Chris Bagshaw bids farewell to Workington after seven years

Chris Bagshaw has been the town clerk since January 2013 and he will be leaving his job later this month to join Kendal Town Council in the same role.

Mr Bagshaw said: “I love Workington, it has so much promise and so much history, the potential is huge and we’d only just started to scratch the surface.

“But this is a job where you play the long game. In my time I’ve met some amazing volunteers, who have done fabulous work serving the community.

“I have to tip my hat to elected members, being a councillor is one of the hardest things and many of them have been tireless advocates for their communities.”

Mr Bagshaw has played a key role in bringing events to the town and coordinating efforts for several projects that have benefitted residents.

He said: “Some of the great things we’ve done include bringing live theatre to Curwen Hall, bringing events to Vulcan Park, the kite festivals in Harrington were brilliant, but it’s the little things that will stay with me.

“For example restoring the play area in Salterbeck and managing the play areas in Moss Bay, those are the real stand-outs.

“My biggest regret is failing to secure funding for the second stage of the work at Jane Pit, that was a real disappointment.”

Mr Bagshaw also remembered some of the funny incidents he had to deal with during his time.

He said: “One Remembrance parade I had to hold the Christmas lights up so that the parade could pass underneath them - some of the ceremonial swords that were being used were bigger than we expected.”

Mr Bagshaw will leave his job at Workington Town Council later this month and a new clerk is in the process of being recruited.

He said: “Joining Kendal Town Council is a very exciting prospect, Kendal is a lovely town and it’s bigger than Workington, so it will be a bit of a change for me.

“I’d like to thank all the people of Workington who have made my life so interesting for best part of eight years and I hope they will support my successor.”