99.    Apologies

Cllr John Watson    Cllr Ted Walsh (CCC)

ACTION

100.  Minutes of Last Meeting

      It was resolved that the Chair be authorised to sign the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 23^rd June 2008 as a true record.

101.  Declarations of Interest

There were no declarations of interest by members in respect of items on this agenda.

102.  Update on Issues and Actions from Last Meeting

The following action reports were received and noted:

·      Parish Plan update - Now completed. Responders to the questionnaire had mentioned problems with overflowing rubbish bins at holiday houses. Cllr Potts suggested that an information flyer be produced for visitors to explain about local services, rubbish collection, parking, etc.. This was agreed and would be based on that produced for Satterthwaite.

Clerk

·      Library service - No further information had been received.

·       Notice Board repair - Awaiting trial repairs at Colton. Also awaiting an estimate for repairs from Peter Helme (who had made the good notice boards).

·       Telephone boxes under threat (at Oxen Park) - The Parish Council had still not been consulted directly by BT. Cllrs had no objections to the closure of the phone box, but were happy to let the community decide. Cllr Barr had contacted the residents of Oxen Park and Bandrake Head. All responders except for one felt there was no case for retaining the box; some asked if it could remain as a local feature.

·       Budget Planning: The Clerk would arrange for the working group to meet during August.

Clerk

·       Playground inspections: The Clerk had written to the insurers for a statement about playground inspection requirements and liability.

103.  Public Participation

i) Management Plan for Old Hall Wood, Bouth:  Mr Andy Bennet (Forestry Commission) gave a presentation with the following key points:

·       All the spruce would be removed (1.5ha). This would be around 30 wagon-loads of timber. The preferred option was to remove the spruce all in one go to minimise disruption.

·       The larch would be thinned to leave a mixture of larch and broadleaf trees.

·       There would be some open areas of coppice, as in the adjoining Woodland Trust wood.

·       The FC would liaise with the Woodland Trust to ensure similar management plans.

·       Footpaths would be diverted during timber operations and re-instated thereafter.

·       Local conservation statements were being prepared concerning wildlife.

Cllr Barr asked whether the plans could be put on a website; Mr Bennet agreed to request this and to allow the Council to publish his email address and phone number for enquiries.

 

ii) Precept: Mr Roderick Smith asked the meeting to note that the Parish Council element of the Council Tax was not subject to a government cap. Cllr Barr explained that the Parish Council precept represented an extremely small element of the Council Tax payment.

Clerk

104.  Comments from District and County Councillors

Cllr Davies (SLDC) reported on the following issues:

i) Hawkshead Housing: He had been advised that the LDNPA clusters villages for allocation of housing. He advised the Council to write to LDNPA to ask about Colton's eligibility.

Clerk

ii) Highway Stewards: Windermere Town Council had met with their Highway Steward.

iii) Stribers Wind Farm: The SLDC vote for approval of the wind monitoring mast had been carried on the Chairman's casting vote.

iv) Select Committee on the Potential of England's Rural Economy: Oral Evidence Session on 16^th July. At this session, Cllr Davies had suggested that the government provide support for hill farmers in the light of the Lake District's bid for World Heritage Status.

105.  Accounts

·       The quarterly bank reconciliation (to end June 08) was approved.

·       It was agreed that the following accounts should be paid:

-      Cheque number 000414 - Lengthsman for June 08 - £231.00

-      Cheque number 000415 - Cllr Lovegrove: travel expenses for housing meeting in

                                                                                                             Melmerby - £56.00

-      Cheque number 000416 - Hawkshead PCC - copying costs - £29.40

-      Cheque number 000417 - Bouth Hall Hire for 07/08 - £40.00

-      Cheque number 000418 - Clerk's expenses (office supplies, postage, hall hire) - £176.64

·     The following receipts were noted:

-      Haverthwaite Parish Council share of cost of New Councillor course: £32.50

·     Quotation for repair of Bouth Village Playground safety surface:  £452.36. The Bouth Village Green Advisory Committee had offered to pay £150 of this cost from Bouth fund-raising efforts, for which the Council expressed its thanks. It was agreed that the work could go-ahead as soon as possible.

106.  Planning

·       The following planning applications were noted:

-         7/2008/7/2008/5337 - Greenhead Farm, Colton -  2-storey extension & extension into attached farm buildings. No objections.

