Overview

One year ago, in his report, our previous Chairman said this: "Over the next year or eighteen months the structure of local government is likely to change, and these changes will inevitably affect the Council. Central Government says that it wants Parish Councils to take on a much bigger role, and take on more responsibility. Cumbria is moving towards becoming a unitary authority which will mean the District Council will no longer exist".

Even though a year is said to be a long time in politics, Ron Mein's predictions have yet to come to pass. This says more about the system grinding slow, than it does about Ron's foresight. County's bid for a slim-line unitary authority failed to impress central Government, District Councils continue to exist, and Parish Council's have not taken on a bigger role, nor taken on more responsibility, even as a Quality Parish Council. What we seem to have taken on is having to cope with much more bureaucracy than ever, and certainly more work, with no additional funding. This costs time, mostly voluntarily given, and money and I remain sceptical about how much of it is to the benefit of our residents.

Changes to the Council

There have been some key changes to the Council during the last year. In May 2007, our Chairman, Ron Mein resigned through ill health. Ron had been a stalwart for the Council, not only as a wise and experienced Chairman, but also as an inspirational leader and a friend to many. Ron was always approachable and believed in solving problems as they occurred and not letting them to blow up out of all proportion. He was always going to be a hard act to follow.

In November, our hard-working and ever-cheerful clerk, Judith Dove, resigned after five years invaluable service, being instrumental in the Council gaining Quality Parish status and coping with much else besides. She has also been sorely missed but we are fortunate in having Mandy Lane who has stepped into Judith's shoes and, despite the initial shock of just how much work really has to be done, she is learning fast. The issue of our expectations of the clerk is something that must be addressed in the coming year; paid to do five hours a week, Mandy is currently averaging over 12 just to keep her ahead above water. This cannot be allowed to continue but it will also be a challenge to resolve without incurring an additional burden to our rate-payers.

Lastly, in terms of changes, we were all disappointed that Sally Baxter, after a relatively brief period of office, had to resign in February, again through ill health. We were very sad to see this hard-working representative of the East Ward hang up her Councillor's shoes and wish her well for the future.

Although we inevitably focus on those that come and go, it is worth recording our appreciation of the longer-serving members of Council, particularly Cllr Ian Cunliffe and Cllr John Watson who have seen many changes over the years but are very important in maintaining continuity and providing much-needed experience and wisdom.

1. Parish Council Lengthsman Pilot Programme.

The scheme has gone from strength to strength over the last year, due to both the lengthsman himself, Chris Slater, who has worked hard and sensibly, using his undoubted common sense as well as his manual talent in serving both Colton and Hawkshead, and also to Cllr Penny Lovegrove who has made the scheme a cause celebre and managed it most diligently. Both should take great credit for the success of the scheme.

It is unfortunate, then, that Defra and County have withdrawn funding from the scheme and, indeed, County has replaced it with a new initiative of its own, the Highway Steward scheme. The Parish Lengthsman scheme has been viewed by our Council as a golden opportunity for more control over local affairs to be passed down to Parish level, as promoted by central Government, but appears to have been taken back again by County. This is disappointing.

However, all is not lost. Although yet to be ratified by our Council, we are likely to continue the Lengthsman Scheme in the short- to medium-term at least. Some extra funding was budgeted for the coming year and we have identified other sources of income. We remain convinced that there is sufficient useful work for both the Parish Lengthsman and the new Highway Steward.

2. Rural furniture

We have installed two new wooden seats in the Parish, one at Colton and one at Oxen Park. More are planned. We also continue to maintain planters at various locations, and have undertaken a survey of notice board condition; some will need to be repaired and enhanced.

3. Housing Needs Survey

An Affordable Housing Working Group has been set up under the Chairmanship of Cllr Chris Potts. This group has been considering the results of the survey undertaken by the Cumbria Rural Housing Trust which showed a modest but significant need for housing in the parish, especially rented accommodation for young families. The group has recently met with officers from SLDC and South Lakeland Housing and will patiently and carefully work towards trying to increase the stock of suitable housing in the parish.

4. Community involvement

The Parish Plan Action Sheet is currently being updated, with plans for a complete overhaul of the Parish Plan in 2009, to include some more current and topical issues. The Council thanks those residents who took the time to reply to our questionnaire and contributed to updating the plan. I would particularly wish to thank David Baxter, Bobbie Dobson, Margaret Dryden and David Dunford, as well as fellow Councillors, for their valuable contribution both in time and expertise. Incidentally, we plan to place responses to individual suggestions from the questionnaire on the Parish website; there were some interesting and novel ideas.

