AN IDEA to restore a long-defunct residents' association has been put forward amid a fight to save a bus shelter whose future is under threat.

Birkrigg Park resident Kathleen Dobson said the group could organise events such as Easter egg hunts and Christmas carol-singing.

But a residents' association would also help to bolster the campaign to save the bus shelter in Red Lane, between Swarthmoor and Great Urswick. 

"When you have a residents' association, if you're seeking to raise an issue, it has more effect because you have pulled a number of people and had a consensus from a number of people and it's not just one person's opinion," said Ms Dobson.

Pennington Parish Council minutes from April 2021 show that the idea of removing the bus shelter, which is used by children attending Ulverston Victoria High School and behind which sits the Birkrigg Park estate, was floated 'due to the cost of continually replacing the panes'.

READ MORE: Residents battling to save bus shelter used by schoolchildren

But estate resident Mark Taylor, who has lived on Birkrigg Park for 16 years, rebuffed this, saying: "I have only known the shelter to be damaged twice.

"However, I am mindful that perspex does deteriorate and become brittle over time.

"It would cost next to nothing to replace the missing back pane with timber." 

Mr Taylor stressed that the idea for a residents' association was still in its infancy.

He said a survey had been sent out to households to ascertain whether or not there was support for setting up such a group.

More than 70 residents of the Birkrigg Park estate have signed a petition calling for the bus shelter to be retained and repaired.

On a previous occasion, Pennington Parish Council clerk Lynn Bell said the shelter was an 'ongoing' item on the council's agenda.

"It has been discussed previously and all previous discussions have been recorded in the parish council minutes, which are available on our website," she said. 

"Birkrigg Park bus shelter remains on the agenda for discussion at the parish council meeting in September where residents are invited to express their views on the replacement of the existing structure."

Parish council minutes from July of this year say it 'was resolved to gather prices and information on various options, including those received from residents'.