visit a mosque they currently have to make a 100 mile round trip to Lancaster The community fundraised for the site, in Dalton-in-Furness Mohammed Ramzan: "It's just the animosity that's been caused and the misinformation that's been spread around the area "Some of those comments have upset me "You think that these people that you've shared bread with you've had a life with an all of a sudden these big bad Muslims are coming in Tensions have become so bad workers have been hiding their faces while local suppliers initially pulled out of the site fearing reprisals But local residents say it is a small minority The controversy has forced Westmorland and Furness Council to put out a factsheet - correcting claims by GB News that an application for a children's home and addressing concerns about a "mega mosque in the Lake District" "There has been a great deal of misinformation spread to whip up local tensions around this application," Councillor Matt Brereton said "The fact of the matter is the Furness peninsula I know is a really welcoming place "It's clear the misinformation being spread online is not being done by local people because anyone who is local knows that Dalton-in-Furness is about a 30 minute drive away from the nearest boundary to the national park." Refugees who have made Barrow their home say they have been shown nothing but kindness was a defence lawyer in Afghanistan forced to flee from the Taliban and now works at Barrow’s community garage He was brought out of the country with help from the British government - and has been granted settled status as a refugee "The people in Barrow are very kind," he said "We are very happy about the mosque." and made a donation to their fundraising campaign The Islamic centre still has to raise more than a million pounds but are confident they’ll reach that target and hope the mosque will be open at the end of 2025 “We have always been a community which supports one another and which will always oppose racism and discrimination of any kind “We must stand up to those organisations – like Britain First - who are looking to create division and turn people against each other and I am concerned by the misinformation and rhetoric that is being spread to increase tensions locally “This development was given cross-party approval by the members of the local authority planning committee at the end of 2022 “People of any faith deserve somewhere where they can get together to pray and celebrate their faith – and our local Muslim community should be no different Doctors and nurses at Furness General Hospital should not have to travel over 100 miles round trip to their place of worship.” Want more on the issues effecting the North From the North answers the questions that matter to our region Some cookies are essential to make our website work we'd like to set other cookies to show us how our website is being used There’s good news for families this October half-term as Westmorland and Furness Council’s leisure centres offer 10p swims for children Young people aged under 16 will be able to take advantage of the special offer at the council’s swimming pools in Appleby Penrith and Ulverston leisure centres will allocate 2 hours per day for 10p swims from Monday 28 October to Friday 1 November 2024 Appleby Leisure Centre will allocate 1 hour and Dalton Leisure Centre will allocate 3 hours.  Over the weekend of Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 November 2024 Penrith and Ulverston leisure centres for 2 hours per day; and at Appleby Leisure Centre for 1 hour per day Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet Member for Sustainable Communities and Localities healthy and happy lives is one of our priorities as a caring council “We hope these 10p swims will encourage our young people to be active over October half-term as well as supporting families with the cost of living crisis.” Penrith and Ulverston can be made on the Better UK app under Swim For All sessions or payment can be taken at reception To book a slot at Dalton call 01229 481942 Subscribe today and we'll email you the latest newsletter updates about your new council Choose from a range of topics so that you only receive emails about the areas and services which interest you the most Subscribe to news updates New Help improve this site by giving feedback Only use this form to give us feedback about how the website is working - If you want to tell us about an issue or problem with our services, or you need a response to an issue, please contact us The family of a Dalton man who died after sustaining injuries in a road traffic collision earlier this month have paid tribute to a “much loved friend to many” was a motorcyclist involved in a collision which occurred on 6 March 2025 in Kirkby in Furness He died on 11 March at Preston Royal Hospital Mr Evans family said: “Brian was a dear husband of Anita A service will take place on Tuesday 1 April 2025 at Thorncliffe Crematorium at 11.30am Donations made in memory of Brian will go towards helping with funeral costs and can be sent via the Little and Caine website -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- shortly before 2pm on the A595 at Dove Bank and involved a motorbike being ridden by Mr Evans as well as a black Nissan Qashqai and a second motorbike Anyone who witnessed the incident or the moments leading up to it is asked to contact police Westmorland and Furness Council says it is determined to tackle the issue of ‘unacceptable’ amounts of litter along the verges of the A590 approaching Barrow The matter was raised by concerned councillors at a recent meeting of the council’s Cabinet and Councillor Giles Archibald has pledged that the council will do all it can to address the root causes of the problem The stretch of the A590 as it bypasses Dalton-in-Furness has been highlighted as a particular area of concern This stretch of road belongs to National Highways and the council is coordinating with National Highways on options for traffic management and lane closures to safely allow verge litter-picks Councillor Archibald said: “We are very concerned about the unacceptable amounts of litter on the stretch of the A590 near Dalton-in-Furness “Not only is litter on the roadside unsightly it can have a significant impacts on the environment and wildlife and can be a safety hazard for drivers if materials blow into the carriageway “We are working with National Highways to tackle the issues in this area there will be requirement for lane closures to ensure the safety of litter-pickers and we recognise any closures on such a busy stretch of road will cause disruption Where possible we will always try to co-ordinate litter picking activities with National Highways maintenance work to reduce the number of those disruptions.’’ Councillor Archibald said that as well as looking to clean-up the litter already on the verges the council is determined to tackle the root causes of the problem and would be targeting those dropping the litter He continued: “Some of the litter has clearly been discarded by inconsiderate motorists as they are driving along the A590 from looking at the volume and nature of the litter a large proportion of the materials on the A590 verges are likely to have come from unsecured loads blowing from the back of vans and lorries travelling along the road “We will be working with hauliers and commercial waste operators to remind them of their legal obligations and duty of care to ensure their loads are secure “Clearing up the mess left behind by other people costs taxpayers a lot of money to clean-up and that clean-up will likely result in some inconvenience to road users if we have to close lanes to keep litter-pickers safe “We are determined to tackle the root causes of the littering and prevent it happening in the first place and we will be working with the businesses to ensure no repetition.’’ The council has legal powers to take enforcement action and impose fines if it has evidence that littering has occurred through deliberate act or failing to take the correct precautions to secure vehicle loads.Roadside littering is a national problem.  Recent research by the National Highways reveals that 65% of drivers who admit to littering have discarded food and drink waste on the roadside The council supports anti-littering campaigns such as the Great British Spring Clean and nationwide communication campaigns to urge drivers and passengers to play their part in keeping the country’s roads clean The messages aim to influence driver and passenger behaviour to dispose of litter responsibly The council is encouraging people to take responsibility for their litter and also to take action if they see someone else dropping litter Councillor Archibald said: “People should dispose of their litter responsibly either by using an appropriate waste bin or taking your litter home and putting it in the bin there if you see a vehicle with an unsecured load dropping waste and litter as it is driving along report it and provide us with information so that we can investigate and take enforcement action if necessary.’’ You can report littering using an online form on this website or by contacting the Streetcare Team on 01229 876543.  The Local Government Boundary Commission wants to hear what residents and local organisations think about the proposals A ten-week consultation on the proposals will run until 12 May 2025 The Commission is the independent body that draws these boundaries It is reviewing Westmorland and Furness to make sure councillors will represent about the same number of electors and that ward arrangements will help the council work effectively.  The Commission has published proposals for changes to Westmorland and Furness It is proposing that there should be 65 councillors representing 9 three-councillor 13 two- councillor and 12 single-councillor wards Most of the existing ward boundaries will change.  Launching the consultation Professor Colin Mellors “We want people in Westmorland and Furness to help us.  "We have drawn up proposals for new wards in Westmorland and Furness We want to make sure these new electoral arrangements reflect communities We also want them to be easy to understand and convenient for local people "Residents and local organisations can help us do that We would like them to let us know whether they agree with our proposals before we take final decisions "Just tell us what you think and give us some details why you think that The Commission has a dedicated section on its website where people can see the detail of the proposals and comment on the names of wards and their boundaries: www.lgbce.org.uk/all-reviews/westmorland-and-furness People can also give their views by e-mail at reviews@lgbce.org.uk Review Officer (Westmorland and Furness)LGBCE7th Floor 3 Bunhill Row London EC1Y 8YZ  A man has died following a collision in South Cumbria Emergency services were called to the A590 at Dalton roundabout at around 5.15pm following a serious collision involving a grey BMW Win HappyPremiumSearch Rayogreatest hitscumbrianewsVisit from far-right group to Cumbria mosque site condemnedBritain First held a demonstration outside the Ulverston Road site The visit of a far-right group to the construction site of an Islamic Centre in Dalton has been condemned with the Furness MP stating such groups are ‘not welcome’ in the area Political figures as well as an anti-racism organisation have spoken out after Britain First held a demonstration outside the construction site of South Lakes Islamic Centre off Ulverston Road Anti Racist Cumbria urged the local community to ‘stand against’ misinformation about the development and Muslims as a group A spokesperson for the organisation said: “There is a lot of disinformation out there from the far-right about this development and it is driven by an Islamophobic and racist agenda to create discord in our communities “They are calling it a ‘mega mosque’ when in reality it is planned to be a privately funded Islamic Community Centre with prayer rooms.” including co-leaders Paul Golding and Ashlea Simon held a banner which read ‘no mosque here’ on a visit to the site in Dalton The organisation has also set up a petition calling on the former Cumbria County Council to revoke planning permission which has received over 70,000 signatures The group say they want to ‘hand-deliver this petition to Cumbria County Council in Carlisle’ Britain First co-leader Paul Golding said the group ‘attracted a lot of beeps’ from passing motorists and added there is ‘no Islamic population’ in the area which emerged from the old British National Party are not welcome in Barrow and Furness where we are proud to have a community which supports one another “The aim of Britain First has always been to create division and turn communities against each other in pursuit of their extremist agenda which is completely at odds with the views and values of people locally.” The South Lakes Islamic Centre charity believes the centre in Dalton will prove beneficial for local Muslim families and visiting tourists Planning approval was originally granted in December 2022 with the group previously stating the space would cater to the 40 to 50 practising Muslim doctors at Furness General Hospital and their families business communities and other trade workers who will need basic prayer Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group at Westmorland and Furness Council councillor Matt Brereton said: “There is a sizeable Islamic faith community in the wider Furness area and I don’t really see there should be an issue in terms of them having somewhere they can celebrate their faith “We don’t want to see groups including Britain First coming to stir up tensions and create division in the community.” A spokesperson for South Lakes Islamic Centre said in a YouTube video posted on March 20: “We are at a critical time in the project timeline we have funding in place until April and we request your support.” The original plans were met with 30 objections while comments online ‘demonising the Muslim community’ were condemned by local councillors Planning documents submitted with the initial proposal read: “The proposed South Lakes Islamic Centre has the aim of providing a facility that offers public prayer space for the Muslim Community in the local area and beyond the facility is proposed to provide a public community space which is accessible to all and its location in such a sustainable location in close proximity to the local school the established settlement of Dalton-in-Furness and local shops and services it has the potential to be used by a wide range of community groups.” Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app. Company number 01176085; Bauer Radio Limited Company number: 1394141Registered office: Media House Peterborough PE2 6EA and H Bauer Publishing Company number: LP003328; Registered office: The Lantern London NW1 2PL All registered in England and Wales VAT no 918 5617 01H Bauer Publishing are authorised and 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