News archive
25/12/11Merry christmas and a happy new year
22/12/11 A reminder that the refuse collection dates for xmas and new year in shap are different - collection due on 26th now on 24th and collection due on the 2nd now on 3rd
14/12/11 Gale force winds have caused problems in the area with several vehicles being blown off the road.
10/12/11 Apparently someone does not like this website as several attempts have been made recently to prevent people viewing it by removing it from search engines,hopefully this is now rectified and the sad people behind these attacks should find better things to do.
5/12/11 Several pages have been updated with new pictures added to photo galleries as well.Shap wells page has several new "old" photos added.
01/12/11 Latest bus times have been added to "getting to shap "page ,times changed on the 1st of november with no prior warning and the incompetent tourist information centre in kendal still refuse to hand out correct timetables leading to confusion amongst passengers.
27/11/11 storms have battered shap over the last few days with winds of over 60mph and 15.2mm of rain in the last 24 hours. more info on the latest weather is on - http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/nw/shap_latest_wind.html
19/10/11 Bad times for the pubs in the village with the crown inn currently closed and both the bulls head and greyhound on the market -http://uk.businessesforsale.com/uk/Exceptional-Leasehold-Hotel-Restaurant-and-Public-House-In-Cumbria-For-Sale.aspx
http://www.propertypilot.co.uk/search/detail.aspx?id=143+4139
15/10/11 Thieves attempted to break into the newsagents in shap in the early hours of this morning ,fortunately they did not gain access to the property although substantial damage was done to the front door.
11/10/11 Shap public toilets have been reprieved by eden distict council for the time being although the cleaning contracts for toilets in the area are not awarded until December when the full costs will probably emerge .
24/09/11 Cumbria county council will be closing the footbridges over the M6 between shap and hardendale in october to enable them to do improvement work under the disability and discrimination act ,this work will include hard standing,easier access gates and handrails .There is just one thing i would like to point out to the council ,yes disabled people need better access to the countryside but how spending god knows how much on this hare brained scheme is going to help i don't know as the footbridges in question are remote and only accessible via fields and stiles !
take for example the footbridge which is used by coast to coast walkers- on leaving shap you go about half a mile along a badly rutted lane then over a stile cross a field then across a stream strewn with slippery rocks before climbing another stile and crossing another field then yet another stile before crossing another field to get to what will be the shiny new disabled access footbridge !! you couldn't make it up !! diversions will be in place via footpaths 361033 ,361034,361030,361029,360024,and 360024 confused ? i am , we will be seeing coast to coasters going round and round in circles and probably ending up in crosby ! to try and make it easier here is a link to public rights of way in cumbria which lists the numbers of footpaths in the shap area - http://195.171.180.22/PROW/
Perhaps the county council should actually maintain the footpaths round shap to a decent standard so disabled people have a chance to use them instead of neglecting them and letting them become so overgrown that even able bodied people struggle to use them.
23/09/11 The toll bar road (b6261) between the A6 and M6 is due to be closed for resurfacing works from 10th october and is expected to last 2 days between 18.00 -06.00 each night
21/09/11 Shap chip shop has opened its doors once again this week following the recent fire.
19/09/11The crown inn closed it's doors last night for what could be the last time as the current landlord moved to another pub ,it is not known what the owners of the pub intend to do with it at the present time but any news will be reported here.
17/09/11 Yet more good news on the sporting front as shap bowler johnny baird took the cumbrian champion of champions trophy after staging an amazing fight back ,in the first to 21 final johnny trailed 20-11 to neil karge before winning 8 ends in a row to seal the narrowest of victories.
14/09/11 Traffic is expected to be heavy this weekend as spectators and competitors travel to the nearby lowther estate for the world sheepdog trials , anyone wishing to see the trials but avoid the awful weather which is forecast can watch coverage on tv channel more4 .
12/09/11 More old photos and old adverts added to photo gallery pages (if anyone has any which they would like added you can email them to the address on the guest book page)
11/09/11More good news on the sporting front as Shap cricket team gained promotion to the premier league of the eden valley cricket league but only after complicated mathematical formula was put into place (only in shap !) ,the final league table can be viewed here - http://www.evcl.info/Ladders/Ladder.htm , and the football team has actually won a game this season (miracles never cease)
06/09/11 Televisions hairy bikers were in shap today ,the tv chefs got someone else to do the cooking this time though as they had lunch in the greyhound.
30/08/11 Shap chip shop was today affected by a fire and the reason why cumbria fire service cannot get recruits was made evident in the ridiculous health & safety rubbish that firefighters have to follow . Despite the fact that shap chippy is is thirty yards from the fire station shap firemen were not allowed to attend as not enough firemen were available to meet health and safety limits so the chippy burned while waiting for appliances from penrith and appleby (10 & 7 miles away) the people of shap have a right to be angry about this disgraceful situation as the local firefighters would have happily gone to the aid of a new local business but were not allowed to do so.
28/08/11
going to the dogs
Here is a little story that needs to be told ,
the streets of shap are not paved with gold,
the reality is they are covered in far worse,
the village of shap has been hit by a curse,
The curse of dog owners who's pets leave a mess,
and the curse of our councils who could not care less,
what a first impression for visitors to shap,
the streets and park all covered in crap,
And think of the children who carry it home ,
ingrained in their feet, and clothes as they roam,
and of the mothers pushing prams down the street,
then trailing it through the house, oh what a treat!
This poem is for the people who's voices aren't heard.
and addressed to dog owners who don't give a turd,
the people are saying we've had enough,
if you end up in court well that's just tough
cumbria fire service is recruiting firefighters in the shap area ,open days will be held at shap fire station on tuesday 30th august between 5pm -8pm and saturday 3rd september between 11am -2pm
26/08/11 Just champion. Shap bowling club are celebrating today after the men's team won the league for the first time last night ,going into the final round of matches the title was still undecided but the shap players held their nerve in a tense encounter at appleby running out 8-0 winners in a game which could have gone either way ,this result along with other results on the night gave shap their first league title since the league began back in 1979.
This is another notable sporting achievement for the village following on from shap cricketer steve percival's league record innings of over 200 recently ,the cricket team are still fighting hard for the league title but the recent bad weather has hindered their chances.
21/08/11 Shap flower show is next weekend in the memorial hall
13/08/11 A fund raising event has been organised in shap for the 10th of september,called "raise the roof " it will comprise of live music and a disco on the memorial park ,the event will be held in a marquee with a bar
11/08/11 Police have taken to harassing local people recently using stop and search powers instead of investigating crimes properly,quite what they think they will gain by using this intimidation who knows ,
10/08/11 The revamped lowther show takes place this weekend so expect a third weekend of traffic chaos in shap and not a police officer in sight.
05/08/11 Total warrior or total madness ? The course is ready but are the contestants? Having seen some of the obstacles involved i hope there is an ambulance or two about ,i have a feeling they will be needed !!
01/08/11 Heavy traffic is expected through the village once again this weekend as over 2000 competitors travel to shap abbey for the total warrior event
07/07/11 .Several pages on the website have been updated with new pictures and updated information,sorry for lack of updates recently but this has been down to the updating of website.
06/06/11 A couple of links to some interesting old film snippets have been added to a couple of pages ,go to photo gallery-old shap and scroll to bottom of page for a brief glimpse of shap fell and on the haweswater /mardale page again scroll to bottom to see a couple of clips of the dam being built.
04/06/11 Quite what the chip shop opening hours are no one can tell !
28/05/11 Shap chip shop is under new management from today and has revised opening hours ,
21/05/11 Pictures from the pool presentation now on photo gallery -people page and more to follow soon .
21/05/11 Kendal calling festival at lowther is now sold out ,the line up has been added to with hugh cornwell of the stranglers among others joining the festival.
more details here - http://www.kendalcalling.co.uk/lineup
19/05/11 Crime is on the increase in the shap area,several thefts and other offences have been committed in the last few weeks and people are warned to be vigilant ,
The crime figures for the area for march have been released and can be seen here - http://www.police.uk/crime/?q=Shap, Penrith, Cumbria CA10, UK#crimetypes
16/05/11 Internet sensation dicky dippinson who sings about shap is featured in the news and star you can read it here -http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/features/people/cumbria-s-rapping-farmer-is-an-internet-sensation-1.837709?referrerPath=home/2.1962
and for all the people who have asked and e mailed no we don't know who he is .
14/05/11 Police are investigating after vandals attacked the bowling green this week ,anyone with any information should contact the police or bowling club members.
09/05/11 Following up on the election results ,it appears that the people of shap are of the opinion "better the devil you know" ,Rumours in the village are that a metal detector is to be fitted at the entrance to the parish rooms to prevent councillors entering meetings with dangerous metal objects !
Perhaps the parish council could raise funds by selling tickets to watch the council meetings ? be more entertaining than watching football.
09/05/11 The election is over and following the most hotly contested election in years the results are as follows :-
Brass natalie - 276 VOTES -elected
Dicken peter kevin - 106 VOTES
Hodgson edward - 330 VOTES -elected
Humphries michael - 184 VOTES
Jackson jean - 326 VOTES - elected
Jones sean - 247 VOTES - elected
Lowis john snr - 181 VOTES
Mallinson david john - 322 VOTES - elected
Newsome derrick james - 428 VOTES - elected
Priestly john barry - 111 VOTES
Sowerby alan stephen - 265 VOTES -elected
turnout 56.6 % . 10 papers rejected
the seven candidates with most votes are chosen ,so congratulations to the successful councillors who join the shap ward councillors adele bindloss ,william warburg and maurice weightman (who were unopposed ) in making up what promises to be an interesting new parish council.
Why it takes eden district council so long to publish results is anybodys guess (south lakeland parish election results were available to view on friday evening !!) maybe a merger with a more efficient council is a good idea.
07/05/11 The result in thursdays election was in contrast to the 2007 election in which Neil Hughes beat Tom Lowther by just 16 votes ,286 to 270 ,many people locally feel this is because of the anger felt in Shap over the impending closure of the toilets which is supported by the leadership of the eden conservatives and obviously people were not fooled by the election leaflet in which our mp rory stewart praised eden district council
06/05/11 The two horse race between Neil Hughes and Tom Lowther for the shap ward on eden district council was won by Neil Hughes by 437 to 230 with 8 spoiled papers . the turnout at shap was an amazing 57.2 %
04/05/11 Shap football team ended the season playing much as they did the whole season with another defeat which leaves them relegated to the 2nd division with only 1 win all season ,6 points and a -63 goal difference. full tables - http://full-time.thefa.com/Index.do?divisionseason=334109&league=3882517
.according to met office the temperature at Shap is a chilly - 11 !!
04/05/11 Our mp rory stewart is praising eden district council in tom lowther's election leaflet despite the fact the people of shap feel let down and neglected by edc,expect a backlash
01/05/11
The local election campaign is in full swing and election leaflets dropping through the doors of shap ,the parties all say that they want to save shap toilets but what they don't tell people is that Neil Hughes has been trying to offload the toilets to the parish council ,and that the leader of the conservatives on Eden district council Gordon Nicholson is blaming the government for the impending closure ! so take what you read with a pinch of salt ,there is far too much politics coming into play in Eden with the candidates all trying to make political points rather than do whats best for the community ,so if they knock on your door ask them for the truth and not political spin .(bet you don't get a straight answer though !!)
30/04/11 The battle for Shap parish council is becoming somewhat interesting as two rival factions seem to be squaring up against one another (i feel sorry for the independent candidates who are in the middle!!) i just hope that whoever gets elected puts as much effort into the village as they have in attempting to get elected !! .
22/04/11
Anger mounted in the village today as people found out that a long standing parish councillor verbally and physically abused a new candidate for the upcoming elections over their disability ,many people feel that this discrimination should not be allowed and the councillor responsible be disqualified from standing.
08/04/11 The list of candidates for the parish council elections has been announced and can be found on eden district councils website see it on the following link -http://www.eden.gov.uk/democracy/elections/local-elections-may-2011/statement-of-persons-nominated-for-parish-ward-elections/ .In what promises to be a hotly contested affair ,several new candidates have put themselves forward ,11 people fighting for seven seats.
07/04/11 Shap is expected to be featured on television this Sunday on the politics show ,following filming in the village this week by tv crews .
14/03/11 Dickinsons real deal is coming to penrith next week,a valuation day will be held at penrith leisure centre when if chosen you can take in your (hopefully) valuable items and either accept the dealers offer on the day or take a chance at an auction (which i am sure will be at 1818 auctioneers at the end of april)
give it a go it's your chance to be a tv star ! and you might make a fewbob as well.
07/03/11 After contacting both Eden district council and our m.p Rory Stewart it has become obvious that everyone is playing the blame game with regards to the proposed closure of the public toilets.
When asked where the tens of thousands of users of shap's toilets each year should go instead? edc's response -ask the government ,
When asked who will be responsible for cleaning up any human excrement in the village ?-ask the government,
When asked if it was acceptable for parents with children using the park who cannot use the toilets to have to let their children go up against a wall ?-ask the government
Edc state that provision of public toilets is not a statutory duty of a district council and that councils around the country are closing toilets -so that makes it ok then does it ?
Our m.p suggests we write to edc
05/03/11 The governments new crime mapping website which was rolled out last month seems to be working ok now and shows that shap has 3 crime hotspots !! they are the rough neighbourhoods of west lane ,croft avenue and station road ,check out the website here - http://www.police.uk/overview/?q=Shap,
17/02/11 A few new old pictures on the website ,check out photo gallery sports page (thanks les) and a new page on shap church (still under construction,but has some old photos)
16/02/11 A serious traffic accident on the M6 southbound between junctions 40 (penrith) and 39 (shap) means heavy traffic diverted through shap on wednesday evening,the motorway is expected to reopen around 23.30 tonight . unfortunately the diverted traffic is apparently immune to speeding laws with the majority of vehicles doing nearer 70mph than the limit of 30 mph
16/02/11 This month sees the tenth anniversary of the foot and mouth crisis which blighted the country ,to commemorate this an article about the crisis has been added to the news feature page .
