Held at the Athenaeum,
Leasgill, onMonday
Present: Chairman of the Parish Council
1. Apologies for Absence were received
from
2. Minutes of Annual Parish meeting of
2007 were distributed and read out by the Clerk then signed as a true record.
3. Matters Arising.
·
Field
of Dreams. Enforcement action has been taken by DEFRA and it was mowed at their
instruction by Richard Turners. DEFRA
will continue to monitor it’s condition.
·
Although
Councillor Bingham informed the assembly that waste could be left in
·
The
flashing lights will not be supplied outside the school – cost prohibits.
·
Nothing
significant seems to have been done yet about the flooding on
4. Police Report – Sergeant Sizer.
Sergeant Sizer
is based at Milnthorpe although it is not a manned Station, if you have any
issues please do tell the police. As
Milnthorpe is not a manned base please ring Penrith
for a reliable response.
Crime for the area is extremely
low. There are currently thefts of scrap
metal, even from Church roofs; please report it if you see anything suspicious. The Sergeant invited questions.
Q Can speed cameras be deployed near St Mary’s church they did help to slow
traffic down? – Yes.
Q Motor bikes come along the new A6
very fast on a Sunday morning; perhaps the cameras can be used on them too. –
More difficult with motor bikes.
Q Would it be
possible to see Police on foot patrol in the area. – Yes possibly as
consideration is being given to funding an extra PCSO.
5. Chairman’s Report – Mr
The Chairman stated that several of
the things he intended to speak about had already been mentioned. The drains
never seem to get sorted out, despite reported faults. However, old
Mud in the gateway to the playground
had been a nuisance but it appears to have been attended to. Dogs have been getting into the playground
and this shouldn’t happen. Care should
be taken to ensure that the gate is not left open.
I’m sure you’ll be pleased to hear
that Council Tax for the Parish is lower this year.
Thanks to the Councillors for their
time given freely to care for the village and to the Clerk. Thanks also to County Councillor Bingham and
District Councillor Woof for their regular attendance at the meetings, advice
and practical help.
6. Heversham Housing Survey Results –
Cumbria Rural Housing Trust’s aim is
to help improve the housing situation. Heversham’s response to the survey was excellent with 47%
completing the questionnaire. Thanks to the Councillors for their hand delivery
of 330 survey forms. 16 households said
that they were likely to move within the parish in the next 5 years and the
information in the report was derived from these 16. Of the 16 households, 5 were considered in need
of affordable housing within the Parish. One now, 2 within 3
years and 2 within 5 years. Of
the remaining 11 one would be considered in need of affordable housing, but
outside Heverhsam.
The remaining 10 did not fit the criteria for affordable housing.
Overall the survey highlighted a lot
of owner occupiers, with the majority aged between 40-79 years, but there were
quite a few with children.
In the next five years the need will
be for 2 x 2 bedded houses, 2 x 3 bedded houses, 1 x 2
bedded bungalow.
Land must be identified, try to get
involved with the future planning and perhaps get a planner to come and talk about
the Core Strategy. Maybe do a Village Design Statement; get ideas from
neighbouring villages, make use of your MP and District and
Q Someone expressed a lack of
confidence that any houses would be filled by local people, giving an example
he had heard about. A. Get involved express your views.
7. SLDC Councillor’s Report – Mrs
The most important issue to bring to
the attention of the Assembly is the Core strategy preferred Options Report and
accompanied Sustainability Appraisal, which on the 18th April SLDC starts
a 6 week consultation period. The document will identify potential housing and
employment land from the date it is approved until 2025. It is estimated that 8,800 new dwellings will
be needed and that means 400 per year – most being built in the Key or Local
Service Centres: Milnthorpe being one of them.
Three areas that have been
identified as possible housing land in the Parish are: -
Behind
Officers from SLDC are willing to
meet with relevant communities to discuss any areas of concern. It was decided that the Clerk is to arrange a
meeting for the Parish to attend.
The nearest employment sites are M6
Junction, Crooklands and Gateway – none seem
achievable.
Q A parishioner told of her
difficulties with putting her refuse on the roadside. A. SLDC is prepared to collect them from
their site if she requests it.
8. Cumbria County Councillor’s Report –
Mr Roger Bingham.
Councillor Bingham apologised for
his late appearance due to attending another meeting and explained that he too
must make a non party-political report.
White Paper – there is to be no
unitary authority but greater co-operation between SLDC and CCC to improve efficiency,
one area where improvements can be made is Waste Disposal. He again emphasised the agreement for
Parishioners to use the Carnforth waste disposal
depot.
Parish Lengthsman. There is
10,000 available to provide a man to do small jobs like clearing gulleys.
Housing. The average income of £19,000 is
inadequate to meet the cost of the average home at £190,000 so there is a need
for affordable homes.
Roads. There have been some
improvements and work done but still work is needed such as speed limits and
yellow lines.
Schools.
Gateway seems to be dying down and
the Pop Festival arranged on the Showfield has been
cancelled.
9. Athenaeum Report – Mr Robin Sisson
sent his apologies and
With the help from a grant from the Leasgill Quarry Fund one of the main windows in the hall
was replaced and the hall decorated inside and out.
Due to the excellent endeavours of
Treasurer John Smith approximately £1000 of VAT was refunded. John also planned the reorganisation of the
store room which is much better. Many
thanks go to him for his time freely given.
A barbeque was held to raise funds
and it made £692. There was also a Picasso and a Curry evening, organised by our
Booking Secretaries Pam and Roger Forrester, many thanks go to them. The funds
have gone towards upgrading the hall to encourage bookings. This year’s project
is to improve the acoustics.
Finally thanks to the Parish Council
for supporting us and putting aside an emergency fund. As their representative
on the Committee I know that they, in turn, would like to thank the Committee
for making this Hall a place for the village to be proud of.
10.Playground
Report – Mr Adrian Bland.
The Committee raised £1300 by having
a pram race, and £1000 grant from Neighbourhood Forum, £200 came from a 40th
Birthday party and there are more grant applications in the pipeline as well as
some remaining from the Leasgill Quarry award. Picnic tables have been added this year and a
climbing frame is planned next.
On the 10th May there
will be a Disco at Ninezergh Farm, from 7-12 pm, cost
£8; proceeds to be shared between the playground and the Air Ambulance.
11. Points Raised by the Public
First Responders.
A request was made from the 1st
Responders to have a parking area marked for their use by ‘St Mary’s Well’ to
enable speedy acquisition of their equipment when on a call. Whilst everyone agreed it was needed, the
location was not thought to be good and possibly a better holding site could be
found. The Council will discuss it at
the next meeting on 28th April.
George Handley as representative of
St Peter’s Church thanked the Village for the contribution given towards the
upkeep of the graveyard.
12. Closed by Chairman
Denise Challenor
Clerk to the Parish Council