A MOTION calling for a Carlisle event for people to come together and collectively reflect on the Covid-19 pandemic has been passed unanimously at a council meeting.

It was Botcherby and Harraby North city councillor Jeffrey Bomford who originally put forward the motion.

He said an event in the city giving residents the opportunity to reflect on the pandemic would offer people who have lost loved ones, including himself, a form of closure.

Cllr Bomford said: “It’s something that we need to look at, due to the fact that there are a lot of people out there who might be missing the opportunity to go to a local group, or don’t realise there is a local group where they can access support in their time of loss.

“One of the concerns for me was that you might have a married couple with no kids, or their kids have left home, and one of them has passed away.

“It’s then hard to make friends during a time when you’ve lost one of your pillars of support.

“The event would provide the opportunity for people who are in a similar situation to be able to speak to each other and also find local community groups where they can re-establish themselves.”

Cllr Bomford’s vision is to have a space in the city centre where people can gather and even bring images or items that remind them of a lost loved one to add to a “keep-sake archive”.

He added that it would be open to all who have been affected by Covid-19 and not just those who have lost a loved one.

Fellow city councillor Stephen Higgs, the Portfolio Holder for Culture, Heritage and Leisure, said: “It’s a really good idea and I’m delighted that everyone else thought so and wants to support it.

“We’ll get motoring on that as soon as we can.

“I don’t think there’s any huge urgency. Unfortunately, there are still people dying from Covid-19, but it’s something we need to get organised in the next few months.”

The proposed event will now go through a planning process, with discussions to include councillors, council officers and representatives from religious groups and charities

Cllr Higgs added: “I would expect, if we get a group together, that the first convenient date for that [discussion] is likely to be in September.

“It’s something important and something that we want to do, but I don’t feel as though it’s something that has got to be done within weeks.

“I think it’s something that has to be done over the next few months.

“I’m sure the whole community would benefit, but I’m sure that individuals would find it very much something they would benefit from.

“We are all well aware, with the restrictions on funerals that have been in place over the last 18 months, that a lot of people have found it really difficult to say a proper goodbye to people who have died.”