14/02/11 Several pages on the website have been updated and an old poem "the janet tree " can now be seen on the laal bit crack page.
11/02/11 STAY OF EXECUTION FOR SHAPS PUBLIC TOILETS ,the following statement was issued by eden district council -""At last night's meeting of Council it was resolved to postpone a decision on the closure of public toilets. This recognises the representations made and the need to consider the toilet proposals alongside savings from the Council's restructure. The matter will be considered again in September when more information about savings will be available"".
10/02/11 Eden District Council has 38 elected members and is the most sparsely populated district in England and Wales. The District area covers 830 square miles and has scenic landscapes, historic market towns, excellent tourist facilities and vibrant communities. The Council’s strategic aim is: To Best Serve the People of Eden.
The above statement can be found on Eden D.C website
Named the councillors responsible for deciding the fate of public toilets- tonight is decision day for the fate of the toilets .
Patricia bell- Penrith Carleton Liberal Democrat Group . George Boustead- Ravenstonedale Conservative group . Tony Brunskill-Lazonby Non-Aligned Independent . Roger Burgin-Penrith North Liberal Democrat Group , Michael Davidson- Penrith North Independent Alliance . Michael Eyles-Penrith East Liberal Democrat Group . Roy Fisher- Greystoke Independent Group . Lesley Grisedale- Hesket Conservative group . Hugh Harrison- Dacre Independent Alliance , Michael Holliday- Langwathby Independent Alliance . Neil Hughes- Shap Liberal Democrat Group . Trevor Ladhams- Kirkby Stephen Independent Group . Ella Langan- Appleby (Bongate) Independent Group . Joan Lowis- Askham Conservative group . Glenys Lumley- Kirkby Stephen Independent Group . John Lynch- Penrith East Conservative group . Bryan Metz- Alston Moor Independent Alliance . Keith Morgan- Appleby (Appleby) Independent Group . John Nicholson- Penrith Pategill Independent Group . Gordon Nicolson- Penrith North Conservative group . Sheila Orchard- Hartside Conservative group . William Patterson-Warcop Independent Alliance . Keith Phillips-Penrith South Independent Group . Joan Raine-Crosby Ravensworth Conservative group . Albert Richardson- Hesket Conservative group Dorne Richardson- Long Marton Conservative group . Mary Robinson- Kirkoswald Independent Alliance. Elissa Robinson- Penrith West Liberal Democrat Group . Gordon Savage- Skelton Independent Group . Henry Sawrey-Cookson- Kirkby Thore Independent Alliance , Sydney Simpson- Ullswater Conservative group Malcolm Smith- Brough Independent Alliance . Malcolm Temple- Penrith South Conservative group . John Thompson- Penrith West Conservative group . , Harold Threlkeld- Eamont Independent Alliance. Michael Tonkin- Morland Independent Alliance . Richard Turner-Alston Moor Independent Group , Margaret Wilcox- Orton with Tebay Liberal Democrat Group .
08/02/11 Kendal calling music festival which is held near shap has announced some fantastic acts for this years festival including -echo and the bunnymen,the levellers and the charlatans ,more info can be found at - http://www.kendalcalling.co.uk/news
07/02/11 Shap is clearing up today as the village counts the cost of the stormy weekend,the age concern shop was forced to close due to storm damage and both the chip shop and cream 17 cafe have suffered problems, many houses in the village as well as the bowling club bower have suffered damage to roofs,the cricket & football fields are flooded along with the bowling green thanks to network rail draining water off the railway directly into the park.
05/02/11 Rainfall over last 24 hours - 79.2 mm (over 3 inches)
04/02/11 Shap has had it's share of bad weather again this week with 25mm of rain falling yesterday,the wind has caused some minor damage in the village with winds of over 60mph getting up yesterday evening and lasting through the night .the high winds caused havoc on the M6 with lanes closed due to overturned vehicle between shap and tebay. a weather site with some nice features is - http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/2753? you can track the predicted rainfall through the next day (i'm not saying its accurate ,just interesting!) just move the little slider thingy at the bottom and the rain moves about (i wish you could just move the rain about as easy as that !
03/02/11 The website has been updated with several new additions to the photo galleries including some interesting old adverts for shap businesses .
02/02/11 It is the tenth anniversary of the foot and mouth crisis this year and an in depth feature on this will be appearing on the website shortly.
01/2/11 According to Eden district council they have consulted with the parish council with regards to the public toilets and a final decision will be taken on the 10th feb ,according to e.d.c the toilets at shap cost £8,135 per annum to run, i have asked for clarification on this figure and will update when i receive any more information,i am also awaiting a response from our m.p rory stewart.
20/1/11 Despite eden district council saying it was undertaking further consultation regarding the future of the public toilets not one councillor has visited shap or asked the opinions of the people of shap ,i will be in contact with them regarding this and update on here when ( if ) i hear back from them .
14/01/11 10,000 visitors to the site !! thank you everyone .
1/1/11 Despite the worst of the weather being over several houses in shap find themselves still without water going into the new year,the worst affected area is around wandsworth gardens and rafland view with some residents having no water for over a week. Many more houses in the village have suffered bursts and local plumbers are in demand as united utilities have told a lot of residents that the burst pipes are on their property so they are responsible.
22/12/11 A reminder that the refuse collection dates for xmas and new year in shap are different - collection due on 26th now on 24th and collection due on the 2nd now on 3rd
14/12/11 Gale force winds have caused problems in the area with several vehicles being blown off the road.
10/12/11 Apparently someone does not like this website as several attempts have been made recently to prevent people viewing it by removing it from search engines,hopefully this is now rectified and the sad people behind these attacks should find better things to do.
5/12/11 Several pages have been updated with new pictures added to photo galleries as well.Shap wells page has several new "old" photos added.
01/12/11 Latest bus times have been added to "getting to shap "page ,times changed on the 1st of november with no prior warning and the incompetent tourist information centre in kendal still refuse to hand out correct timetables leading to confusion amongst passengers.
27/11/11 storms have battered shap over the last few days with winds of over 60mph and 15.2mm of rain in the last 24 hours. more info on the latest weather is on - http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/nw/shap_latest_wind.html
19/10/11 Bad times for the pubs in the village with the crown inn currently closed and both the bulls head and greyhound on the market -http://uk.businessesforsale.com/uk/Exceptional-Leasehold-Hotel-Restaurant-and-Public-House-In-Cumbria-For-Sale.aspx
http://www.propertypilot.co.uk/search/detail.aspx?id=143+4139
15/10/11 Thieves attempted to break into the newsagents in shap in the early hours of this morning ,fortunately they did not gain access to the property although substantial damage was done to the front door.
11/10/11 Shap public toilets have been reprieved by eden distict council for the time being although the cleaning contracts for toilets in the area are not awarded until December when the full costs will probably emerge .
24/09/11 Cumbria county council will be closing the footbridges over the M6 between shap and hardendale in october to enable them to do improvement work under the disability and discrimination act ,this work will include hard standing,easier access gates and handrails .There is just one thing i would like to point out to the council ,yes disabled people need better access to the countryside but how spending god knows how much on this hare brained scheme is going to help i don't know as the footbridges in question are remote and only accessible via fields and stiles !
take for example the footbridge which is used by coast to coast walkers- on leaving shap you go about half a mile along a badly rutted lane then over a stile cross a field then across a stream strewn with slippery rocks before climbing another stile and crossing another field then yet another stile before crossing another field to get to what will be the shiny new disabled access footbridge !! you couldn't make it up !! diversions will be in place via footpaths 361033 ,361034,361030,361029,360024,and 360024 confused ? i am , we will be seeing coast to coasters going round and round in circles and probably ending up in crosby ! to try and make it easier here is a link to public rights of way in cumbria which lists the numbers of footpaths in the shap area - http://195.171.180.22/PROW/
Perhaps the county council should actually maintain the footpaths round shap to a decent standard so disabled people have a chance to use them instead of neglecting them and letting them become so overgrown that even able bodied people struggle to use them.
23/09/11 The toll bar road (b6261) between the A6 and M6 is due to be closed for resurfacing works from 10th october and is expected to last 2 days between 18.00 -06.00 each night
21/09/11 Shap chip shop has opened its doors once again this week following the recent fire.
19/09/11The crown inn closed it's doors last night for what could be the last time as the current landlord moved to another pub ,it is not known what the owners of the pub intend to do with it at the present time but any news will be reported here.
17/09/11 Yet more good news on the sporting front as shap bowler johnny baird took the cumbrian champion of champions trophy after staging an amazing fight back ,in the first to 21 final johnny trailed 20-11 to neil karge before winning 8 ends in a row to seal the narrowest of victories.
14/09/11 Traffic is expected to be heavy this weekend as spectators and competitors travel to the nearby lowther estate for the world sheepdog trials , anyone wishing to see the trials but avoid the awful weather which is forecast can watch coverage on tv channel more4 .
12/09/11 More old photos and old adverts added to photo gallery pages (if anyone has any which they would like added you can email them to the address on the guest book page)
11/09/11More good news on the sporting front as Shap cricket team gained promotion to the premier league of the eden valley cricket league but only after complicated mathematical formula was put into place (only in shap !) ,the final league table can be viewed here - http://www.evcl.info/Ladders/Ladder.htm , and the football team has actually won a game this season (miracles never cease)
06/09/11 Televisions hairy bikers were in shap today ,the tv chefs got someone else to do the cooking this time though as they had lunch in the greyhound.
30/08/11 Shap chip shop was today affected by a fire and the reason why cumbria fire service cannot get recruits was made evident in the ridiculous health & safety rubbish that firefighters have to follow . Despite the fact that shap chippy is is thirty yards from the fire station shap firemen were not allowed to attend as not enough firemen were available to meet health and safety limits so the chippy burned while waiting for appliances from penrith and appleby (10 & 7 miles away) the people of shap have a right to be angry about this disgraceful situation as the local firefighters would have happily gone to the aid of a new local business but were not allowed to do so.
28/08/11
going to the dogs
Here is a little story that needs to be told ,
the streets of shap are not paved with gold,
the reality is they are covered in far worse,
the village of shap has been hit by a curse,
The curse of dog owners who's pets leave a mess,
and the curse of our councils who could not care less,
what a first impression for visitors to shap,
the streets and park all covered in crap,
And think of the children who carry it home ,
ingrained in their feet, and clothes as they roam,
and of the mothers pushing prams down the street,
then trailing it through the house, oh what a treat!
This poem is for the people who's voices aren't heard.
and addressed to dog owners who don't give a turd,
the people are saying we've had enough,
if you end up in court well that's just tough
cumbria fire service is recruiting firefighters in the shap area ,open days will be held at shap fire station on tuesday 30th august between 5pm -8pm and saturday 3rd september between 11am -2pm
26/08/11 Just champion. Shap bowling club are celebrating today after the men's team won the league for the first time last night ,going into the final round of matches the title was still undecided but the shap players held their nerve in a tense encounter at appleby running out 8-0 winners in a game which could have gone either way ,this result along with other results on the night gave shap their first league title since the league began back in 1979.
This is another notable sporting achievement for the village following on from shap cricketer steve percival's league record innings of over 200 recently ,the cricket team are still fighting hard for the league title but the recent bad weather has hindered their chances.
21/08/11 Shap flower show is next weekend in the memorial hall
13/08/11 A fund raising event has been organised in shap for the 10th of september,called "raise the roof " it will comprise of live music and a disco on the memorial park ,the event will be held in a marquee with a bar
11/08/11 Police have taken to harassing local people recently using stop and search powers instead of investigating crimes properly,quite what they think they will gain by using this intimidation who knows ,
10/08/11 The revamped lowther show takes place this weekend so expect a third weekend of traffic chaos in shap and not a police officer in sight.
05/08/11 Total warrior or total madness ? The course is ready but are the contestants? Having seen some of the obstacles involved i hope there is an ambulance or two about ,i have a feeling they will be needed !!
01/08/11 Heavy traffic is expected through the village once again this weekend as over 2000 competitors travel to shap abbey for the total warrior event
07/07/11 .Several pages on the website have been updated with new pictures and updated information,sorry for lack of updates recently but this has been down to the updating of website.
06/06/11 A couple of links to some interesting old film snippets have been added to a couple of pages ,go to photo gallery-old shap and scroll to bottom of page for a brief glimpse of shap fell and on the haweswater /mardale page again scroll to bottom to see a couple of clips of the dam being built.
04/06/11 Quite what the chip shop opening hours are no one can tell !
28/05/11 Shap chip shop is under new management from today and has revised opening hours ,
21/05/11 Pictures from the pool presentation now on photo gallery -people page and more to follow soon .
21/05/11 Kendal calling festival at lowther is now sold out ,the line up has been added to with hugh cornwell of the stranglers among others joining the festival.
more details here - http://www.kendalcalling.co.uk/lineup
19/05/11 Crime is on the increase in the shap area,several thefts and other offences have been committed in the last few weeks and people are warned to be vigilant ,
The crime figures for the area for march have been released and can be seen here - http://www.police.uk/crime/?q=Shap, Penrith, Cumbria CA10, UK#crimetypes
16/05/11 Internet sensation dicky dippinson who sings about shap is featured in the news and star you can read it here -http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/features/people/cumbria-s-rapping-farmer-is-an-internet-sensation-1.837709?referrerPath=home/2.1962
and for all the people who have asked and e mailed no we don't know who he is .
14/05/11 Police are investigating after vandals attacked the bowling green this week ,anyone with any information should contact the police or bowling club members.
09/05/11 Following up on the election results ,it appears that the people of shap are of the opinion "better the devil you know" ,Rumours in the village are that a metal detector is to be fitted at the entrance to the parish rooms to prevent councillors entering meetings with dangerous metal objects !
Perhaps the parish council could raise funds by selling tickets to watch the council meetings ? be more entertaining than watching football.
