Residents in a corner of Carlisle have taken steps to improve their community.

A forum was held at Denton Holme Community Centre with the aim of discussing issues in the local area, and looking at how a parish council could tackle them.

Members of the Denton Holme community attended the event, where they outlined problems that they would like to see sorted out, including: littering; uneven pavements; a lack of activities for young and old people; and maintenance of green spaces.

Andy Blake, 34, from Denton Holme, said: “I came along to find out more about this parish council and how it could affect Denton Holme, Longsowerby, and our community.”

Colin May and Jonathan Davies, members of the political party Cumbria First, hosted the event.

Mr Davies, leader of Cumbria First, said: “It started a process, it started getting people talking and thinking about it.

“On the whole, we have taken away feedback from it and will be feeding into the next forum event we do.”

The pair are optimistic that moving forward they will be able to create something which is capable of bringing about positive change.

However, there were some concerns raised about the new council - which would be known as a community council, rather than parish council.

The main concern was that a community council would take more than a year to actually set-up. which doesn’t solve the immediate problems. It would also lead to an increase in council tax for Denton Holme residents.

The tax increase would be set by the elected parish councillors and could see an increase of more than £50 per year.

Residents were split over the concept of a community council - however, the meeting was a way for them to speak their mind about the area.

Denton Holme and Morton South councillors attended to both rebuke and clarify any points being made.

Lisa Brown, one of the councillors, said: “Although only 13 people attended, the feedback we got from most was that really people just wanted to come together and start having a say in decisions that affect them.

“They want to make a difference in their own community, without the need for an extra layer of formal government to do so.”

Discussions are ongoing among residents about setting up the community council.