Keswick is a very safe place to live and/or work but 2018 has seen several initiatives to help improve matters further.

First, we were aware that a high proportion of crime in the town starts or finishes in Market Square. So we have installed CCTV there with the intention of both deterring crime and helping the police with their investigations.

And second, the kerbs in Market Square were poorly designed when the square was redeveloped a number of years ago, with some kerbs being level with the carriageway and some being a couple of inches higher. As a result we had many reports of pedestrians falling with several sustaining broken bones. After years of lobbying Cumbria County Council to rectify this, improvement work has finally started.

The three-day Keswick's Mid-Summer Festival goes from strength to strength, with about a thousand people in Market Square for the opening night's rock concert this year. Many hundreds attended the Proms in the Park the following day, and many hundreds more attended the renowned Scruffs Dog Show on the last day. The glorious weather no doubt helped.

The Keswick Convention attracts 10,000-plus visitors to Keswick each year. Its operations are spread over a number of sites, but Keswick Ministries have acquired the former Pencil Factory site, and have applied for planning permission to run future conventions there. The town council has been involved throughout the planning process and the national park planners are expected to make their final decision in February.

Returning to the safety theme, the town council is concerned about traffic speeds in Keswick. We have asked Cumbria County County to allow us to install speed indication devices in two locations. They have agreed to one but not the other despite the fact that the road is used by many pupils on their way to and from Keswick School. We have started an online petition to help change their mind. If you want to help, look at www.change.org and search under High Hill Keswick.

A Happy New Year to you all.