St Bees

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Draft Minutes of the meeting of St Bees Parish Council held on Monday 24 April 2006 in the Village Hall, Finkle Street.

363.1 PRESENT: Cllr P Smith(Chairman), N Bettinson, J Haile, B Mayow, D Millington, J Rance,

M Richards, C Robson, H Wilson and the Clerk.

Also present: 3 members of the public.

363.2 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Cllrs J Rowlands, D Sim and D Warbrick

363.3 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

No declarations of interest were received.

363.4 MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 20 MARCH 2006

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the monthly meeting held on 20 March 2006 be accepted as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

363.5 ALLOTMENTS

A request had been submitted to United Utilities for a water supply to the allotment field. A costing for the work was awaited. Permission had been sought by two allotment holders to erect small sheds on their allotments.

The Chairman invited Ms Gallagher and Mr Kennedy to explain their requests. Ms Gallagher also explained that she intended to keep chickens and requested permission to erect fencing around the allotment.

It was RESOLVED that permission to erect the sheds be given subject to conditions being agreed about size and appearance. A specification for height and construction of fencing would also be drawn up to ensure that there was no inconvenience to neighbouring allotment holders. The Planning Advisory Committee would draw up draft conditions.

363.6 MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

(a) Working with CBC

Responses had been received from CBC on several issues:-

• CBC had agreed to remove the metal stobs from the promenade. A letter had been received from Marcus Clarkson opposing their removal.

• The resurfacing of the area in front of the beach café had been costed at £16,000 and the budget allocation was not sufficient to cover all the proposed works.

• The response from CBC indicated that the street light repairs were now complete. However, there are 2 lights on Coach Road which are still awaiting replacement.

(b) Footpaths Partnership with Cumbria County Council

The Clerk reported on the meeting with CCC about the pilot partnership project. The draft proposals submitted by SBPC had been accepted. The amount of the allocation has yet to be decided but will include funding for reprinting the footpaths leaflets.

It was RESOLVED that the proposals for the partnership be approved.

(c) Drainage problems – Station Road

A possible contractor had been identified. The Chairman was following this up.

(d) Flooding

A reply had been received from Dawn Wilson, Highways Engineer, explaining that BT was arranging to seal the manhole covers to prevent water getting in. The letter did not refer to the questions raised about the background to the problems.

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It was RESOLVED that a reply be sent to Capita acknowledging the work done to remedy the immediate problems but pressing for an urgent site meeting to discuss long term solutions..

(e) Road Markings – Barony House

A reply had been received from Capita explaining that no Order would be sought until at least 2007/8. The comments about repositioning would be considered when an Order was sought.

(f) Future of the Library

A letter had been received from the Governors of the Village School offering to join with the Parish Council in opposing the closure of the library

It was RESOLVED to write to the Village School Governors suggesting that the results of the review are awaited before further action is considered.

(g)Repairs to the Pinfold

The damage to the wall had been inspected and appeared to be confined to the internal wall. Cllr Haile was trying to find a contractor to undertake repair work in keeping with the traditional construction of the wall.

364.1 CASUAL VACANCY

Two expressions of interest had been received from Dr I Hill and Mr M Clarkson. A secret ballot was held and Mr Clarkson was elected to fill the vacancy.

364.2 PARISH PLAN IMPLEMENTATION

Progress reports were received on the following areas:-

Highways and Byways - Cllr Millington proposed a plan for prioritising the Parish Plan actions. Several areas of work required initial letters and Cllr Millington would liaise with the Clerk. Cllrs Robson and Rance agreed to take the lead in pressing for a link to the cycle path network.

Common Land – a draft policy on Common Land had been drawn up. It was RESOLVED that this be adopted and that specialist advice be sought from the Environment Agency on the protection of the habitat for birds and plants.

Byelaws – CBC’s Chief Legal Officer had supplied copies of model byelaws as well as copies of generic byelaws for coastal areas of Copeland adopted in 2000. Some Councillors recalled that draft byelaws had previously been prepared. Cllr Haile believed he had a copy and undertook to provide this to the Chairman. It was RESOLVED that copies of the documentation from CBC be made available to Councillors and that a working group be set up consisting of Cllrs Smith, Wilson and Sim to progress matters and liaise with Stephen Bishop of CBC.

Tourism/Built Environment - Revised drafts of the policies were received, to be considered at the next meeting.

364.3 RISK MANAGEMENT POLICY

Progress with the implementation of the policy agreed in October was reviewed. The following items remained outstanding:-

Review of employment procedures – to be undertaken by the Chairman and Clerk

Review of contracts – still to be done

Health & Safety policy – Clerk to attend health & safety training course organised by Cumbria County Council

Testing of electrical equipment – the only item in need of checking in the current year is the laser printer. The Clerk to arrange for a qualified person to test the equipment.

