Working for the Community 

Nine  councillors make up the Colton Parish Council, supported by the Parish Clerk.  The Parish is divided into 3 wards, with 3 councillors for each.  All councillors sign a Code of Conduct to which they must adhere, and the council operates under the Data Protection Act (1998) and the Freedom of Information Act (2000).

The council is supported by Councillor Ted Walsh of Cumbria County Council, and Councillor Colin Davies of South Lakes District Council.  It also receives valuable advice and support from Tony Hill the LDNPA Ranger for the Southern Area.

East Ward  This covers Finsthwaite and Lakeside.

Central Ward  This covers Bouth and Rusland

West Ward  This covers Colton, Oxen Park, Nibthwaite, and Spark Bridge (Colton side of the Crake).

Members of Colton Parish Council, June 2008, outside Colton Church Hall.

From left to right:  Cllr Penny Lovegrove, Cllr Anne Robinson, Cllr Ian Cunliffe, Cllr Brenda Fishwick, Cllr Ken Dean, Cllr Colin Barr (Chairman),
                            Cllr Ted Walsh (Cumbria County Councillor, Cartmel Division), Mandy Lane (Clerk), Cllr Chris Potts (Vice-chair),
                              Cllr Peter Harrington, Cllr John Watson, Cllr Colin Davies (South Lakeland District Councillor, Hawkshead Ward).
 

                                                                               WEST WARD

                                                                                              Colin Barr (Chair)
Colin was born in 1950, the son of a small-time Suffolk farmer.  He has lived in South Lakeland since 1971  and in Colton parish since 1989.  He is married to Mandy Lane. He is a self-employed ecological consultant having taken early retirement after 30 years working at the Merlewood Research Station in Grange-over-Sands.  His specialism is ecological survey and he has a special interest in the wildlife value of farmland habitats, especially hedgerows. He is interested in all aspects of the countryside but   particularly enjoys photography and walking, at home and abroad, and has travelled extensively to fulfil these passions. 

Colin has a keen interest in local affairs.  He is a local contributor to (and former editor of) the Rusland & Satterthwaite Newsletter; a Committee Member of the Rusland Valley Horticultural Society; the Treasurer of the Oxen Park Cinema Club; a volunteer minibus driver with the South Lakeland Community Transport scheme and is active in local history studies.

Colin believes that rural Parish Councils have an important role to play in ensuring that local people have a voice in deciding the way the countryside is managed and develops.  He is particularly interested in retaining what is best of traditional pastimes and ways of life, while managing the introduction of inevitable change as sympathetically as possible.  He also believes that councillors need to be fully accountable to the parishioners they serve and that there is a need for better communication within the parish.  To this end, he was one of the initiators of this website.

                                                                                           CONTACT:   01229 861408

              Ian Cunliffe                              

Ian has lived in Colton for 33 years and works for the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS).  He has been married for 37 years and has three daughters and two grandchildren.                     

                               

                                                 CONTACT:  01229 861440

Brenda Fishwick

Brenda has lived in High Nibthwaite, in western corner of Colton parish, since 1985. She has 2 children who were educated at Lowick School, Leven Valley School and John Ruskin, now 16 and 20 years of age. She is a former teacher and now works freelance for Cumbria Development Education Centre, raising awareness of global issues. From 2000 - 2007, Brenda was Education & Events Manager for the LDNPA, and so has a good understanding of the delicate balancing act of conserving the environment whilst meeting the demands of living, working communities.

 

                                                           CONTACT: 01229 885329

 

EAST WARD

                                                                
               
    Chris Potts
(Vice-chair)                                  

Just before retiring in 1998, from a long career in Finance with Mars Ltd, Chris  and his wife Sue moved to Finsthwaite, an area they knew well as Sue was born in Ulverston and her family have lived here for generations.   During his working life, Chris, Sue and daughter Lizzie lived in Leicestershire, but had spells working in Bermuda, Brazil and Austria, and travelled extensively overseas.  In his busy retirement, Chris is trustee of both St Mary's Hospice and South Cumbria Rivers Trust and finds time for gardening, fishing and puzzles.

                                                    CONTACT: 015395 31735

                                                                                                        Peter Harrington                                  

Peter was born in Bowness and lived in Far Sawrey before moving down to Essex to work.  His career was in teaching, careers advice and working for professional bodies.  Holidays were spent back in the area until he retired in 2002 and moved back to Lakeside.  In addition to being a Parish Councillor, Peter is a churchwarden at Finsthwaite Church and chairman of the local National Trust Centre.  His interests are architecture, the countryside, theatre and opera, reading and photography.

