131.  Apologies

Cllr Cunliffe    Cllr Robinson

ACTION

132.  Minutes of Last Meeting

      It was resolved that the Chair be authorised to sign the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 8^th September 2008 as a true record.

133.  Declarations of Interest

Cllr Davies declared an interest in respect of Agenda item 5 in connection with the presentation on the proposed Stribers wind farm and his membership of the SLDC Planning Committee; he signed the register accordingly.

134.  Update on Issues and Actions from Last Meeting

The following action reports were received and noted:

·      Hawkshead Affordable Housing: Under the S106 arrangement, the community of Hawkshead would get 'first refusal'. After a period of time, if there were no/insufficient takers, it would be offered to adjoining Parishes. As yet LDNPA were unsure whether Colton would be eligible in the second phase.

·      Notice-board Repair:  Estimates for repair of the notice board at Lakeside had been received.  In view of its very poor condition it was agreed that Mr Helme (who had made the 4 good,  weather-proof notice boards) should be asked to give it a complete overhaul.

Clerk

·      Flyer: Tips for Visitors: A draft was circulated at the meeting. The Clerk asked for comments by 7^th November.

·      Bouth playground inspections: The Clerk had written to the insurers asking whether monthly informal inspections would be sufficient. No response had yet been received.

All Cllrs

135.  Public Participation

·       The new Highway Steward, Mr Adam Tyson had been unable to attend the meeting to introduce himself, but Cllrs Barr and Lovegrove explained that they would be meeting him the next day (21^st October), his first day of work in the Parish.

·       Mr Bob Ayres of Energia in Natura gave a presentation on the proposed Stribers wind-farm:

The company was currently monitoring wind speed at the site, assessing the "visual influence" of the proposed turbines and estimating possible noise levels for nearby properties. Mr Ayres stated that ecological surveys had not revealed any likely significant harm from the turbines and tourism studies had shown no likely negative effects.  An open day was to be held on 6^th November at St Anne's Church Hall, Haverthwaite.

Questions were asked about:  decommissioning (answer: would be a condition of planning); why not off-shore? (because of cost of connection to grid); turbine cost and shelf-life (£1.3M and 20-25yrs); government grants for wind-farms (significant, but linked to performance), compatibility with hill-farming (parallel activity and supports hill-farming income), could more turbines be added later? (most unlikely as 5-6 optimum), site very close to an SSSI, what research was carried out? (Mr Ayres would ask the ecologist to get in touch).

136.  Comments from District and County Councillors

·       Report from Cllr Davies (SLDC):

-         He had attended the High Furness Parish Summit.

-         District Councils had received a significant drop in funding which had triggered a review at SLDC for possible restructuring.

-         Under SLDC proposals for 'locality working', parishes in Hawkshead ward might be clustered into 2-3 different Local Area Partnerships (LAPs).

·       Report from Cllr Walsh (CCC):

-         The next Grange and Cartmel Community Board meeting was to be on 24th November at Lindale Village Hall. He hoped that Colton would stay with this Community Board, as it was the only pilot organisation where all levels of local government were represented and was likely to become the standard model for local government in the future. He reminded the council that board membership had been beneficial to the local community with funding for schemes like Parish Lengthsman, amongst others.

-         A new long-term waste management contract was to be signed that aimed to recycle around 80% of the County's waste. The output would be recyclable materials and a combustible fuel or electricity generation. It would be a major project for the County Council and would be reported in the press shortly.

-         On wind-farms, he explained that for the Stribers edge proposals:  i) roads needed to be modified for access to install turbines, ii) off-shore wind-farms do not count towards Cumbria's renewable energy target, iii) the current height of the Stribers monitoring mast was about 1/3 height of the proposed turbines.

·       A member of the public asked if there were any plans for doorstep plastic recycling. Cllr Walsh explained that this would be unlikely as it was regarded as a carbon-positive cost.

137.  Accounts

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

·       The following payments were approved:

-         Cheque number: 000423: C.Slater (Lengthsman) for September 2008 - £231.00

-         Cheque number: 000424: Clerk: stationery, postage&print cartridges: £157.38

-         Cheque number: 000425: Playsafety Ltd: Annual Bouth Playground inspection: £70.50

-         Cheque number: 000426: Finsthwaite Clock Committee: Grant towards annual servicing of clock: £125.00

-         Cheque number: 000427: Information Commissioner - Data Protection Act Fee - £35.00

·       The following cheques received were noted:

-         CCC Lengthsman grant for FY 08/09: £1200.00

-         HM Revenue & Customs - VAT repayment for FY 07/08: £111.56

138.  Planning

·       The following planning applications were noted:

-        7/2008/5233 - 3, New Hall Cottages, Bouth. New external agricultural storage building. No objections.