09/05/11 The election is over and following the most hotly contested election in years the results are as follows :-
Brass natalie - 276 VOTES -elected
Dicken peter kevin - 106 VOTES
Hodgson edward - 330 VOTES -elected
Humphries michael - 184 VOTES
Jackson jean - 326 VOTES - elected
Jones sean - 247 VOTES - elected
Lowis john snr - 181 VOTES
Mallinson david john - 322 VOTES - elected
Newsome derrick james - 428 VOTES - elected
Priestly john barry - 111 VOTES
Sowerby alan stephen - 265 VOTES -elected
turnout 56.6 % . 10 papers rejected
the seven candidates with most votes are chosen ,so congratulations to the successful councillors who join the shap ward councillors adele bindloss ,william warburg and maurice weightman (who were unopposed ) in making up what promises to be an interesting new parish council.
Why it takes eden district council so long to publish results is anybodys guess (south lakeland parish election results were available to view on friday evening !!) maybe a merger with a more efficient council is a good idea.
07/05/11 The result in thursdays election was in contrast to the 2007 election in which Neil Hughes beat Tom Lowther by just 16 votes ,286 to 270 ,many people locally feel this is because of the anger felt in Shap over the impending closure of the toilets which is supported by the leadership of the eden conservatives and obviously people were not fooled by the election leaflet in which our mp rory stewart praised eden district council
06/05/11 The two horse race between Neil Hughes and Tom Lowther for the shap ward on eden district council was won by Neil Hughes by 437 to 230 with 8 spoiled papers . the turnout at shap was an amazing 57.2 %
04/05/11 Shap football team ended the season playing much as they did the whole season with another defeat which leaves them relegated to the 2nd division with only 1 win all season ,6 points and a -63 goal difference. full tables - http://full-time.thefa.com/Index.do?divisionseason=334109&league=3882517
.according to met office the temperature at Shap is a chilly - 11 !!
04/05/11 Our mp rory stewart is praising eden district council in tom lowther's election leaflet despite the fact the people of shap feel let down and neglected by edc,expect a backlash
01/05/11
The local election campaign is in full swing and election leaflets dropping through the doors of shap ,the parties all say that they want to save shap toilets but what they don't tell people is that Neil Hughes has been trying to offload the toilets to the parish council ,and that the leader of the conservatives on Eden district council Gordon Nicholson is blaming the government for the impending closure ! so take what you read with a pinch of salt ,there is far too much politics coming into play in Eden with the candidates all trying to make political points rather than do whats best for the community ,so if they knock on your door ask them for the truth and not political spin .(bet you don't get a straight answer though !!)
30/04/11 The battle for Shap parish council is becoming somewhat interesting as two rival factions seem to be squaring up against one another (i feel sorry for the independent candidates who are in the middle!!) i just hope that whoever gets elected puts as much effort into the village as they have in attempting to get elected !! .
22/04/11
Anger mounted in the village today as people found out that a long standing parish councillor verbally and physically abused a new candidate for the upcoming elections over their disability ,many people feel that this discrimination should not be allowed and the councillor responsible be disqualified from standing.
08/04/11 The list of candidates for the parish council elections has been announced and can be found on eden district councils website see it on the following link -http://www.eden.gov.uk/democracy/elections/local-elections-may-2011/statement-of-persons-nominated-for-parish-ward-elections/ .In what promises to be a hotly contested affair ,several new candidates have put themselves forward ,11 people fighting for seven seats.
07/04/11 Shap is expected to be featured on television this Sunday on the politics show ,following filming in the village this week by tv crews .
14/03/11 Dickinsons real deal is coming to penrith next week,a valuation day will be held at penrith leisure centre when if chosen you can take in your (hopefully) valuable items and either accept the dealers offer on the day or take a chance at an auction (which i am sure will be at 1818 auctioneers at the end of april)
give it a go it's your chance to be a tv star ! and you might make a fewbob as well.
07/03/11 After contacting both Eden district council and our m.p Rory Stewart it has become obvious that everyone is playing the blame game with regards to the proposed closure of the public toilets.
When asked where the tens of thousands of users of shap's toilets each year should go instead? edc's response -ask the government ,
When asked who will be responsible for cleaning up any human excrement in the village ?-ask the government,
When asked if it was acceptable for parents with children using the park who cannot use the toilets to have to let their children go up against a wall ?-ask the government
Edc state that provision of public toilets is not a statutory duty of a district council and that councils around the country are closing toilets -so that makes it ok then does it ?
Our m.p suggests we write to edc
05/03/11 The governments new crime mapping website which was rolled out last month seems to be working ok now and shows that shap has 3 crime hotspots !! they are the rough neighbourhoods of west lane ,croft avenue and station road ,check out the website here - http://www.police.uk/overview/?q=Shap,
17/02/11 A few new old pictures on the website ,check out photo gallery sports page (thanks les) and a new page on shap church (still under construction,but has some old photos)
16/02/11 A serious traffic accident on the M6 southbound between junctions 40 (penrith) and 39 (shap) means heavy traffic diverted through shap on wednesday evening,the motorway is expected to reopen around 23.30 tonight . unfortunately the diverted traffic is apparently immune to speeding laws with the majority of vehicles doing nearer 70mph than the limit of 30 mph
16/02/11 This month sees the tenth anniversary of the foot and mouth crisis which blighted the country ,to commemorate this an article about the crisis has been added to the news feature page .
14/02/11 Several pages on the website have been updated and an old poem "the janet tree " can now be seen on the laal bit crack page.
11/02/11 STAY OF EXECUTION FOR SHAPS PUBLIC TOILETS ,the following statement was issued by eden district council -""At last night's meeting of Council it was resolved to postpone a decision on the closure of public toilets. This recognises the representations made and the need to consider the toilet proposals alongside savings from the Council's restructure. The matter will be considered again in September when more information about savings will be available"".
10/02/11 Eden District Council has 38 elected members and is the most sparsely populated district in England and Wales. The District area covers 830 square miles and has scenic landscapes, historic market towns, excellent tourist facilities and vibrant communities. The Council’s strategic aim is: To Best Serve the People of Eden.
The above statement can be found on Eden D.C website
Named the councillors responsible for deciding the fate of public toilets- tonight is decision day for the fate of the toilets .
Patricia bell- Penrith Carleton Liberal Democrat Group . George Boustead- Ravenstonedale Conservative group . Tony Brunskill-Lazonby Non-Aligned Independent . Roger Burgin-Penrith North Liberal Democrat Group , Michael Davidson- Penrith North Independent Alliance . Michael Eyles-Penrith East Liberal Democrat Group . Roy Fisher- Greystoke Independent Group . Lesley Grisedale- Hesket Conservative group . Hugh Harrison- Dacre Independent Alliance , Michael Holliday- Langwathby Independent Alliance . Neil Hughes- Shap Liberal Democrat Group . Trevor Ladhams- Kirkby Stephen Independent Group . Ella Langan- Appleby (Bongate) Independent Group . Joan Lowis- Askham Conservative group . Glenys Lumley- Kirkby Stephen Independent Group . John Lynch- Penrith East Conservative group . Bryan Metz- Alston Moor Independent Alliance . Keith Morgan- Appleby (Appleby) Independent Group . John Nicholson- Penrith Pategill Independent Group . Gordon Nicolson- Penrith North Conservative group . Sheila Orchard- Hartside Conservative group . William Patterson-Warcop Independent Alliance . Keith Phillips-Penrith South Independent Group . Joan Raine-Crosby Ravensworth Conservative group . Albert Richardson- Hesket Conservative group Dorne Richardson- Long Marton Conservative group . Mary Robinson- Kirkoswald Independent Alliance. Elissa Robinson- Penrith West Liberal Democrat Group . Gordon Savage- Skelton Independent Group . Henry Sawrey-Cookson- Kirkby Thore Independent Alliance , Sydney Simpson- Ullswater Conservative group Malcolm Smith- Brough Independent Alliance . Malcolm Temple- Penrith South Conservative group . John Thompson- Penrith West Conservative group . , Harold Threlkeld- Eamont Independent Alliance. Michael Tonkin- Morland Independent Alliance . Richard Turner-Alston Moor Independent Group , Margaret Wilcox- Orton with Tebay Liberal Democrat Group .
08/02/11 Kendal calling music festival which is held near shap has announced some fantastic acts for this years festival including -echo and the bunnymen,the levellers and the charlatans ,more info can be found at - http://www.kendalcalling.co.uk/news
07/02/11 Shap is clearing up today as the village counts the cost of the stormy weekend,the age concern shop was forced to close due to storm damage and both the chip shop and cream 17 cafe have suffered problems, many houses in the village as well as the bowling club bower have suffered damage to roofs,the cricket & football fields are flooded along with the bowling green thanks to network rail draining water off the railway directly into the park.
05/02/11 Rainfall over last 24 hours - 79.2 mm (over 3 inches)
04/02/11 Shap has had it's share of bad weather again this week with 25mm of rain falling yesterday,the wind has caused some minor damage in the village with winds of over 60mph getting up yesterday evening and lasting through the night .the high winds caused havoc on the M6 with lanes closed due to overturned vehicle between shap and tebay. a weather site with some nice features is - http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/2753? you can track the predicted rainfall through the next day (i'm not saying its accurate ,just interesting!) just move the little slider thingy at the bottom and the rain moves about (i wish you could just move the rain about as easy as that !
03/02/11 The website has been updated with several new additions to the photo galleries including some interesting old adverts for shap businesses .
02/02/11 It is the tenth anniversary of the foot and mouth crisis this year and an in depth feature on this will be appearing on the website shortly.
01/2/11 According to Eden district council they have consulted with the parish council with regards to the public toilets and a final decision will be taken on the 10th feb ,according to e.d.c the toilets at shap cost £8,135 per annum to run, i have asked for clarification on this figure and will update when i receive any more information,i am also awaiting a response from our m.p rory stewart.
20/1/11 Despite eden district council saying it was undertaking further consultation regarding the future of the public toilets not one councillor has visited shap or asked the opinions of the people of shap ,i will be in contact with them regarding this and update on here when ( if ) i hear back from them .
14/01/11 10,000 visitors to the site !! thank you everyone .
1/1/11 Despite the worst of the weather being over several houses in shap find themselves still without water going into the new year,the worst affected area is around wandsworth gardens and rafland view with some residents having no water for over a week. Many more houses in the village have suffered bursts and local plumbers are in demand as united utilities have told a lot of residents that the burst pipes are on their property so they are responsible.
2010 local news
25/12/10 Merry christmas from a cold and wintery shap .
18/12/10 Many villagers are up in arms at the decision of the co-op store in the village to sell newspapers and magazines in direct competition with the newsagents,letters expressing their concerns have been sent to the penrith co-op and to local papers and several people are now boycotting the store in protest.The penrith cooperative society advertises itself as a community store but many people are now questioning this claim.
14/12/10 A new years eve party is taking place in the memorial hall in aid of help for heroes .
08/12/10 Last nights temoerature at shap reached a low of -17.9 ,reaching a high of 3.6 with an overall average temperature of -11.4 over a 24 hour period .
05/12/10 Opening times for Shap medical practice over christmas -closed from 4pm on xmas eve until 8.30am on wed 29th dec and from 4pm on 31st dec until 8.30am on 4th jan
03/12/10 Shap is one of the coldest places in the country,last night the temperature dropped to a rather chilly -14.2 .!! (see contact number & info page for last 24 hour and up to date weather .
November 2010
The leyland motors clock which once stood on shap fell has been refurbished and is now situated at the brewery arts centre in kendal following a £2,500 restoration.
The clock was erected at the top of Shap fell in the 1930s
After the M6 motorway was built the clock was no longer an effective advertisement and was taken down .
The Cumbria Steam and Vintage Vehicle Society, led the fundraising appeal that raised £2,500 for the clock to be restored.
The clock was one of several erected around the country.
25/12/10 Merry christmas from a cold and wintery shap .
18/12/10 Many villagers are up in arms at the decision of the co-op store in the village to sell newspapers and magazines in direct competition with the newsagents,letters expressing their concerns have been sent to the penrith co-op and to local papers and several people are now boycotting the store in protest.The penrith cooperative society advertises itself as a community store but many people are now questioning this claim.
14/12/10 A new years eve party is taking place in the memorial hall in aid of help for heroes .
08/12/10 Last nights temoerature at shap reached a low of -17.9 ,reaching a high of 3.6 with an overall average temperature of -11.4 over a 24 hour period .
05/12/10 Opening times for Shap medical practice over christmas -closed from 4pm on xmas eve until 8.30am on wed 29th dec and from 4pm on 31st dec until 8.30am on 4th jan
03/12/10 Shap is one of the coldest places in the country,last night the temperature dropped to a rather chilly -14.2 .!! (see contact number & info page for last 24 hour and up to date weather .
November 2010
The leyland motors clock which once stood on shap fell has been refurbished and is now situated at the brewery arts centre in kendal following a £2,500 restoration.
The clock was erected at the top of Shap fell in the 1930s
After the M6 motorway was built the clock was no longer an effective advertisement and was taken down .
The Cumbria Steam and Vintage Vehicle Society, led the fundraising appeal that raised £2,500 for the clock to be restored.
The clock was one of several erected around the country.
13/11/10 Plans have been submitted to lake district planners to turn sleddale hall (made famous in the withnail and i film as crow cottage) into a residential dwelling , more info can be found at the following link - (i know it looks long but one click should get you there ,i hope !) http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/swiftlg/apas/run/WPHAPPDETAIL.DisplayUrl?theApnID=7/2010/3090&backURL=<a href=wphappcriteria.display>Search Criteria</a> > <a href='wphappsearchres.displayResultsURL?ResultID=403516%26StartIndex=11%26SortOrder=APNID:asc%26DispResultsAs=wphappsresweek1%26BackURL=<a href=wphappcriteria.display>Search Criteria</a>'>Search Results</a>
12/11/10 Shap has once again been one of the wildest wettest places in the country this week with an incredible 51.6mm of rain falling in the 24 hour period ending at 21.00 on the 11th of november ,windspeeds averaged well over 40 mph for the night of 11th november more details on weather for shap can be found at - http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/nw/shap_latest_weather_graphs.html
27/10/10 BEWARE- Thieves are in the area,sneak thieves have struck twice in the last couple of weeks in shap ,the latest incident happened earlier today when a wallet was stolen from a car in the village,the previous incident also involved the theft of items from a vehicle.
