Full Report

The Northern Fells

The project is set in the Northern Fells of Cumbria. This area is one of the most remote rural areas of England, lying in the uppermost reaches of the country, south of Carlisle, north of Keswick and the Lake District National Park. It contains 200 square miles and has a population of 3600, making it a relatively sparsely populated area of England with 18 people per square mile compared to the national average of 976 (Census 2001). Small villages, hamlets and isolated farm holdings punctuate the landscape of the Northern Fells.

Made up of seven parishes which include Caldbeck, Castle Sowerby, Ireby with Uldale, Mungrisdale, Boltons, Sebergham and Westward the area lies between the market towns of Keswick, Penrith, Wigton and the city of Carlisle. Although the Northern Fells has a cohesive identity recognised by local residents it is divided into a number of geographical areas by district councils (Allerdale and Eden) and school catchment boundaries (for schools in Wigton, Dalston, Penrith and Keswick). Despite these boundaries that fracture the area, the shared needs of the people of the Northern Fells have been recognized and addressed by local people who started the Northern Fells Group. Initiated in April 1999 as the Northern Fells Rural Project (NFRP) it was one of three pilot projects around the county formed to highlight difficulties in rural areas (see Figure 1). Through the assessment of need and provision of services such as a minibus and benefits awareness scheme, the project has successfully demonstrated levels of deprivation previously not shown by statistics.

In the Northern Fells the educational needs of young people are met by five primary schools within the seven parishes in Bolton Low Houses, Caldbeck (Fellview), Rosley, Welton and Ireby. All perform well in league tables (BBC education 2004.) At eleven, young people can in theory attend any of the local secondary schools in the towns and villages that border the fells. Many of these schools score well in county league tables. Most pupils from the Fells area continue their school education until 18 whilst others continue their learning at “Newton Rigg” (University of Central Lancashire) and Carlisle College. At 18 a large proportion of local young people move away to university.

There are a limited number of activities catering for young people in the Northern Fells. There are two Young Farmers Clubs in Ireby and Caldbeck, one youth club in Rosley, one music group in Caldbeck and also in Caldbeck a weekly Rounders game open to all during the summer. Young people are also involved in some of the local activities open to the community as a whole, such as Caldbeck Players (a local drama group) and sports organisations such as football, darts, cricket and rugby. The Northern Fells Group also organises specific events for young people during the school holidays through their youth initiative co-ordinator.

Despite its proximity to several towns, the Northern Fells is poorly provided for by public transport. With regard to rail travel, the nearest station is Wigton or Dalston both of which are on the branch line from Barrow in Furness to Carlisle, where it connects with the West Coast Mainline. At present there are seven bus services that pass through the area. However, only two of these services (the 600 and the X4/X5) operate daily throughout the year and only the 600 has a bus stop in a Northern Fellsvillage: Bolton Low Houses. Smaller bus services run by local firms such as Tysons of Caldbeck also exist, such as the 605 to the town of Wigton every Tuesday, but most of these run on weekdays and are of little use to young people of school attendance age. A key difficulty for young people wishing to use public transport is the cost. If over 16 whether working or in full time education they must pay an adult fare. A voluntary car service and a minibus driven by volunteers co-ordinated by the Northern Fells Group (mentioned above) are also available.

The cost of property in the Northern Fells is relatively high making home ownership for young people difficult. A three bedroom detached property in the village of Rosley was valued at £275,000 (Cumberland News 14th January 2005.) The average price of a detached property in the UK is £173,295. The high cost of property is due to the beauty and consequent desirability of the area and secondly and most contentiously to an increase in the number of buy to let and second homes. In the parish of Uldale, for example, 32 of the 231 properties are second residence/ holiday homes (neighbourhood statistics.gov.uk).

Employment patterns in the Northern Fells are similar to those at a national level, but reveal some concerns with respect to the (un)employment of young people. In Warnell ward for example, 15.5% of all persons employed are managers/ senior officials compared to the national average of 14.9%, whilst the percentage of people in elementary employment is 11.4 which is similar to the national average of 11.8% (employment by occupation, 2001 census of population.) Just 0.5% of people in the Northern Fells claim job seekers allowance (JSA) compared to 2.2% nationally. However, 100% of those claiming JSA in Warnell were aged between 18 and 24 (claimant count age and duration November 2004, www.nomisweb.co.uk.) Although statistics paint an overall picture of community affluence, it must not be assumed that this holds true for subgroups such as young people.