Present: Councillors P Johnson, A Parker, R Messenger, A Shepherd, A Lucas,

G Handley, R Bingham, the Clerk and one member of the public.

075 Mr. Andrew Lucas was received onto the Council, signed his ‘Declaration of Acceptance of Office’, provided a completed ‘Notification by Member of a Local Authority of Financial and Other Interests’ and accepted a copy of the ‘Good Councillors Guide.

076 Apologies for Absence were received from Cllr. B Woof and Cllr. G Capstick.

077 The Minutes of the Meeting held on 27^th October were signed as a true record.

078 Matters Arising.

a. Cllr. Handley suggested that it might be prudent to wait until the Minutes have been approved by the Council before putting them on the notice board and sending them out to the media. The Clerk explained that the minutes do have ‘Draft’ on them. The agreement was therefore, to continue putting the Draft Minutes on the notice board but not to send copies to the media until they’ve been approved at the next meeting.

b. The Clerk reported that we had received an email regarding the proposed ‘One Way’ stretch of Marsh Way to say that Cumbria Highways had passed the matter to their Kendal Local Practice for consideration.

c. No reply has been received about the muddy condition of the road entering Woodhouse, however Cllrs. Handley and Lucas agreed that it appeared to have been attended to.

d. A reply to the Council’s letter send to Cumbria County Council objecting to their proposed change of funding for Sandgate Special School’s Hydrotherapy pool, explained that CCC would continue to provide funding for the pool, though its ongoing viability does rely to an extent on the support of other bodies. The Cllrs. re-emphasised their feelings that they should not be making donations out of taxpayers money.

e. In response to the Councils letter to Cumbria Contracts Services, regarding the perceived waste of money used to produce the recently received ‘Guide to Presentation Products’ 2003-04’, Mr. May explained that all catalogues are funded by suppliers or by selling advertising space.

f. No replies have been received so far with regard to the ‘Squeeze Stones’ leading to Heversham Head being too close together or the Councillors request that CCC holds increases in Council Tax for senior citizens, to the rate of inflation.

g. With regard to the provision of a car park for Heversham, the Clerk has been requested to write to the Chairman of the Govenors of Dallam School to explore the possibility of acquiring the piece of land, on the South side of the playground for the same. Further Parish Council discussions will take place if this is possible.

079 There were no cheques prepared to authorise, though an invoice was submitted at the meeting from Mr Tyson to request payment for work previously agreed.

The Chairman asked the Clerk to explain the new procedure for Councillors claiming expenses. The Clerk understands that expenses can be claimed at the next meeting up to the end of December 2003; then the new scheme, of which little has been said, will start.

080 Planning Applications.

Ref. SL/2003/2194. Location – Land at Hillside Woodhouse Lane, Heversham. Development – New House. The application is now invalid due to the site area on the application being large than that on the outline planning permission.

Ref. SL/2003/2154. Location – The Old School, Heversham. Development – alterations and extension. The Council approved of the proposals.

081 The progress in obtaining a Heritage plaque for St Mary’s Well has been slow, mainly due to problems in finding a suitable supplier. Milnthorpe Parish Council have agreed to provide one made out of metal, with no charge, out of their ‘Leasgill Quarry Fund’ allocation. Cllr. Baverstock from Milnthorpe has now found a supplier and Cllr. Bingham will compose the wording, but will give Heversham the chance to approve it, he has agreed that it will be acquired for Heversham as soon as possible. The Clerk will correspond with Cllr. Bingham regarding the arrangements.

082 The Playground Equipment Report from South Lakeland District Council shows that the necessary maintenance work has been carried out, with the exception of replacing plastic caps over the screws.

083 Correspondence.

a. CALC County Circular – November, Notice of Annual General Meeting on 8^th November, Annual Report. – No one was able to attend.

b. Planning Applications received by SLDC.

c. SLDC - Agenda for meeting on 4^th November 2003.

d. ‘Gravity’ writes about skateboard parks. – The playground committee has explored the possibility of a skateboard park but found the necessary insurance prohibitive.

e. Annual Review & Accounts 2002/03 of the National Association of Local Councils.

f. Clerks and Councils Direct – Issue 30.- Chairman to read.

g. Local Council Review – Volume 55, No. 4.

h. Training Programme Winter/Spring 2004. Cllr. Lucas has borrowed it to consider. Clerk to attend Bookeeping and Preparing for Audit, on the afternoon of 19^th February, at Kendal, cost £20.

i. Two brochures plus accompanying letter regarding the plans for Regional and Local Government Reform.- Cllrs looked through the contents of the brochures. Their general opinion is that it would be best to remove Cumbria County Council, since the reports have shown inefficiency, and considerable expenditure on salaries and expenses.

j. Procedure for Local Determination of Allegations about the Personal Conduct of Members. –The encouragement of Councillors to report other Councillors, is not looked on favourably by the Council and hopefully it will never be necessary to do so, however the information will be filed.

k. Parish Plans – Support available from CCC. – The cost both in time and monetary terms is considered to be better spent in providing the amenities the village has already expressed a desire for.

084 Items for Information.

a. The Clerk asked the Councillors if they were agreeable to their names, addresses and telephone numbers being placed in the Parish Magazine and they had no objections.

Cllr. Shepherd reported that the Athenaeum has £1580.79 in the current account and £1462.25 in the deposit.

b. Cllr. Handley informs us that the roads need sweeping near the church, Clerk to inform the necessary body. In addition, there is a Cherry Tree in need of replacing in the woodland on Heversham Head; he is willing to attend to it if the cost is not prohibitive.

c. Cllr. Bingham has had parishioners express the need for a pavement to be laid in certain parts of Heversham. As this is not feasible he wonders if it would be a good alternative to apply for a 20mph speed limit between the Grammar school and Leasgill. - To be an Agenda item for next time.

085 The dates for the meetings in 2004 were established, with the Annual Parish Assembly on Monday 29^th March, elections on 10^th June and Leasgill Quarry Trust Fund applications to be submitted by 10^th September. The date of the next Parish Council Meeting is Monday 26^th January, at the Athenaeum, to commence at 7.30.p.m.

The meeting closed at 9.10 p.m.

Denise Challenor

Clerk to the Council

Tel. 01524 761824