20/10/10 Shap medical practice will be closed on thursday 18th november between 13.00 and 17.00 for staff training
15/10/10 Eden district council is again trying to close public toilets in the area and shap toilets are on their hitlist once again despite the successful campaign to save them a couple of years ago . It's about time the people of eden told this shameful bunch of councillors what they think of them,if the council had not thrown so much time and effort into the shambles that is penrith new squares maybe there would be plenty of money to share out between the rest of eden district,it is about time that penrith had it's own town council responsible for penrith affairs and eden district council was left to handle the eden district as a whole not just concentrating on penrith. The last time the council wanted to close the toilets they attempted to pass them on to the parish council with the offer of a few hundred pounds a year to help ! (which would not even cover the water bills) .More on the last campaign to save the toilets can be found on the "news feature "page of this website,11,000 people signed the petition to save the toilets last time but if eden get their way it will count for nothing.
14/10/10 The work to remove the crazy paving has now been completed and several more parking spaces have been created,it's just a pity the council did not repair the defective pavement while they were there.
13/10/10 Crisis hit shap football club is holding an a.g.m this sunday ,17th october at 7pm at the kings arms hotel.
3/10/10 Work has started on removing the crazy paving and creating more parking spaces in the centre of the village ,work is expected to take a few weeks and will cause some disruption to traffic through the day as traffic control will be needed.
18/09/10 As expected the shambles that is Shap football club is in disarray,the reserve team has folded (as predicted on the sports pages of this website over a month ago and the first team are hot favourites for relegation ( more of a certainty than a pakistani cricket match !).
07/09/10 According to the police 60 people have been caught speeding through the village in the first 6 months of the year,that equates to a detection rate of less than 0.1% of traffic speeding through the village !!
25/08/10 Work will begin on the water treatment works at shap in the next few weeks,the work is expected to take 40 weeks to complete,some ground work has already begun.
23/08/10 Shap flower show next weekend.
24/07/10 For anyone who is interested in auctions ,dickinsons real deal is filming at 1818 auction in kendal on tuesday 27th july,pop along and you might pick up a bargain and appear on tv .
23/07/10 next weekend sees the the return of kendal calling music festival to the area ,this will mean an increase in traffic through the village from thursday onwards with several thousand people heading to the sold out festival at lowther.
19/07/10 Two cars were involved in a collision just out of the village at the weekend ,neither driver is thought to be seriously hurt following the collision at skew bridge.
09/07/10 As the rain pours down today it is hard to believe that this is the first day of a hosepipe ban in the area !! according to united utilities the water levels in haweswater are at such a low level that this ban had to be implemented ,to see for yourself how low the levels are go to the page on haweswater - http://www.shapcumbria.info/haweswater--mardale.html where you will find some photos taken yesterday which back up most local people's claims that it is not as low as is made out.
08/07/10 Many people will be wondering what all the tents were at wet sleddale last weekend ,to find out visit -
http://www.slmm.org.uk/
07/07/10 Several pages have been updated and new photos added
02/07/10 By popular demand another tale of woe from fred and bill on the laal bit crack fra westmorland page,it needs a laal bit of punctuation yet so don't be too hard with the criticism!! . And thanks for the comments good (or not so good) that keep coming in ,i read them all and take all suggestions on board,
and i will try and come up with another bill and fred tale as soon as possible so keep watching this space (or the laal bit crack page).
29/06/10 The co-op store in the village is to begin opening on sundays 10.00- 16.00 from next month .
20/06/10 The annual three rings of shap long distance walking challenge took place yesterday and again was well supported ,the participants were blessed with good walking weather and i think they have just about all finished ! more details of the event and past events can be found on - http://www.ldwa.org.uk/lgt/web_page.php?c=7&p=26
19/06/10 The recycling centre in the village seems to have become a dumping ground for all manner of household items,eden district council have been informed and will take action against anyone who is found to be flytipping. For those people who recycle responsibly the following link will show you what happens to the recycled items - http://www.recyclenow.com/how_is_it_recycled/index.html
12/06/10 Back by popular demand ,more from bill and fred on the laal bit crack page,just a short one on the world cup ,more coming soon!.
06/06/10 Dont forget it's shap silly sports day next weekend sunday 13th june.
01/06/10 A campaign to save shap sports hall is underway ,the county council plans to demolish the hall and sell the land for housing, more details soon
24/05/10 Shap swiming pool opens this weekend, lets hope the weather holds up
07/05/10 The penrith and borders constituency has a new m.p ,he is conservative Rory stewart more information on him can be found on www.rorystewart.co.uk full results for the election can be found at - http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/election2010/results/constituency/d51.stm
28/04/10 The line up for this years kendal calling music festival held at lowther park gets better by the day the bands playing include - The Doves, see them on you tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZgBKVBduQg ) Stereo mcs . The Coral (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VurVN7tKqfg ) ,Badly drawn boy. King blues. British sea power,( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2n-7K0Ef6Y )Calvin harris . go to www.kendalcalling.com for more details
27/04/10 A steam locomotive will be making its first ascent of shap on 24th june this year ,the tornado was built and is operated by the a1 steam locomotive trust,for more info on the june trip - http://www.a1steam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=148
23/04/2010 . New page added to the website , google street view -check it out
18/04/2010 . Sorry for the lack of updates lately ,a few gremlins in the works,all sorted now i hope. Shap made the national news again last week as once again it was the coldest place in the country !
01/04/10 The cash machine in the village is no more,it was removed this week due to the recent burglary and previous robberies .
16/03/10 Yet another burglary in shap,the post office was broken into in the early hours of this morning. The post office is closed until further notice ,(maybe if the police did a bit more policing in cumbria rather than getting awards for what they did in manchester more criminals would be caught,just a thought?)
09/03/10 The co-op store finally re-opened this morning
12/11/10 Shap has once again been one of the wildest wettest places in the country this week with an incredible 51.6mm of rain falling in the 24 hour period ending at 21.00 on the 11th of november ,windspeeds averaged well over 40 mph for the night of 11th november more details on weather for shap can be found at - http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/nw/shap_latest_weather_graphs.html
27/10/10 BEWARE- Thieves are in the area,sneak thieves have struck twice in the last couple of weeks in shap ,the latest incident happened earlier today when a wallet was stolen from a car in the village,the previous incident also involved the theft of items from a vehicle.
20/10/10 Shap medical practice will be closed on thursday 18th november between 13.00 and 17.00 for staff training
15/10/10 Eden district council is again trying to close public toilets in the area and shap toilets are on their hitlist once again despite the successful campaign to save them a couple of years ago . It's about time the people of eden told this shameful bunch of councillors what they think of them,if the council had not thrown so much time and effort into the shambles that is penrith new squares maybe there would be plenty of money to share out between the rest of eden district,it is about time that penrith had it's own town council responsible for penrith affairs and eden district council was left to handle the eden district as a whole not just concentrating on penrith. The last time the council wanted to close the toilets they attempted to pass them on to the parish council with the offer of a few hundred pounds a year to help ! (which would not even cover the water bills) .More on the last campaign to save the toilets can be found on the "news feature "page of this website,11,000 people signed the petition to save the toilets last time but if eden get their way it will count for nothing.
14/10/10 The work to remove the crazy paving has now been completed and several more parking spaces have been created,it's just a pity the council did not repair the defective pavement while they were there.
13/10/10 Crisis hit shap football club is holding an a.g.m this sunday ,17th october at 7pm at the kings arms hotel.
3/10/10 Work has started on removing the crazy paving and creating more parking spaces in the centre of the village ,work is expected to take a few weeks and will cause some disruption to traffic through the day as traffic control will be needed.
18/09/10 As expected the shambles that is Shap football club is in disarray,the reserve team has folded (as predicted on the sports pages of this website over a month ago and the first team are hot favourites for relegation ( more of a certainty than a pakistani cricket match !).
07/09/10 According to the police 60 people have been caught speeding through the village in the first 6 months of the year,that equates to a detection rate of less than 0.1% of traffic speeding through the village !!
25/08/10 Work will begin on the water treatment works at shap in the next few weeks,the work is expected to take 40 weeks to complete,some ground work has already begun.
23/08/10 Shap flower show next weekend.
24/07/10 For anyone who is interested in auctions ,dickinsons real deal is filming at 1818 auction in kendal on tuesday 27th july,pop along and you might pick up a bargain and appear on tv .
23/07/10 next weekend sees the the return of kendal calling music festival to the area ,this will mean an increase in traffic through the village from thursday onwards with several thousand people heading to the sold out festival at lowther.
19/07/10 Two cars were involved in a collision just out of the village at the weekend ,neither driver is thought to be seriously hurt following the collision at skew bridge.
09/07/10 As the rain pours down today it is hard to believe that this is the first day of a hosepipe ban in the area !! according to united utilities the water levels in haweswater are at such a low level that this ban had to be implemented ,to see for yourself how low the levels are go to the page on haweswater - http://www.shapcumbria.info/haweswater--mardale.html where you will find some photos taken yesterday which back up most local people's claims that it is not as low as is made out.
08/07/10 Many people will be wondering what all the tents were at wet sleddale last weekend ,to find out visit -
http://www.slmm.org.uk/
07/07/10 Several pages have been updated and new photos added
02/07/10 By popular demand another tale of woe from fred and bill on the laal bit crack fra westmorland page,it needs a laal bit of punctuation yet so don't be too hard with the criticism!! . And thanks for the comments good (or not so good) that keep coming in ,i read them all and take all suggestions on board,
and i will try and come up with another bill and fred tale as soon as possible so keep watching this space (or the laal bit crack page).
29/06/10 The co-op store in the village is to begin opening on sundays 10.00- 16.00 from next month .
20/06/10 The annual three rings of shap long distance walking challenge took place yesterday and again was well supported ,the participants were blessed with good walking weather and i think they have just about all finished ! more details of the event and past events can be found on - http://www.ldwa.org.uk/lgt/web_page.php?c=7&p=26
19/06/10 The recycling centre in the village seems to have become a dumping ground for all manner of household items,eden district council have been informed and will take action against anyone who is found to be flytipping. For those people who recycle responsibly the following link will show you what happens to the recycled items - http://www.recyclenow.com/how_is_it_recycled/index.html
12/06/10 Back by popular demand ,more from bill and fred on the laal bit crack page,just a short one on the world cup ,more coming soon!.
06/06/10 Dont forget it's shap silly sports day next weekend sunday 13th june.
01/06/10 A campaign to save shap sports hall is underway ,the county council plans to demolish the hall and sell the land for housing, more details soon
24/05/10 Shap swiming pool opens this weekend, lets hope the weather holds up
07/05/10 The penrith and borders constituency has a new m.p ,he is conservative Rory stewart more information on him can be found on www.rorystewart.co.uk full results for the election can be found at - http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/election2010/results/constituency/d51.stm
28/04/10 The line up for this years kendal calling music festival held at lowther park gets better by the day the bands playing include - The Doves, see them on you tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZgBKVBduQg ) Stereo mcs . The Coral (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VurVN7tKqfg ) ,Badly drawn boy. King blues. British sea power,( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2n-7K0Ef6Y )Calvin harris . go to www.kendalcalling.com for more details
27/04/10 A steam locomotive will be making its first ascent of shap on 24th june this year ,the tornado was built and is operated by the a1 steam locomotive trust,for more info on the june trip - http://www.a1steam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=148
23/04/2010 . New page added to the website , google street view -check it out
18/04/2010 . Sorry for the lack of updates lately ,a few gremlins in the works,all sorted now i hope. Shap made the national news again last week as once again it was the coldest place in the country !
01/04/10 The cash machine in the village is no more,it was removed this week due to the recent burglary and previous robberies .
16/03/10 Yet another burglary in shap,the post office was broken into in the early hours of this morning. The post office is closed until further notice ,(maybe if the police did a bit more policing in cumbria rather than getting awards for what they did in manchester more criminals would be caught,just a thought?)
09/03/10 The co-op store finally re-opened this morning
06/03/10 More information on incidents involving the police and fire service can be accessed via links on the contacts page.
06/03/10 In the early hours of this morning burglars once again targeted the shap co-op store , ,police and the fire service attended after the culprits smashed in the doors and for reasons best known to themselves then attempted to set fire to the cash machine. the fire service attended at 02.14 The fire was extinguished using two sets of breathing apparatus and one dry powder extinguisher. The appliance returned to station at 0346 hours . The store is closed until further notice, of all burglars caught for commiting crimes in the shap area almost all get a pathetic amount of community service as punishment so is it any wonder that the village is targeted again and again, only last week three men in court for a burglary at the corus quarry in the village were each given community service but no fines as they had children to support! .Maybe if the local magistrates took a tougher stance it would act as a deterrent instead of shap being seen as a soft touch. The police must be getting sick of bothering to go to the trouble of catching the culprits (most of whom have previous records for similar offences) only to see magistrates let them off with a slap on the wrist .
17/02/10 Fire crews,ambulance and police were called to a serious accident on the A6 south of shap this afternoon ,the accident near the pink quarry involved two vehicles which were in a head on collision,the extent of injuries to the occupants of the vehicles is not known at this time.
15/02/10 Thank you to all the people who are contacting the website with comments (some good ,some not so good) and suggestions .All your emails do get read but due to lack of time it is not always possible to reply, with regards to the people who have commented on spelin mitsakes and grammatical errors i apologise and can only say it is mainly down to my typing skills (or lack of them !!) because this website doesn't receive funding i can't afford to get it proof read before publishing and due to the lack of time i have to update this site ,mistakes do happen and i will put them right when time allows. I have tried to concentrate on the content of the website getting interesting facts & figures/pictures etc and will continue to try and find more ,i am sure the amount of material more than makes up for the mistakes and as someone commented it adds to the quirkiness !!.
27/01/10 Have you got anything you are thinking of throwing away that might be of use to someone else ? remember one mans rubbish is another mans treasure, check out freegle the new recycling craze sweeping eden district. Give stuff away or pick up stuff for nowt!! more details on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PenrithEdenFreegle/ also see whats on page for upcoming freegle event.
