below is from the Change.org update........
The spirit of community was alive today (5 November) as around 1,000 walkers, cyclists and people with disabilities gathered to protest against the proposed permanent closure of the West Thirlmere Road.
Almost 10,000 people have signed a petition to keep the road open in the name of safety and public right of way.
A proposal is being prepared by Cumberland Council for the Highways Committee on Friday 10 November to approve a permanent closure of the West Thirlmere Road, but has so far met with significant resistance, including 2,310 letters of objection.
A Victorian pledge for future generations
In 1879, the ‘Manchester Corporation Waterworks Act’ entitled the Corporation to dam the lake at Thirlmere creating a reservoir from which water would be pumped over 90 miles to Manchester. The 1879 Act specified that a new road had to be built and maintained for public use and stated that this road – the West Thirlmere Road (U7003) – “shall be maintained by and at the cost of the Corporation for ever.”
Local historian, Ian Hall, said:
“In the original Act of 1879, this road had to be built to as a compensation for taking the lovely lakes that were here before and making Thirlmere a reservoir.
“The Act said that they had to make this road and maintain it in perpetuity for public use and, for the first 120 years, that’s what was done. Now, United Utilities (who own the dam) want to close it and keep us out forever. They have a legal obligation to keep it open. It’s not their right to close this road. It’s our right to have it open. I’m delighted to see so many people here today to make that obligation clear. Let’s get this road open as soon as we possibly can.”
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