Inspection of seats – Cllr Rance to inspect the condition of the seats before the next meeting.

Complaints Procedure – The Clerk has obtained a model procedure for consideration.

364.4 REPORT TO COPELAND BOROUGH COUNCIL

The following items were noted for report to CBC:-

• Beach toilets – no toilet roll holders yet in place, no drain caps fitted when guttering replaced, the toilets were not opened on Good Friday and there were no toilet rolls.

• The bridge at Gutterfoot is in a dangerous condition. The temporary repairs have been ineffective.
• The drain outlet at Gutterfoot is still blocked. If CBC are unable to deal with the problem, the matter to be reported to United Utilities.
• Litter bins at the beach have still not been put back in place.
• The repairs to the beach car park lights are still not complete.
• The promised sign to the Station Car Park is still not in place.
• The recycling bins are often overflowing and need to be emptied more regularly.

365.1 REPORT TO CUMBRIA COUNTY COUNCIL

The following items were noted for report to CCC:-

• The edge of the road is subsiding into the adjoining field and is becoming dangerous - B5345 towards Whitehaven 100yds approx from the top of the hill.
• Several large potholes are developing on the road from the A595 to Linethwaite.
• There are no lights working on the Mirehouse Road.

365.2 PLANNING

(a) New Applications

• 4/06/2222/OFI Rottington Hall Farm – subdivision of farmhouse to create 2 additional dwellings

• 4/06/2234/OFI Midway, Hensingham – extension of garage and sunroom extension

(b) CBC Local Plan Modifications

The modifications proposed following the Inquiry were now available on CBC web-site. Cllr Sim to review.

(c) Seacote Caravan Park

CBC Planning Panel had changed the time of the site visit at short notice. However, the Chairman and Cllr Haile had met the site owner and looked at the terms of the site licence. They believed there were few matters of concern and recommended that no further action was required.

(d) Draft Spatial Strategy for the NW Region

A copy of the document had been received for consultation.

It was RESOLVED that Cllr Millington would review the document and report back to the next meeting.

365.2 FINANCE

(a) Payments

It was RESOLVED that the following accounts be approved for payment:-

• Cheque no 001167 CALC – annual subscription £220.00
• Cheque no 001168 J Donaldson – salary & expenses April 2006 £343.21
• Cheque no 001169 St Bees School – hire of equipment £160.00
• Cheque no 001170 Viking Direct – stationery and printer cartridge £85.36
• Cheque no 001171 St Bees Enterprises – photocopying £ 32.61

• Cheque no 001172 HMPS – planting troughs £28.00

(b) Statement of Accounts 2005/6

A draft statement of accounts for 2005/6 was received. The report of the Internal Auditor was not yet available. The accounts were due to be sent to the Audit Commission by 10 May.

It was RESOLVED that an extension to the deadline be sought from the Audit Commission to allow the accounts to be approved at the next meeting. If this was not possible a special meeting would be called.

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(c) Payment for grasscutting

The arrangements for grass cutting were reviewed.

It was RESOLVED that the hourly rate paid to the contractor for grass cutting be increased to £6.60 for the year 2006/7

366.1 CORRESPONDENCE

(a) Letter received from Ms T Douglas notifying the Council of a plan to create a maize maze as a tourist attraction for about 6 weeks over the summer period. The proposal was supported by Councillors.

(b) Letter from CBC about public consultation on policy for the long-term management of solid low level waste in the UK. It was RESOLVED that a separate response from the Parish Council was not required.

(c) Letter from Mr Marshall of Abbots Way about the state of the strip of land opposite his house. As the plan to create a garden feature was not now going ahead, it was RESOLVED that arrangements be made for the stones to be removed.

(d) Letter received from CBC seeking support for the forthcoming housing needs survey. It was RESOLVED to send a reply to CBC pointing out that the Parish Plan had identified affordable housing for younger people as the main priority but there were concerns that the format of the survey questionnaire might fail to identify this need.

(e) Letter received from Cumbria Police Authority giving information on progress with plans to merge with Lancashire Constabulary.

INFORMATION ONLY

Letter of thanks from PCC for donation to the Priory roof appeal.

CALC Newsletter April 2006

Friends of the Lake District – Report and newsletter

Cumbria Highways Newsletter – spring 2006

366.2 ANY OTHER BUSINESS

The finger posts were now ready for collection from the sawmill at Bassenthwaite. Any offers to collect them would be welcome to avoid delivery charges.

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366.3 DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING

It was RESOLVED that the Annual General Meeting and monthly meeting take place on Monday 15 May 2006 at 7.00pm in the Village Hall.

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