                                                   CONTACT:  015395 30376

 

Ken Dean

Ken was born in Accrington and has lived in Bouth for 33 years. He is married to Sue who has lived in Bouth for most of her life. Her mother was born in Finsthwaite and her father in Bouth. He has two daughters who were educated at Leven Valley School, Cartmel Priory and Barrow Sixth Form College. He is a Chartered Accountant and prior to retiring at the end of 2006 was a Finance Director for Kimberly Clark. Ken's interests include playing golf, gardening and local communities and in the past has been a governor of Cartmel Priory School and ran the local Leven Valley football team.

 

 

                                                     CONTACT: 01229 861435


CENTRAL WARD

                                                                                                      Penny Lovegrove

After many years spent fell-walking in the Lake District, in 1991 Penny moved from the south coast to Bouth where she bought and restored 'Haddow's Cottage' in a traditional style.  She met her husband Allan in  Bouth and was pleased to become step-mother to Clare and Simon.  She was recently employed by British Telecom in the Drawing Office but is now retired.  Penny has many interests, including fell-walking, running, water-colour painting, antiques, vernacular buildings, gardening, writing, Colton Parish and its people.  She was the secretary of the committee which produced the Bouth 2000 Millennium Book for charity.  Penny is also the secretary of the Bouth Village Green Voluntary Committee  Now that she is a Parish Councillor, Penny intends to work hard for the people that she represents. .                   

 

                                                       CONTACT:   01229 861091                         

                                                                                                        John Watson

John was born at New Close, and went to school at Colton and then Cartmel.  He left school at 15 and worked with his father on the farm for 10 years.  In 1973 he set up in partnership with his brother, keeping 200 plus pedigree Ayrshires.  He is a member of the Ayrshire Cattle Society and a member, and at one time chairman, of the North West Ayrshire Breeders Club.  He is the present chairman of the Rusland Show Committee and has served on that committee for about 40 years.  He has been a member of the parish council for four years.                               

                                                          CONTACT 01229 861450

Anne Robinson

 Anne was born and brought up in the Parish of Colton in the hamlet of Ickenthwaite, where her maternal family have lived since the 19th century.  Her paternal family moved into the parish in 1947 when they bought and ran Crosslands Farm. Anne and her family moved to Crosslands Farm when her parents retired thirteen years ago. She was educated at Satterthwaite and Rusland Primary School and then Ulverston Victoria High School. Following school, Anne attended catering college in Carlisle, worked locally as a cook, and then started her outside catering business in 1981. Along with two friends, she regenerated the Rusland Young Farmers Club (of which she was at one time secretary and then Chair),  which gives children in the valley a social focus, through a variety of activities and interaction with other clubs in the area. She is a trustee for The Rusland Valley Community Trust, a founder member of the valley's First Responders and supports other committees including the Rusland Show and Parish Room. She is passionate about the valley, its people and its future.

CONTACT : 01229 860242
 

                                                                                                     Mandy Lane,  Clerk

Mandy took over from Judith Dove as Clerk on 1st Dec 2007. She has lived in Oxen Park since 1989 and is married to Colin Barr. She has a background in environmental research, and worked for 12 years at Merlewood Research Station in Grange, retiring in 2006 not long after it was closed and moved to Lancaster. Her interests include hill-walking, dogs, horses (in her younger days!) and the natural environment. She is 'Judges secretary' for the Rusland Show Committee and runs the website for the Oxen Park Cinema Club.

                                              CONTACT 01229 861408
                                              coltonpc@btinternet.com

                     Lilac Cottage, Oxen Park, Ulverston, Cumbria. LA12 8HG

County and District Councillors

                                                                                                       Ted Walsh                               

    

        Edward (Ted) Walsh is the Conservative member of the Cumbria County Council Cartmel Division.

                                                         CONTACT:  015395 30272  

                                                  edward.walsh@cumbriacc.gov.uk 

                                     

Colin Davies

    

          Colin Davies is the Liberal Democrat member of South Lakeland District Council, Hawkshead Ward.

 

 

 

 

                                                   CONTACT: 015394 36100

                                            colin.davies@southlakeland.gov.uk