83.     Apologies

There were no apologies.

Cllr Barr welcomed two new members co-opted to the Council: Cllr Dean and Cllr Fishwick.

ACTION

84.     Minutes of Last Meeting

      It was resolved that the Chair be authorised to sign the minutes of the Annual Parish Council meeting held on 12^th May 2008 as a true record.

85.     Declarations of Interest

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

86.     Update on Issues and Actions from Last Meeting

The following action reports were received and noted:

·       Cumbria Highways response to letter on road repairs: Cumbria Highways were aware of the problems listed, and were seeking funds for repair. However, they were unlikely to find funds for repair of unmetalled country roads.

·       Off-road Motor Vehicles - Cllr Barr had written to Cumbria Highways about the appalling condition of unclassified country roads (UCRs) and the fact that some roads were now impassable and farmers unable to visit stock. Pictures accompanied the letter. These had also been posted on the Parish Council website.

·       Parish Plan Update - The Clerk was re-structuring the document to clarify the issues and action points relating to the original Parish Plan and the two subsequent updates.

Clerk

·       CALC Paper on 'Employing a Parish Steward' - Cllr Barr had sent comments to CALC.

·       Library Service - Cllr Lovegrove had contacted Grange Town Council about Library Van stops at residential homes. They would enquire and report back. Cllr Walsh had raised the issue of mobile libraries with the County and would ask about care homes.

Cllr Lovegrove

Cllr Walsh

·       Notice Board Repairs:  Cllr Cunliffe and the Clerk had asked Mr John King for advice on repair of the Colton Notice Board. Mr King had offered to try repairing it himself as a trial for the other similar boards in need of repair. The Clerk would monitor progress.

Clerk

·       Representatives on working groups and external bodies: The circulated list was approved. Cllr Fishwick offered to monitor opportunities for grants and help with grant applications; this was agreed. The Clerk had arranged for Cumbria CVS newsletters to be sent to her directly.

87.     Public Participation

No issues were raised by members of the public.

88.     Comments from District and County Councillors

District: Cllr Davies reported that

i) the County had offered three sites to South Lakeland District for affordable housing; one was in Hawkshead Ward on the site of the old school. Cllr Davies would find out about eligibility for Colton parishioners.

ii) A District Councillor had no more power than a parishioner on planning issues within the National Park. However, issues could be raised with the Parishes representative on the LDNPA, Mr W Barr. Cllr Barr reported that the LDNPA had suggested that the Council ask to meet with a planning officer to discuss the planning process, and CALC were aiming to run planning courses in the autumn.

iii) He had been invited to a meeting on Highway Stewards and would report back.

Cllr Davies

Cllr Davies

County: Cllr Walsh reported that:

i) The future of the pilot Community Board was under discussion and would depend on the views of parishes. Its current remit extended to September and parishes will be asked if and how they would like it to continue. The Board area might be extended to include other parishes to the east (e.g. Lyth, Witherslack, Crosthwaite).

ii) Nuclear disposal framework: A new framework was under discussion and a ballot would be held at County level. Local communities would be asked to volunteer to host disposal sites in return for investment. Colton is unlikely to be a candidate.

iii) Both Post Offices local to Colton Parish were to be replaced by an 'outreach' service. There was concern that this loss of facility would have knock-on effects in strategic planning decisions, designations and support for communities.

iii) A Highway Steward would be appointed for the Colton area in July; Cllr Walsh would keep the Council informed.

iv)  Rural telephone boxes were under threat of removal through low usage; one was in Colton Parish (Oxen Park). The Council should lobby South Lakeland District Council on this issue if it wants to keep it. The Chairman would seek local views.

v) Cllr Barr asked about Lenthsman funding. Cllr Walsh confirmed the £800 allocated from his County funds, and he would ask for confirmation of the Community Board allocation.

Cllr Walsh

Cllr Barr

Cllr Walsh

89.     Approval of Annual Accounts and Completion of Annual Return

The Annual Statement of Accounts was approved and signed by the chairman.  Sections 1 & 2 of annual return were completed and signed as accurate by the chairman.

90.     Accounts

It was agreed that the following accounts should be paid:

-         Cheque number 000409 - Clerk for Bouth Village Green cash imprest, 1^st of 2  - £100.00

-          Cheque number 000410 - Lengthsman salary (Claim 14, April 08) - £308.00

-         Cheque number 000411 - Lengthsman, May 2008 - £231.00

-         Cheque number 000412 - CALC CiLCA course fee - £50.00

-         Cheque number 000413 - Armers - correction of underpayment for lawn-mower - £8.00

Budget Planning for 09/10: It was agreed that a working group be set up to consider this in view of mounting costs and work-load. Cllrs Barr, Potts, Dean and Fishwick agreed to participate. Ms McCleery (CALC) suggested that CALC could provide comparative data on precepts by size of parish and clerks' costs. The Clerk would arrange a working group meeting and contact CALC. Cllr Walsh reminded the Council that it could precept for as much as it considered appropriate.

Clerk

91.   Planning

The following planning applications were noted and responses agreed:

·           7/2008/5251 - Fall Stile Farm, Bouth - Alterations to house (dormers and solar panels) and conversion of attached barn to accommodation. Objections sent on grounds of scale of development and design and appearance.

·           7/2008/5127 - The Shielings, Bouth - Dormer window to front roof slope. No objections.

·           6/2008/5223 - Springfield Depot, Colton - New building for storage & maintenance of vintage vehicles. Objections sent on grounds of disturbance (24 hour use), environmental effects, and incorrect information given on the application form.