-        7/2008/5540 - Rusvale, Rusland: Single storey extension to front of dwelling. No objections.

-        7/2008/5550 - Laurel House, High Nibthwaite: extensions and alterations. Pending

·      The following grants of planning permission were noted:

-        7/2008/5337 - Greenhead Farm, Colton: Two storey extensions and internal alterations.

·      The following refusals of planning permission were noted:

-        7/2008/5424 - The Peathouse, Nibthwaite: New glazed link between cottage and outbuilding.

-        7/2008/5384 - Parrocks Busk, Rusland: 2 new ponds

139.  Budget and Precept for 2009/2010

The budget  for 2009/2010 was confirmed and the precept set as £8854. The precept forms were signed by the chair, a member and the clerk.

140.  Affordable Housing

Cllr Potts reported that the Affordable Housing Working Group had met on 14^th October. The Council had recently been approached with a possible site for development and options were being explored for taking this forward. The Group was planning to meet with local successful housing initiatives to gain information and advice.

141.  BT Payphone 'Adopt a Kiosk' Scheme - Oxen Park

The BT payphone at Oxen Park was due to be removed; local councils were invited to 'Adopt-a-Kiosk' by 1^st November. The cost of adoption was £1, with various conditions attached for maintenance. However, the electricity supply for the light would cost between £17 and £40 per year. United Utilities had also explained that disconnection of the supply, if required, could cost several hundred pounds. It was resolved that the Council would only adopt the kiosk if the electricity supply could be disconnected first, as it represented too large a liability. The Clerk would enquire.

Clerk

142.  Newsletter Deliveries to Second Homes and Holiday Lets

It was resolved that, as a general policy, Colton Parish Council newsletters would be delivered to second homes but not to holiday lets. However, some flexibility may be necessary.

143.  Direct Elections to National Park Authorities: Consultation

Defra had sought views on whether there should be some directly elected members on National Park authorities, potentially replacing parish council members. Cllrs Barr and Fishwick had considered the proposal. In general, it was felt that there was no need for change, as i) the system operated well and in a properly democratic way, and ii) there was a large cost involved in holding direct elections. Cllr Barr would respond to the consultation on behalf of the Council.

There was concern, however, over the length of time served by some appointed members on the LDNPA. Cllr Barr reported that one parish member had resigned and that a CALC call for nominations had received none. A new call was to be made shortly.

 Cllr Barr

144.  Highway Steward and Parish Steward

Cllr Lovegrove reported that she and Cllr Barr were due to meet with Mr Tyson, the new Highway Steward the next day (21^st October). They would also be meeting up with Chris Slater, the Parish Steward. Cllr Walsh explained that Mr Tyson's schedule of a fortnight, 4 x per year, was not exclusive and that the Council could call on him for emergency repairs.

A query arose over whether parishioners should call the Highway Hotline or Cllr Lovegrove to report a fault. Cllr Barr explained that they could do either, but that the Council now had a direct local link to the Highway Steward which might mean a faster response.

145.  Communities in Control: Making and Enforcing Byelaws: Consultation

The main issue was that at present, the Secretary of State had to sign every byelaw, and the proposal was to delegate this responsibility to Departments. Cllr Lovegrove agreed to read the document and respond via the Clerk before the deadline of 20^th November.

Cllr Lovegrove

146.   Reports of Meetings

i) Windermere Catchment Restoration Programme meeting, 16^th October. The Clerk had attended. This was a 'community workshop' on a multi-agency initiative for a 'healthy Windermere catchment', organised by the LDNPA. Objectives concerned improving water quality, increasing environmental awareness and ensuring that improvements supported the local economy. A similar initiative for Bassenthwaite had succeeded in reducing phosphate levels in the lake, for example. Heritage Lottery funding was being sought which meant trying to match these objectives to broad aims of community involvement and heritage activities. The outcome of the workshop was inconclusive. Further events would be held.

ii) CALC Lake District Parishes meeting, 13^th October. Cllr Barr had attended; he would circulate a report.

Cllr Barr

147.  Correspondence

The following correspondence was discussed:

·         CALC Planning Seminars, 6^th November - Cllrs Barr, Robinson and the Clerk would attend.

·         New Model Publication Scheme to be prepared & adopted by 31^st December 2008.

·         SLDC proposed closure of some recycling facilities including glass bank at Lakeside. There were no objections.

Clerk

The following correspondence was noted:

148.  Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting was confirmed as the Monday 1^st December 2008 in Colton Church Hall at 7.30 p.m..