A stakeholder summit attracted a large group to support the development of a plan that seeks to improve a North Cumbrian town.

Organised by Carlisle City Council and Carlisle Partnership, with support from Prosocial Place, Cumbria County Council and community members, the summit for the Longtown Place Plan was held on October 18 at the Memorial Hall in Longtown.

Leader of Carlisle City Council, Cllr John Mallinson said: “The Stakeholder Summit aimed to bring together organisations and individuals from a wide range of backgrounds to look at how they can get involved in the Longtown Place Plan.

“The stakeholders heard a presentation by members of the newly formed Longtown Development Team, the community group responsible for the plan.

“This included presentations from the development team’s youth representatives who provided insight on how the group was engaging with youth issues.

“Feedback has highlighted that it was a great success and I’d like to thank everyone that took the time to attend and contribute to the day.”

The summit also saw the first use of the embargoed ‘Place Standard Tool 2.0’ currently being piloted by Public Health Scotland, Architecture and Design Scotland and the Scottish Government.

Stakeholders were taken for a tour of Longtown and asked to evaluate the place using the 14 metrics outlined in the tool.

The use of place standard is part of a four-year National Lottery-funded programme run by Carlisle Partnership to introduce the tool in England.

The Stakeholder Summit has received positive feedback from attendees.

Over May, June and July 2022, all residents and businesses of Longtown area were invited to contribute to the co-production of a Longtown Place Plan in a series of five community workshops.

These workshops have asked residents on their opinions of Longtown and what they thought Longtown needed to improve.

The Stakeholder Summit sought to build upon these co-production workshops by finding out how stakeholders can contribute to the ideas that emerged in these sessions.

READ MORE: Community engagement events continue to help develop border town's economy