The Parish Website continues to be maintained on a regular basis and residents are urged to make use of it as an important information resource. We have published (and hand-delivered) four editions of the Parish Council Newsletter this year. We hope that these will gradually increase the communication and contact between Councillors and residents.

5. Wider consultation and liaison

The Council has accepted an invitation to join the new pilot Community Board in the Grange and Cartmel area. Although this Board was originally envisaged as a intermediate body between County and the Parish, should the unitary bid have been successful, it still remains in place, adding a potential fourth tier of Government. Councillors have been attending meetings on a regular basis and, although the Community Board does add work and effort for already stretched Councillors, it also provides good levels of information and has recently allocated a sum of County's budget for the first time, supporting local initiatives including our Lengthsman Scheme. The Community Board pilot has recently been extended for a further six months.

Our previous Chairman was instrumental in the setting up of the Grizedale Project Consultative Group which would try to minimise disruption during the development and the effects increased traffic. We are grateful to Cllr Tony Atkinson for his participation in the meetings of this group and, although its activities are scaling down as the more disruptive elements of the Grizedale scheme draw to a close, there is still work to do. A valley minibus scheme has recently been set up to run between Haverthwaite and Hawkshead, with room for residents to travel, and our Council will do its bit in promoting this service.

6. Planning

This year the Council reviewed 37 planning applications (compared with 17 last year). We raised concerns about 1 and objected to 10 on a variety of issues.

7. Meetings

The Council held nine scheduled meetings during the year and one extraordinary meeting, to discuss the Affordable Housing report. Member attendance at meetings averaged 80% over the year, and we continue to be helped and supported by Cumbria County Councillor Ted Walsh and SLDC Councillors Anne Hall and Gordon Jenkinson. This year, we have adopted recommended changes in meeting procedure to allow a greater public involvement.

Chairman’s thanks

On behalf of the Council I would like to thank Roderick Smith and the members of the Bouth Village Green Voluntary Committee for their dedication and hard work maintaining the green to a very high standard, and overcoming the various difficulties that they have had.

I would also like to thank the members of Colton Parish Council for their help and much-needed support during the last 10 months and also those residents of the parish who have supported the Council during the year.

Meeting Dates for 2007/2008

The dates and venues for meetings for 2008/2009 are available, and can be viewed on our website and hard copies can be obtained from the parish clerk. They will also be published in the newsletters. Minutes of meeting can also be obtained from the clerk at a small cost to cover printing, or can be read on our website, www.coltonparishcouncil.org.uk

Budget

The Council keeps costs to the minimum required to operate effectively. Last year saw a small under-spend and this, together with a modest agreed increase in the budget this year, has been put towards supporting the Parish Lengthsman Scheme in 2008/9 (in the absence of money from County). The net effect is that the budget has increased by 7.4%. It is worth noting that the Council's activities cost the average resident less than 1% of their total Council tax bill.

The Coming Year

Your Council will continue to maintain high standards and endeavour to provide a valuable service to residents at reasonable cost. We will pay particular attention to the results of the recent Parish Plan questionnaire to increase engagement with residents whilst continuing to respond to sometimes overwhelming paperwork and bureaucracy coming to us from on high.

The Lengthsman Scheme will be monitored closely and continued if appropriate. Members of the Parish Council will continue to attend training courses and the Council will maintain its quality parish status. We will continue to encourage residents to attend Council meetings and take an interest in things that affect them directly. We will also continue to keep residents fully informed using our notice boards, regular newsletters and our website.

Officers of the Council 2007-2008

West Ward: Cllr Colin Barr (Chair)  01229 861408   Cllr Tony Atkinson  01229 861164   Cllr Ian Cunliffe  01229 861440

East Ward:  Cllr Peter Harrington  015395 30376  Cllr Chris Potts  015395 31735  Cllr Sally Baxter  015395 31150

Central Ward: Cllr Anne Robinson  01229 860242   Cllr Penny Lovegrove  01229 861091  Cllr John Watson  01229 861450

Clerks:  Apr 07-Nov 07:  Mrs J Dove  Fell View Cottage  Lowick Green  Ulverston  LA12 8EA  Tel: 01229 885647. E-mail: coltonpc@tiscali.co.uk
            Dec 07-Mar 08:  Ms Mandy Lane   Lilac Cottage   Oxen Park  Ulverston  LA12 8HG  Tel: 01229 861408  E-mail: coltonpc@btinternet.com