25/01/10 Work begins today on the revamp of the zebra crossing in the centre of the village,the pavement will be widened and railngs installed in an attempt to make the crossing safer for pedestrians. Work will take up to 2 weeks and disruption can be expected with traffic signals in operation.
22/01/10 Bus passengers in shap have been inconvenienced for some time now because of inconsiderate drivers parking at bus stops thus preventing the buses from picking up passengers where they should with buses often having to go hundreds of yards down the road which is not ideal for all passengers but especially the more elderly among them. The response of cumbria county council to this problem is to deny it exsists because stagecoach (one of the bus companies on the route ) have not replied to them regarding this ,they also say they are not prepared to mark out bus bays on the road because this would mean cars having to park elsewhere !! Now i'm not a qualified highway engineer like the people who came up with this excuse but surely the point of having marked areas for buses is to make cars park elsewhere !! Another example of the lack of sense of the people who spend your council tax money. Anyone wishing to contact cumbria county council can do so using the links on the contacts page (but don't expect an immediate response ,it has taken them 5 months to respond to this problem!!)
08/01/2010 . 1pm - Low temperature in last 24 hours of a quite chilly -15.8
04/01/2010 .6pm -This mornings rant at cumbria county council seemed to have some effect as council workmen arrived in shap this afternoon and started throwing salt around. Maybe i'm being cynical but it didn't happen to have anything to do with a local news crew filming in shap did it ?? The salt bins are still mostly empty though .
The need for salt is underlined by last night and todays temperatures in the shap area -it fell to -11.3c at 8am this morning and rising to a tropical - 3.4c by 2pm this afternoon !! details of latest weather can be found on - http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/nw/shap_latest_weather.html 04/01/2010 Anyone using the pavements in shap this week should take great care as most of them remain unsalted,this is due to the total neglect of country areas by cumbria county council who only fill the salt bins in the village occasionally ,and when they do it's not salt but an inferior substitute which is used.
04/01/2010 The kings arms at shap was broken into yesterday (sunday) in the early hours,thieves broke in and ransacked the bar and gaming machines stealing drink ,money and chocolate. Anyone with any information should contact the police (see contacts page for details) , a list of last years crime stats for shap can be seen by viewing this link - http://maps.police.uk/view/?ll=54.5268597914023,-2.6780891418457075&z=12
03/01/2010 Message on the cumbria police website - We are consulting with our Community, priorites will be set on 19 January 2010 at Shap Memorial Hall at 7.30 Please come along and have your say. Happy new year.
01/01/10 Best wishes for the new year,it's been a white start to the new year in shap ,overnight snow adding to the considerable amount already here from the last few weeks . There will be new pictures added to galleries and most pages fully updated over the next few weeks,any suggestions as to improvements are most welcome.Thanks to all the people who contacted me with regards to the website during 2009.
06/03/10 In the early hours of this morning burglars once again targeted the shap co-op store , ,police and the fire service attended after the culprits smashed in the doors and for reasons best known to themselves then attempted to set fire to the cash machine. the fire service attended at 02.14 The fire was extinguished using two sets of breathing apparatus and one dry powder extinguisher. The appliance returned to station at 0346 hours . The store is closed until further notice, of all burglars caught for commiting crimes in the shap area almost all get a pathetic amount of community service as punishment so is it any wonder that the village is targeted again and again, only last week three men in court for a burglary at the corus quarry in the village were each given community service but no fines as they had children to support! .Maybe if the local magistrates took a tougher stance it would act as a deterrent instead of shap being seen as a soft touch. The police must be getting sick of bothering to go to the trouble of catching the culprits (most of whom have previous records for similar offences) only to see magistrates let them off with a slap on the wrist .
17/02/10 Fire crews,ambulance and police were called to a serious accident on the A6 south of shap this afternoon ,the accident near the pink quarry involved two vehicles which were in a head on collision,the extent of injuries to the occupants of the vehicles is not known at this time.
15/02/10 Thank you to all the people who are contacting the website with comments (some good ,some not so good) and suggestions .All your emails do get read but due to lack of time it is not always possible to reply, with regards to the people who have commented on spelin mitsakes and grammatical errors i apologise and can only say it is mainly down to my typing skills (or lack of them !!) because this website doesn't receive funding i can't afford to get it proof read before publishing and due to the lack of time i have to update this site ,mistakes do happen and i will put them right when time allows. I have tried to concentrate on the content of the website getting interesting facts & figures/pictures etc and will continue to try and find more ,i am sure the amount of material more than makes up for the mistakes and as someone commented it adds to the quirkiness !!.
27/01/10 Have you got anything you are thinking of throwing away that might be of use to someone else ? remember one mans rubbish is another mans treasure, check out freegle the new recycling craze sweeping eden district. Give stuff away or pick up stuff for nowt!! more details on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PenrithEdenFreegle/ also see whats on page for upcoming freegle event.
25/01/10 Work begins today on the revamp of the zebra crossing in the centre of the village,the pavement will be widened and railngs installed in an attempt to make the crossing safer for pedestrians. Work will take up to 2 weeks and disruption can be expected with traffic signals in operation.
22/01/10 Bus passengers in shap have been inconvenienced for some time now because of inconsiderate drivers parking at bus stops thus preventing the buses from picking up passengers where they should with buses often having to go hundreds of yards down the road which is not ideal for all passengers but especially the more elderly among them. The response of cumbria county council to this problem is to deny it exsists because stagecoach (one of the bus companies on the route ) have not replied to them regarding this ,they also say they are not prepared to mark out bus bays on the road because this would mean cars having to park elsewhere !! Now i'm not a qualified highway engineer like the people who came up with this excuse but surely the point of having marked areas for buses is to make cars park elsewhere !! Another example of the lack of sense of the people who spend your council tax money. Anyone wishing to contact cumbria county council can do so using the links on the contacts page (but don't expect an immediate response ,it has taken them 5 months to respond to this problem!!)
08/01/2010 . 1pm - Low temperature in last 24 hours of a quite chilly -15.8
04/01/2010 .6pm -This mornings rant at cumbria county council seemed to have some effect as council workmen arrived in shap this afternoon and started throwing salt around. Maybe i'm being cynical but it didn't happen to have anything to do with a local news crew filming in shap did it ?? The salt bins are still mostly empty though .
The need for salt is underlined by last night and todays temperatures in the shap area -it fell to -11.3c at 8am this morning and rising to a tropical - 3.4c by 2pm this afternoon !! details of latest weather can be found on - http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/nw/shap_latest_weather.html 04/01/2010 Anyone using the pavements in shap this week should take great care as most of them remain unsalted,this is due to the total neglect of country areas by cumbria county council who only fill the salt bins in the village occasionally ,and when they do it's not salt but an inferior substitute which is used.
04/01/2010 The kings arms at shap was broken into yesterday (sunday) in the early hours,thieves broke in and ransacked the bar and gaming machines stealing drink ,money and chocolate. Anyone with any information should contact the police (see contacts page for details) , a list of last years crime stats for shap can be seen by viewing this link - http://maps.police.uk/view/?ll=54.5268597914023,-2.6780891418457075&z=12
03/01/2010 Message on the cumbria police website - We are consulting with our Community, priorites will be set on 19 January 2010 at Shap Memorial Hall at 7.30 Please come along and have your say. Happy new year.
01/01/10 Best wishes for the new year,it's been a white start to the new year in shap ,overnight snow adding to the considerable amount already here from the last few weeks . There will be new pictures added to galleries and most pages fully updated over the next few weeks,any suggestions as to improvements are most welcome.Thanks to all the people who contacted me with regards to the website during 2009.
local news. 2009
02/01/2009 HAPPY NEW YEAR.
all last years news is now on the news archives page.
03/01/2009 a bleak new year is in store for workers at shaps hansons quarry with job cuts expected this month ,shaps corus plant is also closing down kilns as the credit crunch takes it's first bite at shap.
04/01/2009 on a brighter note shaps reserve football team head into the new year leading the westmorland league 2nd division,(for fixtures and tables see link on sports and leisure page)
10/01/09 well the new toilets didnt last long before being damaged ,but not by vandals as one might expect ,sometime on friday 9th jan they were hit by a large vehicle which smashed a downspout ,guttering and knocked a chunk of render and beading off the corner of the building -if anyone knows who was responsible they should inform the police.
12/01/09 in a flashback to the serious floods of several years ago,shap was deluged with rain yesterday which resulted in flooding to several parts of the village. The worst affected seemed to be the new public toilets (which seem to be jinxed!) which were under more than a foot of water at the height of the flood ,the supplies cupboard and its contents were the worst affected. According to the met office ,in the 24hours up to 21.00 on 11th jan shap had 86.3mm of rain !! full details of shaps weather can be found on the met office website ,see contacts page for details of the website address.
see a selection of pictures below
02/01/2009 HAPPY NEW YEAR.
all last years news is now on the news archives page.
03/01/2009 a bleak new year is in store for workers at shaps hansons quarry with job cuts expected this month ,shaps corus plant is also closing down kilns as the credit crunch takes it's first bite at shap.
04/01/2009 on a brighter note shaps reserve football team head into the new year leading the westmorland league 2nd division,(for fixtures and tables see link on sports and leisure page)
10/01/09 well the new toilets didnt last long before being damaged ,but not by vandals as one might expect ,sometime on friday 9th jan they were hit by a large vehicle which smashed a downspout ,guttering and knocked a chunk of render and beading off the corner of the building -if anyone knows who was responsible they should inform the police.
12/01/09 in a flashback to the serious floods of several years ago,shap was deluged with rain yesterday which resulted in flooding to several parts of the village. The worst affected seemed to be the new public toilets (which seem to be jinxed!) which were under more than a foot of water at the height of the flood ,the supplies cupboard and its contents were the worst affected. According to the met office ,in the 24hours up to 21.00 on 11th jan shap had 86.3mm of rain !! full details of shaps weather can be found on the met office website ,see contacts page for details of the website address.
see a selection of pictures below
12/01/09 Train services on the west coast mainline were also severely disrupted by the weather which caused a landslide at wreay ,shap. water built up on sleepers lonning before cascading down the railway embankment taking with it soil and other debris which totally covered the southbound line , it was lucky no trains were passing as another major disaster could have occured. Railway workers had to dig out the tracks to allow trains to run.
24/01/09 new pictures added to photo galleries.
25/01/09 Shap youth club is up and running again on fridays.open to ages 8 and over . (for more details see whats on page)
26/01/09 work has commenced on shaps new medical centre, residents in the area can expect an increase in traffic to and from the site while this work is undertaken.
02/02/09 unlike the rest of the country shap didn't come to a standstill following recent heavy snow, although the school was closed today.(but then we did only get several inches of snow and blizzard like conditions at times, but nothing we can't handle.)
09/02/09 according to the met office ,shap has again been one of the coldest places in the uk this last few days. In the 24hours ending at 21.00 on feb 8th the lowest temp was -10.6. although we did have 2.6 hours of sun !! more details can be found on the met office website -there is a link on contacts page.
09/02/09 A campaign has been started on the internet to buy sleddale hall, which goes up for auction in london next monday (i6th feb). Sleddale hall is a dilapidated farmhouse at the end of a dirt track a couple of miles outside shap., the reason for national interest in the property is that it was used in the cult film "withnail and i" as uncle montys cottage. most people probably don,t realise that the film cut views of haweswater into scenes of the stars leaving the cottage,making it look as though you were just over the hill from a lake- you are not! although you are next to a reservoir , but not the one in the film ! if anyone wants to view the campaign it can be found on www.letsbuycrowcrag.com . the property is for sale with a guide price of £145,000 on a 999 year lease from united utilities. details can be found at www.savills.co.uk link.
13/02/09 Eden district council has prepared its core stategy development plan and invites people to make representations on it before fri 20th march. The document includes proposals for new housing in shap, the housing proposed includes:- 6 houses at end of west lane,2 at end of foster street,18 behind woodville terrace and over 50 on land surrounding green farm. The parish council has supported the proposals for foster street and woodville terrace. full details of these plans can be viewed online at http://www.eden.gov.uk/planning-and-development/eden-local-development-framework/development-plan-documents/core-strategy-dpd/ or at shap library.
17/02/09 sleddale hall was sold this week to a local businessman for over a quarter of a million pounds.
.
24/02/09 Chart topping band the streets have been confirmed as headliners at this years kendal calling festival which is to be held in lowther park on 31st jul-2nd aug.For more info check out the "whats on "page.
27/02/09 A new photo gallery has been added featuring historic shap. ( anyone who has any old photos that they would like to see on this website please contact me at - shaplad@googlemail.com
27/02/09 Problems continue with the badly thought out and designed public toilets in the village,they have been very busy recently and because of the reduced size, people not prepared( or not able to wait ! )have been forced to relieve themselves in the street. this along with the design faults which cause the toilets to be stood in water all the time ,should make eden district council hang its head in shame .
01/03/09 enterprise plc the firm who collect the refuse for eden district council have announced that from march (today) refuse collection times may be earlier than at present,anyone with any queries should ring 01768 212802. www.enterprise.plc.uk
01/03/09 Several sections of the website have been updated with new material added.
06/03/09 New section on the website about shap wells(see index) and several other sections have again been updated.
* In the village of shap,resides a young chap,*
he's been ever so coy,this newspaper boy,
he's never said a word ,not a dickie bird,
about the big day ,that's coming his way,
it's not made the sun,or even the mail,
so it's left up to me ,to tell you this tale,
on the 18th of march,it's the big five o,
so if you are in his shop,please say hello,
i'm sure he won't run away,on his big day,
*because he's not quite as nifty ,now he's almost reached 50 !!*
16/03/09 apologies for the unavailability of the website over the last couple of days ,this has been due to the service provider (weebly) doing essential work.
17/03/09 BEWARE THE SHEEP . a pensioner was taken to hospital yesterday with a suspected broken leg after being attacked by a sheep. The 75 year old man was in a field near his home at the time of the attack ,an eyewitness said "i don't want to bleat on about it ,but that sheeps got previous,it's a real baa'd un, it just came up behind him and chopped him down, he was a man to the slaughter" .The victim is out of hospital and recovering at home.( and for those who have asked ,yes this is true!)
