Heversham Parish Council

 

Minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting held in the Athenaeum, on Monday, 22nd May 2006, which started at 7.30.p.m.

 

Present: Councillors, T Parker, P Shaw, A Hulme, J Pearson-Snape, A Shepherd, Gordon Capstick, District Councillor B Woof, County Councillor R Bingham, four members of the public and the Clerk.

 

364  Councillor Tony Parker was proposed by Cllr. Shaw to continue as Chairman  and seconded by Cllr. Hulme, Cllr. Parker, invited any other nominations.  Cllr. Pearson-Snape proposed Cllr. Capstick and Cllr. Shepherd seconded.  It then went to a paper ballot; the result, was three votes each. Cllr. Parker then decided to stand down and allow Cllr. Capstick to become the new Chairman. 

 

365  Cllr. Capstick signed his ‘Declaration of Acceptance of Office’ and it was received and witnessed by the Clerk.

 

366  Cllr. Parker proposed Cllr. Shaw to become Vice Chairman, it was seconded by Cllr. Shepherd and he accepted the office.

 

367  Apologies for absence were received from Cllr. Lucas.

 

368  Committee representatives.  Cllr. Hulme will continue on the Athenaeum Committee and she believes Cllr. Lucas is also willing to continue as the second member.

 

369  The Minutes of the meeting held on Monday 24th April 2006 were corrected slightly, by adding the word Olde before “Blue Bell“, at the start of minute 360 and also by changing the wording of the second point in minute 360 to read that, “the Gateway planning application will come before the Committee before the end of June”.

 

370  Matters arising from the Minutes.

Following the discussion at the Annual Assembly, the Clerk asked should she cancel the request to make Marsh Lane one-way and the request to restrict Heversham and Leasgill traffic to 20 mph?  The Council felt that as the parishioners at the Assembly had voted for this, their wishes should be considered and therefore instructed the Clerk to do so.  The proposed flashing lights by St Peter’s School, will be an Agenda item for next time.

 

371  Problems caused by increased traffic in Woodhouse Lane area.  There has been concern expressed about the volume and size of traffic using the old Woodhouse Lane and the Council discussed it at some length.  The Clerk is to write to Capita to request that the surface and crumbling edges receive remedial action. District Councillor Woof has been in touch with Capita and Dallam School Governors to point out it is not a suitable road for coaches to travel. 

 

372  Equipment report.  The Annual Playground report showed that the level of woodchip must be maintained at 300mm and that the missing plastic caps must be replaced.

 Unfortunately, the children keep removing the caps.  However, they will be replaced four times a year, and the action recorded.  Councillor Hulme will store the caps at her home nearby.  

The bark has recently been topped up but it is thought that the depth varies with the weather; water serving to compress it.  The Councillors will measure and record the depth when inspecting the playground, Cllr. Pearson-Snape has retained the inspection book for another month.

 

373  Playground Financial report.  The balance is nil but there is a grant of £740.77 to be claimed from Leasgill Quarry. Some of this money should be used to purchase a seat, as the £300, which was donated by Christine Gibson to provide one, was used to buy the extra swing.

 

374  Athenaeum Financial Report.  The expenditure and receipts were looking healthy and to end within budget until the electrical inspection highlighted some areas of concern. Now it looks like this is going to cost around £750, which will put expenditure slightly above budget.  Inadequate hire of the hall at weekends is still a problem.

375  There is now £1187 set aside for the new servery, much of which has been raised by the raffle.  The Committee would like express their gratitude to the donors of the raffle prizes and appreciate the support they have received in the buying and selling of the tickets.  As thanks there will be a Summer Barbecue on 17the June. A nominal £1 per adult will be charged with children attending free, there will be music and a bar.

 

376  Insurance cover required by the Council.

Mr Smith has been in touch regarding the suggestion to put the insurance for the Athenaeum onto the Parish Councils insurance policy.  Both Mr Smith and the Clerk have made the necessary enquiries and have come to the conclusion that it is not worth proceeding.  The Clerk contacted the External Auditor about the Fidelity insurance and was told the amount of cover required is for the maximum that is likely to be held in the Parish Council Accounts.  This was thought to be about £10,000, so the Clerk requested a second quote from Allianz Cornhill for the new cover.  There will be a saving of £15.75.  The Council requested the Clerk to pay the revised premium.

