WE will not be moved' was the cry from Windermere parish councillors in response to a proposal to evict them and convert their Victorian chambers into affordable housing.

Parish councillors responded angrily this week to the idea mooted by South Lakeland District Council to remove their parish partners from their Broad Street base.

SLDC has argued that the costs of upgrading Langstone House to comply with disabled access legislation would be high and that it might make more sense for the parish council to up stumps and hire a room elsewhere for its twice-monthly meetings and the sessions of its sub-committees. The village chambers, which are owned by SLDC, could then be transformed into cheap homes serving an acute need for affordable housing for local people.

But the idea failed to find favour with many of the members for Windermere and Bowness.

"I feel very strongly about this one. According to the stone outside, this building was erected in 1899 and has been used for council meetings ever since," said Coun Patricia Holmes in a heartfelt address. "I think it's disgraceful of SLDC not to find the money to bring this building up to date so we can meet here. Money is being spent on Kendal, Ulverston and Grange town halls and we are just being told to quit! We should oppose strongly any move to get us out of this chamber!"

Coun Jennifer Jewell joined in to echo her sentiments, arguing that Windermere Urban district Council had built the building and SLDC had merely acquired it' when it came into being in the local government reorganisation of 1974.

"SLDC acquired it like the lake bed and Orrest Hall and we just lost and lost. We should fight it!"

Coun Yvonne Stewart-Taylor added: "I feel Windermere has been stripped enough of its assets and this is just rubbing salt into the wounds."

Coun Richard Ogden said he was appalled to hear about the plan from The Westmorland Gazette before parish councillors were directly notified.

"It's shabby that SLDC has already discussed

this prior to allowing us to

express our views as a parish council with them," he said.

Coun Helen Jones further complained that the district authority "displayed a complete lack of knowledge" of the tasks of the parish council in suggesting it could carry out its functions by meeting in a hotel.

"A hotel isn't going to be happy for us to pin our plans on their walls," she said, adding that the clerk needed somewhere to keep his files.

Chairman Coun Adrian Faulkner reported that he had already raised such concerns with SLDC chief executive Philip Cunliffe. What would they do with the parish council's memorabilia, he asked, which numbers trophies and numerous framed certificates for civic triumphs in contests such as Britain in Bloom. There must also be space to display the chairman's board - a record of parish leaders past and present.

Meanwhile parish clerk and solicitor Brian Whittaker advised the authority of its options to evade eviction, suggesting that their actions depended on "how hard you want to dig your heels in" - to which Coun Arthur Astle replied "very hard".

The parish had "user rights" to the council chambers and were entitled to remain there under the Local Government Act 1972, Mr Whittaker argued. Also as tenants of the building paying an annual rent of £600 to SLDC, the district authority would have to serve time-consuming eviction notices if the parish council refused to move.

Before exploring such militant tactics however, the parish agreed to invite Mr Cunliffe to attend the next parish council meeting to discuss the proposal in more detail.

May 2, 2003 10:00