22/03/09 cooking with schools is back-flora margarine is running its promotion to promote cooking in schools and shap school needs your help ,simply register the code inside your tub of flora and shap school can get cooking equipment for the school (as of today it only has enough for half a wooden spoon!!) it only takes a minute to send in your code and just think ,in a few years from now we might have another gordon ramsay! (er? well maybe better not!!) to see how ,check out - www.cookingwithschools.co.uk/pages/SchoolProfile.aspx?id=11301
27/03/09 shap recycling centre will be undergoing a facelift next week,a concrete base and fence will be installed .so expect a lot of disruption to the recycling centre and car park while this work is done.
04/04/09 shaps football team has a busy schedule in the next few weeks ,due to the bad winter a backlog of fixtures means the first team has to play 4 matches a week. starting at home to local rivals lunesdale on tuesday (07/04/09) link to full fixtures can be found on sports and leisure page.
10/04/09 police have caught one of the burglars responsible for a string of burglaries including the ones at licensed premises in shap.
11/04/09 the coast to coast walk is being featured on bbc tv through april and may ,shap should be on in a couple of weeks.(thurs nights ,bbc4).
12/04/09 shaps football teams are again in midweek action this week (see sports pages for link to fixtures)
24/01/09 new pictures added to photo galleries.
25/01/09 Shap youth club is up and running again on fridays.open to ages 8 and over . (for more details see whats on page)
26/01/09 work has commenced on shaps new medical centre, residents in the area can expect an increase in traffic to and from the site while this work is undertaken.
02/02/09 unlike the rest of the country shap didn't come to a standstill following recent heavy snow, although the school was closed today.(but then we did only get several inches of snow and blizzard like conditions at times, but nothing we can't handle.)
09/02/09 according to the met office ,shap has again been one of the coldest places in the uk this last few days. In the 24hours ending at 21.00 on feb 8th the lowest temp was -10.6. although we did have 2.6 hours of sun !! more details can be found on the met office website -there is a link on contacts page.
09/02/09 A campaign has been started on the internet to buy sleddale hall, which goes up for auction in london next monday (i6th feb). Sleddale hall is a dilapidated farmhouse at the end of a dirt track a couple of miles outside shap., the reason for national interest in the property is that it was used in the cult film "withnail and i" as uncle montys cottage. most people probably don,t realise that the film cut views of haweswater into scenes of the stars leaving the cottage,making it look as though you were just over the hill from a lake- you are not! although you are next to a reservoir , but not the one in the film ! if anyone wants to view the campaign it can be found on www.letsbuycrowcrag.com . the property is for sale with a guide price of £145,000 on a 999 year lease from united utilities. details can be found at www.savills.co.uk link.
13/02/09 Eden district council has prepared its core stategy development plan and invites people to make representations on it before fri 20th march. The document includes proposals for new housing in shap, the housing proposed includes:- 6 houses at end of west lane,2 at end of foster street,18 behind woodville terrace and over 50 on land surrounding green farm. The parish council has supported the proposals for foster street and woodville terrace. full details of these plans can be viewed online at http://www.eden.gov.uk/planning-and-development/eden-local-development-framework/development-plan-documents/core-strategy-dpd/ or at shap library.
17/02/09 sleddale hall was sold this week to a local businessman for over a quarter of a million pounds.
.
24/02/09 Chart topping band the streets have been confirmed as headliners at this years kendal calling festival which is to be held in lowther park on 31st jul-2nd aug.For more info check out the "whats on "page.
27/02/09 A new photo gallery has been added featuring historic shap. ( anyone who has any old photos that they would like to see on this website please contact me at - shaplad@googlemail.com
27/02/09 Problems continue with the badly thought out and designed public toilets in the village,they have been very busy recently and because of the reduced size, people not prepared( or not able to wait ! )have been forced to relieve themselves in the street. this along with the design faults which cause the toilets to be stood in water all the time ,should make eden district council hang its head in shame .
01/03/09 enterprise plc the firm who collect the refuse for eden district council have announced that from march (today) refuse collection times may be earlier than at present,anyone with any queries should ring 01768 212802. www.enterprise.plc.uk
01/03/09 Several sections of the website have been updated with new material added.
06/03/09 New section on the website about shap wells(see index) and several other sections have again been updated.
* In the village of shap,resides a young chap,*
he's been ever so coy,this newspaper boy,
he's never said a word ,not a dickie bird,
about the big day ,that's coming his way,
it's not made the sun,or even the mail,
so it's left up to me ,to tell you this tale,
on the 18th of march,it's the big five o,
so if you are in his shop,please say hello,
i'm sure he won't run away,on his big day,
*because he's not quite as nifty ,now he's almost reached 50 !!*
16/03/09 apologies for the unavailability of the website over the last couple of days ,this has been due to the service provider (weebly) doing essential work.
17/03/09 BEWARE THE SHEEP . a pensioner was taken to hospital yesterday with a suspected broken leg after being attacked by a sheep. The 75 year old man was in a field near his home at the time of the attack ,an eyewitness said "i don't want to bleat on about it ,but that sheeps got previous,it's a real baa'd un, it just came up behind him and chopped him down, he was a man to the slaughter" .The victim is out of hospital and recovering at home.( and for those who have asked ,yes this is true!)
22/03/09 cooking with schools is back-flora margarine is running its promotion to promote cooking in schools and shap school needs your help ,simply register the code inside your tub of flora and shap school can get cooking equipment for the school (as of today it only has enough for half a wooden spoon!!) it only takes a minute to send in your code and just think ,in a few years from now we might have another gordon ramsay! (er? well maybe better not!!) to see how ,check out - www.cookingwithschools.co.uk/pages/SchoolProfile.aspx?id=11301
27/03/09 shap recycling centre will be undergoing a facelift next week,a concrete base and fence will be installed .so expect a lot of disruption to the recycling centre and car park while this work is done.
04/04/09 shaps football team has a busy schedule in the next few weeks ,due to the bad winter a backlog of fixtures means the first team has to play 4 matches a week. starting at home to local rivals lunesdale on tuesday (07/04/09) link to full fixtures can be found on sports and leisure page.
10/04/09 police have caught one of the burglars responsible for a string of burglaries including the ones at licensed premises in shap.
11/04/09 the coast to coast walk is being featured on bbc tv through april and may ,shap should be on in a couple of weeks.(thurs nights ,bbc4).
12/04/09 shaps football teams are again in midweek action this week (see sports pages for link to fixtures)
shaps new recycling centre
24/04/09 the coast to coast walk through shap was featured on this weeks bbc 4 programme about wainwrights coast to coast(repeated over the next week)
08/05/09 shap swimming pool are appealing for volunteers to help spring clean the pool this weekend (9/10 may) prior to opening, anyone interested in helping please contact any committee member.
09/05/09 thanks to everyone for all the feedback i have received on the website,your comments and suggestions are most welcome,keep them coming and any old photos of shap anyone may have that i can copy and post for everyone to see,(special mention to ex shapites far away ,thanks for your support)
01/06/09 sorry for the lack of updates in the last few weeks,this was down to computer problems ,hopefully things are back working again now.
01/06/09 Shap swimming pool is now open for the season ,for more details go to sports & leisure page.
01/06/09 Householders are advised to keep sheds and outbuildings securely locked due to the influx of undesirables at present,also be on the lookout for eastern europeans selling on the streets-they are in the village this week.
02/06/09 Despite shap being the coldest place in the country again this last week ( 2c ) a man was still overcome by heatstroke in the village at the weekend,the man in his late thirties collapsed at shap swimming pool and was taken by ambulance to hospital where he was treated for his injuries caused by the fall,the man is now recovering at home.
03/06/09 Work is progressing well on shaps new medical centre ,the roof is going on at the moment,updates will appear here as to when it is due to be completed.Work has also started on red gables-the development on the site of the former methodist chapel,developers have applied to the council to have a clause relating to local occupancy lifted, work on the site is expected to last several months.
04/06/09 The annual three rings of shap takes place next weekend ( 13/06/09) for more details see whats on page.
05/06/09 Shap has a new county councillor, results-tom lowther (con) 1084 votes,neil hughes( lib/dem) 962 ,d wilson (lab) 91 .turnout was 48.2%
08/06/09 The road to bampton ,keld,shap abbey etc is closed from today for resurfacing work ,diversions are in place -update ,work will take a bit longer than expected as contractors have just gone through the water main !!
10/06/09 Eden district council have released the final cost for the refurbishing of shap public toilets thanks to a resident demanding the figure under the freedom of information act. The final cost they give is an astonishing £84,503.07 ! and no there aren't any gold plated taps !!
,this figure probably doesn't include any repairs done since the toilets were opened and won't include repainting the doors green ( ??).
11/06/09 13 days to shap going digital,the switchover begins on june 24th and completes on 22nd july,age concern are having a drop in session next week for people who want to learn more .more info can be found at www.digitaluk.co.uk
15/06/06 a new look for the website from today ,let me know what you think !
16/06/09 Tranfield of cumbria, one of shaps largest employers is in danger of closing ,vion the dutch parent firm firm have released a press statement to say that in 90 days over 100 jobs could be lost. the firm who make sausages for the frozen food market took over the shap factory from struggling kingscourt foods about 5 years ago, they say that transfers to other sites may be possible ,full statement can be viewed at www.vionuk.com
24/06/09 One of the thieves responsible for breaking into shap co-op last year has finally been in court last week,the thief from merseyside was caught by police when he crashed his car while attempting a getaway.despite him having a previous record ,the magistrates gave him only a community order,. What kind of message does that send out to criminals? the police have done their job in catching him and taking him to court only for magistrates to let him off with a slap on the wrist-the laws an ass.
26/06/09 Villagers are in shock after a local man lost his foot in an horrific accident at work,matthew allison (maff) who plays in goal for shaps reserve football team and lives in the village suffered the injury while working at jenkinsons forest products at clifton.he is recovering in hospital,our thoughts are with him.
30/06/09 Shap is enjoying fantastic weather at the moment with temperatures in the high 20 s. for the latest weather news visit - http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/nw/shap_latest_weather.html this is the met office's official site and data for shap is recorded at shap.
01/07/09 shap church is holding a flower exhibition over the next weekend ,for this and more upcoming events check out the whats on page.
02/07/09 shap swimming pool has now got its own website- details on sports and leisure page.
02/07/09 several pages on the website have been updated and links added ,including contact details for new county councillor tom lowther on the contacts page and a link to you tube clips of steam trains over shap on the railway page.
03/07/09 For pictures and details about last months three rings of shaps challenge see link on whats on and sports page.
12/07/09 work will begin in the next few weeks on revamping the zebra crossing outside the school,this work is needed due to traffic not slowing down for people on the crossing.
13/07/09 the shaps got talent night was well supported and raised a terrific £800 for shap swimming pool, the next fund raising event for the swimming pool is a quiz night at the crown inn on the 31st july.
15/07/09 work on the new medical centre is progressing well and it is expected to open its doors to the public this autumn.
20/07/09 Dont forget -this wednesday is the digital deadline day for shap, everyone must retune their tv's as the analogue signal is turned off for good. For more info go to - www.digital.co.uk
26/07/09 The coast to coast walk is being featured on bbc2 at the moment ,it is on tuesday nights at 10pm ,presenter julia bradbury is following in wainwrights footsteps over 6 programmes .Shap will be on in late july /early august so keep an eye out. (for more coast to coast info -see main menu)
26/07/09 Flytipping is on the increase again at shaps recycling centre ,anything dumped there will be reported to eden district council and the people responsible risk a fine.
27/07/09 John owen from shap became the 101st president of the RFU (rugby football union) last week when he replaced brian williams This is a great honour for john and follows years of hard work in community rugby and other roles at twickenham .
29/07/09 Julia bradbury was walking from rosthwaite to shap on last nights coast to coast on bbc2 -if you missed it you can catch up on the bbc website http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00jwck2/Wainwright_Walks_Coast_to_Coast_The_Heart_of_the_Lakes/
next week julia starts from shap and heads eastwards (filming took place last october).
29/07/09 Shap had the highest rainfall in the north of england this week ,in the 24 hours to 22.00 on the 28th over 31mm of rain fell on shap ,full details of latest weather can be found at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/nw/shap_latest_weather_graphs.html
01/08/09 steam enthusiasts will be flocking to shap summit next weekend as the steam train the 6233 duchess of sutherland pulls the cumbrian mountain express over shap on route from crewe to carlisle ,for more details visit http://www.railwaytouring.co.uk/index.php/the-cumbrian-mountain-express---080809-and-290809.html
03/08/09 This weekends kendal calling music festival near shap was marred by 4 people being taken to hospital after consuming an unknown liquid ,they are said to be in a serious condition in hospital. Several thousand people attended the event at lowther which was headlined by bands such as the streets,ash and idlewild. Traffic through the village is expected to be heavy today as revellers make their way home.
08/05/09 shap swimming pool are appealing for volunteers to help spring clean the pool this weekend (9/10 may) prior to opening, anyone interested in helping please contact any committee member.
09/05/09 thanks to everyone for all the feedback i have received on the website,your comments and suggestions are most welcome,keep them coming and any old photos of shap anyone may have that i can copy and post for everyone to see,(special mention to ex shapites far away ,thanks for your support)
01/06/09 sorry for the lack of updates in the last few weeks,this was down to computer problems ,hopefully things are back working again now.
01/06/09 Shap swimming pool is now open for the season ,for more details go to sports & leisure page.
01/06/09 Householders are advised to keep sheds and outbuildings securely locked due to the influx of undesirables at present,also be on the lookout for eastern europeans selling on the streets-they are in the village this week.
02/06/09 Despite shap being the coldest place in the country again this last week ( 2c ) a man was still overcome by heatstroke in the village at the weekend,the man in his late thirties collapsed at shap swimming pool and was taken by ambulance to hospital where he was treated for his injuries caused by the fall,the man is now recovering at home.