 

377  The following payment was authorised:

Allianz Cornhill, insurance - £612.09, cheque 100029.

 

378  Planning Applications and correspondence received since the last meeting:

§         SL/2006/0357 College Green Farm, Heversham. Siting of ten caravans and installation of sewage treatment plant. - No objections.

§         SL/2006/0462 1 Eversley Gardens, Leasgill. Porch. - No objections.

§         L/2006/0460 Horncop Cottage, Heversham. Extensions and alterations.- No objections.

§         SL/2006/0493 Land West of Hillside Woodhouse Lane, Heversham. Two dwellings with amended access. - Not approved because of traffic safety issues, at the proposed entrance.

§         SL/2006/0469 5 Park House Drive, Heversham. Change garage roof from flat to pitched roof (retrospective).- No objections.

§         SL2006/0514 Chestnut House Cottage, Heversham. Installation of French doors to the rear. - No objections.

§         SL/2006/0321 Land either side of A590 immediately north of the B6385, near Crooklands. Mixed use development incorporating livestock Auction Mart, agricultural sales, exhibition space, retail, commercial, tourist information, food, parking, show ground and associated developments.

County Councillor Roger Bingham declared a personal interest as Vice Chairman of the County Show and Councillor Gordon Capstick declared an interest as a Director of the County Showground.  The Chairman adjourned the meeting to allow the members of the public to speak. Once the meeting was reconvened the response to SLDC was formulated citing the following objections:

Visual impact, as seen from Heversham Head.

The area is a protected landscape.

Grave traffic concerns. Particularly when the GPS system guides cars through Woodhouse/Heversham.

No sustainable public transport links.

Employees would have to be brought in from other areas - very low unemployment for the area.

The Clerk is to state on her planning reply that these comments may be supported with further in the future.

Cllr. Hulme proposed the motion that the Council was against the Gateway Project.  Cllr. Shepherd seconded the motion and it was carried in a vote.

     

379  Remaining Correspondence.

§         Invitation to information day regarding Digital TV Switchover. - No-one to attend.

§         Invitation to a workshop on the North West Regional Spatial Strategy at the National Park Authority. – No-one to attend.

§         The Code of Conduct – Standards Board Advice. – This was informing the Council that not all matters in which a Councillor may have a personal interest are necessarily prejudicial, so you may stay in meeting and speak and vote. It is only when the matter is prejudicial that you will need to leave the room while it is under discussion.

§         Capita advice of schedule for road works. – This listed the roads to be resurfaced; those local will be Mabbin Hall, Rowell Lane, Haverflatts Lane, Kirkgate Lane, and Paradise Lane; the work will commence on 16th May but the list included many other roads.

 

§         Local Authority Byelaws in England: A Discussion Paper.

§         FELLS writes to offer help to anyone who wishes to object to a proposed

§         Windfarm in their area. Tel. Belinda Lancing on 015396 20465.

§         Clerk and Councils Direct.

§         CALC circular and an update on the Quality Parish Scheme.

§         Cumbria Police – Notice to advise of their intention to appoint independent custody visitors.  Applications by 31/5//06.

§         Cumbria Community Foundation. Spring newsletter 2006.

 

380  Items for information.

§         The “field of dreams” was requested to be on the Agenda next month.

§         A suggestion to have an agenda item to discuss whether the Council should formally welcome newcomers to the village.

§         An Agenda item to decide whether to have a public participation item at the meetings.

 

381  The date of the Leasgill Quarry deadline for claims is 31st August, application for funds deadline is September 8th and the Annual  Meeting is 18th September. The venue will be at the home of County Councillor Roger Bingham. Heversham’s Parish Council representatives will be Gordon Capstick, Peter Shaw and Adele Shepherd.

 

382  The next Parish Council meeting will be on 26th June, 2006, District Councillor B Woof gives her apologies in advance.

 

Mrs Denise Challenor

Clerk to the Council  - Tel: 01524 761824