·           7/2008/5259 - The Cooperage, Bouth - Extension to bungalow. No objections

·           7/2008/5258 - 4, Cragg Brow, Bouth - Proposed car port. No objections.

·           7/2008/5218 - Barnhurst, Colton - New garage. No objections.

·           7/2008/5139 - Red Deer Lodge, Finsthwaite - Installation of multi-fuel stove. No objections.

·           SL/2008/0525 - Stribers Allotment, , Lower Allithwaite - Erection of 70m high wind speed and direction monitoring mast for 2 years. Objections (see 92. below)

To note grant of planning permission as follows:

·           7/2008/5085 - Dove Cottage, Lakeside - Car port, canopy and front porch.

To note refusal of planning permission as follows:

·           7/2008/5156 - 5159 - Old Hall Farm, Bouth - Extensions and alterations.

·           7/2008/5099 - The Peat House - glazed link between cottage and outbuilding.

To note permitted development: 3 x 7m high telephone poles at Pool Bridge, Bouth

To note naming of barn conversion adjacent to Oxen Park Farm: Park Barn, Oxen Park.

92.     Stribers Wind Farm

The Parish Council had been asked for views on: i) the Stribers Wind Farm Scoping Study, and ii) a planning application (Ref: SL/2008/0525) to South Lakeland District Council (SLDC) for a wind-monitoring mast on the site. The Council's views had not been recorded in the Scoping Study through mis-information from the consultants concerning the consultation period. However, the Clerk had written to SLDC summarising Colton's likely objections to the wind-farm on the grounds of visual amenity: views from Colton look south and east directly over the site and would be spoiled by the presence of wind turbines, and  'Protection of visual amenity' had ranked 5^th in importance out of 15 key issues for the Colton Parish Plan.

It was resolved through a unanimous vote to object to the wind monitoring mast on grounds of visual amenity.

Clerk

93.     Lake District Local Development Framework (LDF) Consultation

Parish Councils were asked to respond to this consultation by 11^th July. Cllr Barr had worked his way through a third of the document so far. Cllr Fishwick and Cllr Potts offered to read and comment on the document; Cllr Fishwick would contact the LDNPA for further copies.

The Clerk had attended an LDF public meeting in Crosthwaite on 16^th June to which only 5 people came. The LDF was set in the context of regional strategies. The Lake District was to be divided into five 'distinctive' areas based on socio-economic and environmental criteria; Colton was part of the 'South Lakes' designation along with Coniston, Broughton and Hawkshead. The LDF included proposals to relax planning restrictions in cases where need (e.g. for housing) could be demonstrated. Local housing needs surveys would be used for information. There was recognition that development must be linked to employment and services.

Regarding local eligibility for affordable housing, LDNPA Planner Paula Allen had alerted the Clerk to the fact that the Satterthwaite housing was to be first advertised to those in Satterthwaite parish for a period of 20 days before it could be opened up to neighbouring parishes. The Clerk would ensure that this information was included in the Summer newsletter.

Cllr Potts
Cllr Fishwick

Clerk

94.   Communications - Email and Internet

The Clerk asked whether those Councillors willing to operate by email and internet would be willing to check their emails every 2-3 days. This was agreed. She proposed that she categorise email circulations according to urgency and importance as follows: Level 1: 'Urgent' - response required by a given date; Level 2: Response required by the next meeting; Level 3: For information. It was agreed that the Council should adopt this system and monitor effectiveness.

Clerk

95.     Reports of Meetings

i) Grizedale Project, opening of 'The Yan'  Educational Resource Centre', 23^rd June: Cllr Robinson had attended the opening (by Lord Clark of Windermere). The building included a classroom, kitchen, large hall and would be used for educational and local community purposes and possibly corporate functions.

ii) CALC: South Lakeland District Association, 5^th June. Cllr Barr had attended:

-        Highway Stewards: The Neighbourhood Forum would be used as a framework for 'locality working'. This would determine how local communities would interact with principal authorities, for example SLDC, over a wide range of issues.

-        Local councils were being encouraged to get 'Ethical Governance (Standards)' training.

-        Playground inspections (Colton had asked for this to be put on the Agenda): there was a wide range of practices across parish councils: some carried out the minimum required by their insurers, others carried out local informal checks, and one other used SLDC to carry out monthly inspections, but appeared to pay less than Colton. The Clerk would contact the insurers for confirmation in writing of the checks required.

Clerk

96.     Training

The Clerk had taken up CALC's offer to run a New Councillor course locally for a fixed cost. She had asked neighbouring parishes if they wanted to join in. A successful course was run in Bouth Village Hall on 9^th June for 3 Councillors from Haverthwaite as well as Colton Councillors Robinson, Dean and Fishwick; the cost (£65) was split between the two parishes.

97.     Correspondence

The following correspondence was discussed:

·         SLDC Remuneration Panel: request for issues to be raised on allowances and expenses by 15^th July. No issues were put forward.

·         LDNPA:  Application from Windermere Records Attempts Committee to hold Records Attempt Week on Coniston 2008-10 - suitability of dates - response required by 26^th June. The dates were regarded as suitable as any; no response required.

·         LDNPA: Open Space, Sport and Recreation Survey: details required of village greens/sports facilities and community groups using them - by 14^th July. It was agreed that the Clerk would liaise with Cllrs Lovegrove and Dean and the Bouth Village Green Advisory Group.

Clerk