03/06/09 Work is progressing well on shaps new medical centre ,the roof is going on at the moment,updates will appear here as to when it is due to be completed.Work has also started on red gables-the development on the site of the former methodist chapel,developers have applied to the council to have a clause relating to local occupancy lifted, work on the site is expected to last several months.
04/06/09 The annual three rings of shap takes place next weekend ( 13/06/09) for more details see whats on page.
05/06/09 Shap has a new county councillor, results-tom lowther (con) 1084 votes,neil hughes( lib/dem) 962 ,d wilson (lab) 91 .turnout was 48.2%
08/06/09 The road to bampton ,keld,shap abbey etc is closed from today for resurfacing work ,diversions are in place -update ,work will take a bit longer than expected as contractors have just gone through the water main !!
10/06/09 Eden district council have released the final cost for the refurbishing of shap public toilets thanks to a resident demanding the figure under the freedom of information act. The final cost they give is an astonishing £84,503.07 ! and no there aren't any gold plated taps !!
,this figure probably doesn't include any repairs done since the toilets were opened and won't include repainting the doors green ( ??).
11/06/09 13 days to shap going digital,the switchover begins on june 24th and completes on 22nd july,age concern are having a drop in session next week for people who want to learn more .more info can be found at www.digitaluk.co.uk
15/06/06 a new look for the website from today ,let me know what you think !
16/06/09 Tranfield of cumbria, one of shaps largest employers is in danger of closing ,vion the dutch parent firm firm have released a press statement to say that in 90 days over 100 jobs could be lost. the firm who make sausages for the frozen food market took over the shap factory from struggling kingscourt foods about 5 years ago, they say that transfers to other sites may be possible ,full statement can be viewed at www.vionuk.com
24/06/09 One of the thieves responsible for breaking into shap co-op last year has finally been in court last week,the thief from merseyside was caught by police when he crashed his car while attempting a getaway.despite him having a previous record ,the magistrates gave him only a community order,. What kind of message does that send out to criminals? the police have done their job in catching him and taking him to court only for magistrates to let him off with a slap on the wrist-the laws an ass.
26/06/09 Villagers are in shock after a local man lost his foot in an horrific accident at work,matthew allison (maff) who plays in goal for shaps reserve football team and lives in the village suffered the injury while working at jenkinsons forest products at clifton.he is recovering in hospital,our thoughts are with him.
30/06/09 Shap is enjoying fantastic weather at the moment with temperatures in the high 20 s. for the latest weather news visit - http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/nw/shap_latest_weather.html this is the met office's official site and data for shap is recorded at shap.
01/07/09 shap church is holding a flower exhibition over the next weekend ,for this and more upcoming events check out the whats on page.
02/07/09 shap swimming pool has now got its own website- details on sports and leisure page.
02/07/09 several pages on the website have been updated and links added ,including contact details for new county councillor tom lowther on the contacts page and a link to you tube clips of steam trains over shap on the railway page.
03/07/09 For pictures and details about last months three rings of shaps challenge see link on whats on and sports page.
12/07/09 work will begin in the next few weeks on revamping the zebra crossing outside the school,this work is needed due to traffic not slowing down for people on the crossing.
13/07/09 the shaps got talent night was well supported and raised a terrific £800 for shap swimming pool, the next fund raising event for the swimming pool is a quiz night at the crown inn on the 31st july.
15/07/09 work on the new medical centre is progressing well and it is expected to open its doors to the public this autumn.
20/07/09 Dont forget -this wednesday is the digital deadline day for shap, everyone must retune their tv's as the analogue signal is turned off for good. For more info go to - www.digital.co.uk
26/07/09 The coast to coast walk is being featured on bbc2 at the moment ,it is on tuesday nights at 10pm ,presenter julia bradbury is following in wainwrights footsteps over 6 programmes .Shap will be on in late july /early august so keep an eye out. (for more coast to coast info -see main menu)
26/07/09 Flytipping is on the increase again at shaps recycling centre ,anything dumped there will be reported to eden district council and the people responsible risk a fine.
27/07/09 John owen from shap became the 101st president of the RFU (rugby football union) last week when he replaced brian williams This is a great honour for john and follows years of hard work in community rugby and other roles at twickenham .
29/07/09 Julia bradbury was walking from rosthwaite to shap on last nights coast to coast on bbc2 -if you missed it you can catch up on the bbc website http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00jwck2/Wainwright_Walks_Coast_to_Coast_The_Heart_of_the_Lakes/
next week julia starts from shap and heads eastwards (filming took place last october).
29/07/09 Shap had the highest rainfall in the north of england this week ,in the 24 hours to 22.00 on the 28th over 31mm of rain fell on shap ,full details of latest weather can be found at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/nw/shap_latest_weather_graphs.html
01/08/09 steam enthusiasts will be flocking to shap summit next weekend as the steam train the 6233 duchess of sutherland pulls the cumbrian mountain express over shap on route from crewe to carlisle ,for more details visit http://www.railwaytouring.co.uk/index.php/the-cumbrian-mountain-express---080809-and-290809.html
03/08/09 This weekends kendal calling music festival near shap was marred by 4 people being taken to hospital after consuming an unknown liquid ,they are said to be in a serious condition in hospital. Several thousand people attended the event at lowther which was headlined by bands such as the streets,ash and idlewild. Traffic through the village is expected to be heavy today as revellers make their way home.
04/08/09 Anybody who was up and about bright and early this morning might have caught a glimpse of olympic champions james cracknell and rebecca romero as they passed through shap just after 6am ,they raced through the village on a tandem while attempting to break the non stop record from lands end to john o groats, unfortunately shap fell must have taken too much out of olympic cycling champion romero as they abandoned their attempt in the south of scotland due to an injury to her.
12/08/09 Shap co-op was broken into yet again last weekend ,after breaking in through the roof, the robbers failed in an attempt to break into the cash machine but got away with a large quantity of cigarettes and alcohol.
15/08/09 Another jobs blow for shap- the new balance factory situated in the village has announced that it is moving production to west cumbria ,workers are believed to have been offered the chance of relocating.
16/08/09 shap is holding a silly sports day in september -see whats on page for details.
21/08/09 Shap and district pool league now has its own website it can be found at - www.shapanddistrictpoolleague.weebly.com
21/08/09 With all the bad news on the jobs front in shap this year it's nice to be able to report that a new company has started in the village .NORTH WEST TREE SERVICES are a small firm dealing with all things arborial . visit www.northwesttreeservices.com for more details
22/08/09 Shaps co-op store was closed today following an electrical fire ,the store is expected to reopen on tuesday.
23/08/09 A man was hurt following a minor traffic accident in the village yesterday ,his injuries are not thought to be serious.
01/09/09 Over the last couple of days Shap has suffered some of the heaviest rain villagers can remember ,on the 31 aug 62.6 mm of rain fell causing flooding to several areas including the A6 between shap and kendal ,the road became impassable after flooding and one local woman had to escape from her stranded car through a window. details of links to local weather can be found on the contacts page
12/08/09 Shap co-op was broken into yet again last weekend ,after breaking in through the roof, the robbers failed in an attempt to break into the cash machine but got away with a large quantity of cigarettes and alcohol.
15/08/09 Another jobs blow for shap- the new balance factory situated in the village has announced that it is moving production to west cumbria ,workers are believed to have been offered the chance of relocating.
16/08/09 shap is holding a silly sports day in september -see whats on page for details.
21/08/09 Shap and district pool league now has its own website it can be found at - www.shapanddistrictpoolleague.weebly.com
21/08/09 With all the bad news on the jobs front in shap this year it's nice to be able to report that a new company has started in the village .NORTH WEST TREE SERVICES are a small firm dealing with all things arborial . visit www.northwesttreeservices.com for more details
22/08/09 Shaps co-op store was closed today following an electrical fire ,the store is expected to reopen on tuesday.
23/08/09 A man was hurt following a minor traffic accident in the village yesterday ,his injuries are not thought to be serious.
01/09/09 Over the last couple of days Shap has suffered some of the heaviest rain villagers can remember ,on the 31 aug 62.6 mm of rain fell causing flooding to several areas including the A6 between shap and kendal ,the road became impassable after flooding and one local woman had to escape from her stranded car through a window. details of links to local weather can be found on the contacts page
09/09/09 This weekend will see the international sheeep dog trials at lowther near shap ,traffic will be busy through the village from friday onwards.
11/10/09 A news special on the shap plane crash of 10 years ago can be found on the news feature page, ( includes a link to video coverage and interview with twid.) a commemorative service and parade is to be held next sunday to mark the occasion.
12/10/09 Shap is still without a cash machine thanks to the cooperative bank not filling it anymore following the burglary at the co-op store in august, this is causing great inconvenience and anyone travelling to shap be advised to bring plenty of cash with them as not everywhere accepts cards.
22/10/09 New old pictures added to photo galleries.
23/10/09 At long last the cash machine at the co-op store is working again!
26/10/09 Shaps new medical centre is due to open on the 9th of november and the process of moving will take place over the weekend of 6th to 9th of nov so services will be affected on that friday.
25/11/09 Shap is recovering this week following the storms and floods which hit cumbria last week,despite workington,cockermouth and keswick suffering the worst floods,shap too was affected (despite being over 800 feet above sea level and no rivers for miles !!) with several parts of the village under water and residents forced to deploy sandbags to protect their properties. Parts of the A6 were flooded and covered with debris which had washed down lanes on to the main road. Shap had the 3rd highest rainfall in the country last week ,the only places wetter were also in cumbria.
01/12/09 Winter has arrived in shap,the highest temperature over last 24 hours has been 3'c. with a low of -5'c last night meaning a cold frosty start this morning.
14/12/09 The refuse collection is on saturday in the village this week not monday ,the council have printed details on the bags -but who reads dustbin bags?
21/12/09 Over the last few days Shap has had its heaviest snowfall for quite a while with several inches falling from saturday night onwards,roads and footpaths are bad (mainly due to corner cutting by cumbria county council-who in their wisdom no longer supply proper salt ),the rubbish they now supply doesnt work and will result in people injuring themselves on icy roads/pavements. I only hope anyone suffering as a result of the councils shameful cost cutting will take action against them then maybe they will return to tried and tested methods.
23/12/09 Continuing snowfall has meant shap is now covered in a blanket of snow over a foot deep ( ive been out and measured it !!)) more snow is forecast for christmas eve ,so it looks like a white christmas this year .
25/12/09 It was a cold start to christmas day in shap with the temperature dropping to almost - 10'c in the early hours . **~~merry christmas~~**
25/12/09 For all the latest weather for shap visit- www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/nw/shap_latest_weather.html
31/12/09 Well it's another year nearly over in shap and you could say it's been a bit of an" annus horriblus" with firms closing down and cutting back in the village,with the loss of the sausage factory being the biggest single blow to employment in the village .When over 100 people lose their jobs in a village the size of shap it impacts on the whole village as there is less money to be spent in the shops and pubs in the village and if they are struggling and having to cut back on their workforce it then becomes a snowball effect with no end in sight. We can only hope 2010 offers a brighter future for the village . Thanks to everybody who visited the website over the past year and all those who contributed photos and offered help and advice, all input is welcome and i hope you continue to support this site and that i can keep improving it over the next year . all the best . shaplad. p.s the news on page will be moved to the news archive page from next week and a new page for the new year will be started
local news websites
www.news-and-star.co.uk , www.cwherald.com . www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk www.cumberland-news.co.uk www.itvlocal.com/border
11/10/09 A news special on the shap plane crash of 10 years ago can be found on the news feature page, ( includes a link to video coverage and interview with twid.) a commemorative service and parade is to be held next sunday to mark the occasion.
12/10/09 Shap is still without a cash machine thanks to the cooperative bank not filling it anymore following the burglary at the co-op store in august, this is causing great inconvenience and anyone travelling to shap be advised to bring plenty of cash with them as not everywhere accepts cards.
22/10/09 New old pictures added to photo galleries.
23/10/09 At long last the cash machine at the co-op store is working again!
26/10/09 Shaps new medical centre is due to open on the 9th of november and the process of moving will take place over the weekend of 6th to 9th of nov so services will be affected on that friday.
25/11/09 Shap is recovering this week following the storms and floods which hit cumbria last week,despite workington,cockermouth and keswick suffering the worst floods,shap too was affected (despite being over 800 feet above sea level and no rivers for miles !!) with several parts of the village under water and residents forced to deploy sandbags to protect their properties. Parts of the A6 were flooded and covered with debris which had washed down lanes on to the main road. Shap had the 3rd highest rainfall in the country last week ,the only places wetter were also in cumbria.
01/12/09 Winter has arrived in shap,the highest temperature over last 24 hours has been 3'c. with a low of -5'c last night meaning a cold frosty start this morning.
14/12/09 The refuse collection is on saturday in the village this week not monday ,the council have printed details on the bags -but who reads dustbin bags?
21/12/09 Over the last few days Shap has had its heaviest snowfall for quite a while with several inches falling from saturday night onwards,roads and footpaths are bad (mainly due to corner cutting by cumbria county council-who in their wisdom no longer supply proper salt ),the rubbish they now supply doesnt work and will result in people injuring themselves on icy roads/pavements. I only hope anyone suffering as a result of the councils shameful cost cutting will take action against them then maybe they will return to tried and tested methods.
23/12/09 Continuing snowfall has meant shap is now covered in a blanket of snow over a foot deep ( ive been out and measured it !!)) more snow is forecast for christmas eve ,so it looks like a white christmas this year .