-         7/2008/5379 - Finsyke Cottage, Finsthwaite - Extensions and alterations. No objections.

                                                                                                                  Now withdrawn.

·       The following grants of planning permission were noted:

-         7/2008/5197 - Tarn Edge, Lakeside - replacement jetty

-         7/2008/5223 - Springfield Depot, Colton - New building for storage & maintenance of classic vehicles (conditions imposed)

-         7/2008/5127 - The Shielings, Bouth - Dormer window

-         7/2008/5251 - Fall Stile Farm, Bouth - alterations to house and conversion of barn

-         7/2008/5258 - Cragg Brow, Bouth - car port

-         7/2008/5259 - The Cooperage, Bouth - extension to bungalow

-         SL/2008/0525 - Stribers Allotment - wind monitoring mast

·       Cllr Harrington believed that the application for two new propterties (7/2008/5052) at Landing Close, Lakeside had been withdrawn. The Clerk had not received formal notification; she would check with LDNPA Planning.

Clerk

107.  Lake District Local Development Framework (LDF) Consultation
Cllrs Barr, Potts and Fishwick had read and commented on the consultation document and a response had been sent. In general the Council was supportive, but had been disappointed at the quality of the document. Key issues highlighted in Colton's response included:

·       Whilst recognising the need for regional planning policies, the basis for definition of the 5 regions was not well explained, particularly in relation to the 'Central Lakes' area.

·       Haverthwaite was shown as a 'rural service centre', yet it was about to lose its Post Office.

·       There was no mention at all of some important issues, such as water quality.

·       Whilst there was reference to working with adjoining areas on protection from inappropriate development, there was no mention of 'buffer zones'. This was particularly pertinent given the wind-farm proposal at Stribers.

108.  Reports of Meetings

i) Affordable Housing Conference: "Owning the Assets", Melmerby, 26^th June: Cllr Lovegrove attended. The conference was organised by Cumbria Rural Housing Trust and provided useful information about setting up 'Community Land Trusts'. Cllr Barr urged the Affordable Housing Working Group to meet again soon in order to see whether these ideas could be applied in Colton. Cllr Potts asked others to notify him of any potential sites.

Cllr Potts
Clerk

ii) Grange and Cartmel Community Board, Cartmel, 1^st July: Cllr Barr attended and reported the following points:

·       Housing: Judith Derbyshire from Cumbria Rural Housing Trust urged Parish Councils to keep a record of second homes. Cumbria County Council were also currently reviewing all land and property. Cllr Barr suggested that the Colton housing designation list should be re-visited and updated. He noted that the Westmorland Gazette had published an article stating that in Colton Parish, 31% of homes were not primary residences. He asked the Clerk to find out how that statistic had been generated.

·       Highway Stewards: Parish Councils were asked to notify County of their liaison person. The Clerk reported that she had notified Rob Lawley (Cumbria Highways) and that Colton would be meeting its Steward in September.

·       Lengthsman: Parish Councils had been asked to notify Diane Whitehead of the amount required for continuation of the Lengthsman Scheme this year. The Clerk confirmed that she had done so on 14^th July, asking for £1,212.50.

·       Proposed reduction in services at Westmorland General and Furness General Hospitals: a consultation would be held.

·       Continuation of the Community Board: A vote was held and continuation agreed.

·       The next meeting of the Board (2^nd Sept) was to include an item on Planning and what input was expected from Parish Councils.

Clerk

109.  Correspondence

The following correspondence was discussed:

·         Mental Health Services consultation - by 30^th September. Cllr Barr had looked through the document briefly. The main proposal was to reduce bed spaces but improve quality. Cllr Robinson agreed to coordinate a response for agreement at the next meeting, with help from Cllr Lovegrove.

·         Horse Warning Signs: Satterthwaite Parish Council had asked if Colton had an interest in pressing for signs to warn traffic of horses on the road. Whilst the Council were concerned about the danger of traffic speed to both horses and pedestrians, it was not clear where such signs would be placed in Colton Parish, there being no equivalent horse-riding centre.

Cllr Robinson

The following correspondence was noted:

110.  Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting was confirmed as the Monday 8^th September 2008 in Rusland Reading Room at 7.30 p.m..