25/12/09 It was a cold start to christmas day in shap with the temperature dropping to almost - 10'c in the early hours . **~~merry christmas~~**
25/12/09 For all the latest weather for shap visit- www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/nw/shap_latest_weather.html
31/12/09 Well it's another year nearly over in shap and you could say it's been a bit of an" annus horriblus" with firms closing down and cutting back in the village,with the loss of the sausage factory being the biggest single blow to employment in the village .When over 100 people lose their jobs in a village the size of shap it impacts on the whole village as there is less money to be spent in the shops and pubs in the village and if they are struggling and having to cut back on their workforce it then becomes a snowball effect with no end in sight. We can only hope 2010 offers a brighter future for the village . Thanks to everybody who visited the website over the past year and all those who contributed photos and offered help and advice, all input is welcome and i hope you continue to support this site and that i can keep improving it over the next year . all the best . shaplad. p.s the news on page will be moved to the news archive page from next week and a new page for the new year will be started
local news websites
www.news-and-star.co.uk , www.cwherald.com . www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk www.cumberland-news.co.uk www.itvlocal.com/border
june-dec 2008
09/06/08 Shap's skeleton in the closet, or should that be a skeleton in the chapel? police are today investigating after a human skeleton was discovered underneath the former methodist chapel by building workers. Developers have plans to build apartments on the site of the chapel and the discovery was made as builders dug test holes for the new development. A source on the site said "he probably fell asleep during one of the vicars sermons and no one noticed" police have stationed a 24 hour guard on the chapel in case the victim tries to escape.
11/06/08 police have today stood down their 24 hour guard at the methodist chapel when it was decided that the skeleton would not be escaping as he had no legs .
15/06/08 A teenager was badly injured when the motorbike he was riding was in collision with a car outside the chip shop,the injured youth was treated at the scene before being airlifted to hospital. The incident reinforces local concerns about traffic problems in the village ,which the police won't acknowledge exsist.
19/06/08 planning permission was granted by eden district council today for the redevelopement of the methodist chapel,work will be commencing in the next few months ,barring any more skeletons !
19/06/08 planning permission for the new medical centre was deferred by eden planners .
25/06/08 more skeletons found in shap's closet !!yet more skeletal remains have been unearthed in shap this week,this time on another building site about 30 yards from the first discovery. a source said "you can see more skeletons in shap ,than on a catwalk during london fashion week "
04/07/08 eden planners today turned down plans for the much needed new medical facility .
07/07/08 work starts today on the refurbisment of the public toilets,work is expected to take 10 weeks .
11/07/08 shap medical practice is urging the people of shap to contact eden district council to voice their support of the new medical centre.
17/07/08 eden district council today did a u turn on the planning application for the new medical centre mainly thanks to the flood of support from the people of shap in the last week.
23/07/08 comedian frank skinner was in town today,doing the c2c walk ,he stopped at the hermitage and dined at the greyhound hotel where he was warmly welcomed by the building fraternity (chip!!)
24/07/08 film crews spent time in shap this week filming for the beeb ,expect nick bellas on a tv screen near you soon !!
31/07/08 the greyhound hotel is from today under new ownership,keith and derrick bade farewell to their staff and regulars last night after 8 years.
12/08/08 the police have responded to points that i have brought up with them regarding traffic problems in the village,speeding ,parking etc. they inform me that august has been designated a european wide month of speed enforcement and as such the speed limit will be rigorously enforced in accordance with government guidelines,
19/08/08
01/09/08work on the public toilets is progressing slowly and there is no chance of them being finished in the original 10 week time frame,expect work to carry on until at least the end of september.
06/10/08 newly updated history section on the m6 -see history page (if anyone has any photos ,please let me know)
09/10/08 new page on the website on the railway through shap, see index (again anyone who has any photos please get in touch )
12/10/08 as expected the new public toilets are nowhere near completion despite e.d.c's assurances.
16/10/08 some people might have noticed the poor state of a lot of the public footpaths in the area,(copy hill -keld road ,sandy lane etc), when asked about this ,david gibson of cumbria county council informs us ,that cumbria has suffered from years of neglect,with 7500km of rights of way and no set policy of maintenance,but now with new staff and funding,things have changed and are starting to go in the right direction. To help the council with this people can report any concerns they have about rights of way, to him (contact details on contact page) .
20/10/08 steve huddart of eden district council informs us that the contractor working on shap's new public toilets has said that work would be 95% complete by last weekend,( the same contractor who told e.d.c they would be finished the week before!!) so your guess is as good as the councils as to when they will be open. Is it any wonder that the new squares development in penrith is such a shambles ,when we have a council who have no idea when work is planned to finish on such a small (but expensive !!) job like this.?
21/10/08 more from bill and fred on the laal bit crack page !!
21/10/08 the date for next years three rings of shap has been announced (13/06/09)-see whats on page for details
27/10/08 the developers of shaps methodist chapel site have decided on the name " red gables" for the development
28/10/08 I have been told some people have been struggling to access the website recently, i think i've sorted a few technical glitches and all should be ok again now.
28/10/08 theives have been very active in shap this week targeting several properties in the early hours of tuesday morning ,thieves also stole a quantity of items from shap co-op on monday evening between 19.00 and 19.30, the two thieves who didn't have local accents , were smartly dressed men one of whom was bald and anybody with any information or who might have seen these scumbags or anything else suspicious should get in touch with the police (numbers are on contacts page).
30/10/08 The new date for the opening of shaps new toilets is now monday the 3rd of november (but you might have to keep your legs crossed a bit longer,the way eden district council are dragging it on !!)
01/11/08 there is a new page on the website from today ( news feature ) ,every so often an in depth news story will be featured ,to start with we feature the saga of the fight to save shaps public toilets.
04/11/08 good news ! the long awaited toilet refurbishment is now complete and the toilets will be open on thursday 06/11/08 .
14/11/08 the thieves who targeted shap co-op recently returned again this week for second helpings but were thwarted by staff who alerted the police ,but as far as we are aware the police have not yet followed this up and these men are still free to steal at will .
16/11/08 shap's football teams continue to have mixed fortunes ,the first team are struggling in the first division, losing every game so far. but the reserves are in a good 3rd position in the 2nd division thanks to their unbeaten start to the season.links to full results and table can be found on sports &leisure page.
18/11/08 Thieves were again active in shap last night ,again breaking into properties and getting away scot free , its becoming a worrying trend.
01/12/08 Following the recent burglaries and thefts in the village, police are appealing for the public to contact them with regards to any suspicious persons or activity that anybody witnesses as and when this is happening ,(the contact details for appleby police can be found on contacts page) .the police admit to being ineffective due to the remoteness of the area !!.
02/12/08 Shap has yet again been the coldest place in england in the last few days , apparently its cold enough to freeze a dogs eyebrows !!
05/12/08 the weather is playing havoc with the football fixtures in the area ,which will prevent shaps teams continuing with their recent good form, the reserves lie 2nd in division 2 with 20 pts and the first team 12th in div 1 after picking up their first point of the season at coniston recently, ( pictures from the reserves recent game against wetheriggs res are on sports page along with links to fixtures and tables).
06/12/08 workers at hansons shap beck quarry face a bleak christmas with job cuts looming in the next week.
14/12/08 thieves have again been active in the area in the past couple of weeks, a litter bin was stolen ( why?) from the layby south of the greyhound, also thieves ransacked mosedale cottage causing damage and stealing several items, anybody with any information should contact local police.
15/12/08 there has been an increase in the amount of flytipping in the village recently, with several items being dumped at the recycling centre,anyone who sees this happening should contact eden district council.
30/12/08 according to the met office the temperature in shap since yesterday afternoon has been at its highest at - 4.1 ( yes thats minus 4) and at its lowest at -9.1 (minus 9 !! ) at 08.00 this morning , but we were also the sunniest spot in the north west in the last 24 hours . so thats all right then !!. (you can check out the weather for shap by going to the met office - http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/nw/shap_latest_weather.html
09/06/08 Shap's skeleton in the closet, or should that be a skeleton in the chapel? police are today investigating after a human skeleton was discovered underneath the former methodist chapel by building workers. Developers have plans to build apartments on the site of the chapel and the discovery was made as builders dug test holes for the new development. A source on the site said "he probably fell asleep during one of the vicars sermons and no one noticed" police have stationed a 24 hour guard on the chapel in case the victim tries to escape.
11/06/08 police have today stood down their 24 hour guard at the methodist chapel when it was decided that the skeleton would not be escaping as he had no legs .
15/06/08 A teenager was badly injured when the motorbike he was riding was in collision with a car outside the chip shop,the injured youth was treated at the scene before being airlifted to hospital. The incident reinforces local concerns about traffic problems in the village ,which the police won't acknowledge exsist.
19/06/08 planning permission was granted by eden district council today for the redevelopement of the methodist chapel,work will be commencing in the next few months ,barring any more skeletons !
19/06/08 planning permission for the new medical centre was deferred by eden planners .
25/06/08 more skeletons found in shap's closet !!yet more skeletal remains have been unearthed in shap this week,this time on another building site about 30 yards from the first discovery. a source said "you can see more skeletons in shap ,than on a catwalk during london fashion week "
04/07/08 eden planners today turned down plans for the much needed new medical facility .
07/07/08 work starts today on the refurbisment of the public toilets,work is expected to take 10 weeks .
11/07/08 shap medical practice is urging the people of shap to contact eden district council to voice their support of the new medical centre.
17/07/08 eden district council today did a u turn on the planning application for the new medical centre mainly thanks to the flood of support from the people of shap in the last week.
23/07/08 comedian frank skinner was in town today,doing the c2c walk ,he stopped at the hermitage and dined at the greyhound hotel where he was warmly welcomed by the building fraternity (chip!!)
24/07/08 film crews spent time in shap this week filming for the beeb ,expect nick bellas on a tv screen near you soon !!
31/07/08 the greyhound hotel is from today under new ownership,keith and derrick bade farewell to their staff and regulars last night after 8 years.
12/08/08 the police have responded to points that i have brought up with them regarding traffic problems in the village,speeding ,parking etc. they inform me that august has been designated a european wide month of speed enforcement and as such the speed limit will be rigorously enforced in accordance with government guidelines,
19/08/08
01/09/08work on the public toilets is progressing slowly and there is no chance of them being finished in the original 10 week time frame,expect work to carry on until at least the end of september.
06/10/08 newly updated history section on the m6 -see history page (if anyone has any photos ,please let me know)
09/10/08 new page on the website on the railway through shap, see index (again anyone who has any photos please get in touch )
12/10/08 as expected the new public toilets are nowhere near completion despite e.d.c's assurances.
16/10/08 some people might have noticed the poor state of a lot of the public footpaths in the area,(copy hill -keld road ,sandy lane etc), when asked about this ,david gibson of cumbria county council informs us ,that cumbria has suffered from years of neglect,with 7500km of rights of way and no set policy of maintenance,but now with new staff and funding,things have changed and are starting to go in the right direction. To help the council with this people can report any concerns they have about rights of way, to him (contact details on contact page) .
20/10/08 steve huddart of eden district council informs us that the contractor working on shap's new public toilets has said that work would be 95% complete by last weekend,( the same contractor who told e.d.c they would be finished the week before!!) so your guess is as good as the councils as to when they will be open. Is it any wonder that the new squares development in penrith is such a shambles ,when we have a council who have no idea when work is planned to finish on such a small (but expensive !!) job like this.?
21/10/08 more from bill and fred on the laal bit crack page !!
21/10/08 the date for next years three rings of shap has been announced (13/06/09)-see whats on page for details
27/10/08 the developers of shaps methodist chapel site have decided on the name " red gables" for the development
28/10/08 I have been told some people have been struggling to access the website recently, i think i've sorted a few technical glitches and all should be ok again now.
28/10/08 theives have been very active in shap this week targeting several properties in the early hours of tuesday morning ,thieves also stole a quantity of items from shap co-op on monday evening between 19.00 and 19.30, the two thieves who didn't have local accents , were smartly dressed men one of whom was bald and anybody with any information or who might have seen these scumbags or anything else suspicious should get in touch with the police (numbers are on contacts page).
30/10/08 The new date for the opening of shaps new toilets is now monday the 3rd of november (but you might have to keep your legs crossed a bit longer,the way eden district council are dragging it on !!)
01/11/08 there is a new page on the website from today ( news feature ) ,every so often an in depth news story will be featured ,to start with we feature the saga of the fight to save shaps public toilets.
04/11/08 good news ! the long awaited toilet refurbishment is now complete and the toilets will be open on thursday 06/11/08 .
14/11/08 the thieves who targeted shap co-op recently returned again this week for second helpings but were thwarted by staff who alerted the police ,but as far as we are aware the police have not yet followed this up and these men are still free to steal at will .
16/11/08 shap's football teams continue to have mixed fortunes ,the first team are struggling in the first division, losing every game so far. but the reserves are in a good 3rd position in the 2nd division thanks to their unbeaten start to the season.links to full results and table can be found on sports &leisure page.
18/11/08 Thieves were again active in shap last night ,again breaking into properties and getting away scot free , its becoming a worrying trend.
01/12/08 Following the recent burglaries and thefts in the village, police are appealing for the public to contact them with regards to any suspicious persons or activity that anybody witnesses as and when this is happening ,(the contact details for appleby police can be found on contacts page) .the police admit to being ineffective due to the remoteness of the area !!.
02/12/08 Shap has yet again been the coldest place in england in the last few days , apparently its cold enough to freeze a dogs eyebrows !!
05/12/08 the weather is playing havoc with the football fixtures in the area ,which will prevent shaps teams continuing with their recent good form, the reserves lie 2nd in division 2 with 20 pts and the first team 12th in div 1 after picking up their first point of the season at coniston recently, ( pictures from the reserves recent game against wetheriggs res are on sports page along with links to fixtures and tables).
06/12/08 workers at hansons shap beck quarry face a bleak christmas with job cuts looming in the next week.
14/12/08 thieves have again been active in the area in the past couple of weeks, a litter bin was stolen ( why?) from the layby south of the greyhound, also thieves ransacked mosedale cottage causing damage and stealing several items, anybody with any information should contact local police.
15/12/08 there has been an increase in the amount of flytipping in the village recently, with several items being dumped at the recycling centre,anyone who sees this happening should contact eden district council.
30/12/08 according to the met office the temperature in shap since yesterday afternoon has been at its highest at - 4.1 ( yes thats minus 4) and at its lowest at -9.1 (minus 9 !! ) at 08.00 this morning , but we were also the sunniest spot in the north west in the last 24 hours . so thats all right then !!. (you can check out the weather for shap by going to the met office - http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/nw/shap_latest_weather.html
