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Colton Parish Council NEWS
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Monthly News for: March 2010 More than 40 people turned out on a wet and windy evening to our Colton Community Plan event at Rusland in January; many thanks to all who came and contributed their ideas and aspirations for Colton in 2020. Defra has drafted a new version of their government Circular that provides important policy guidance for National Park Authorities. Although the long list of consultees included 50 recreational organisations, it did not include the local communities whose lives would be directly affected. Parish councils were made aware by a third party only 3 days before the deadline. Along with other Councils, and the Cumbria Association of Local Councils (CALC), Colton PC has expressed their strong concerns about the lack of consultation and the omission of key paragraphs from the original Circular that referred to the duty of National Parks to engage with local communities. See the website for our full response, CALC’s response and links to the Defra documents. The Council is being consulted on options for repair/replacement of Bouthrey Bridge over the River Crake, scheduled for repair in October this year. The 3 options are essentially i) demolish and replace both arches ii) re-build just the upstream side and repair and stabilise the rest iii) replace the bridge with a new pre-cast concrete rectangular beam deck. An early response from the Council has been requested. Please contact the Clerk if you would like to see the plans and express an opinion. Monthly News for: January/February 2010 We have all been tearing our hair out! For the second winter running, Colton Parish has been devoid of salt/grit. This is despite our complaints last winter, promises from Highways for deliveries this winter, and our sending in a detailed map of bins and salt-heap requirements. Needless to say, we are already working with Highways and our County Councillor (Rod Wilson) to sort out what went wrong (again!) and to make sure we get properly supplied next winter. On the positive side, i) the road from Penny Bridge to Hawkshead WAS routinely gritted as promised, which helped those living on this route a great deal, and ii) eventually Highways offered a large delivery of salt/grit to a single location in the Parish; we received it in Oxen Park the next day and various heroes (Colin Barr, Dave Higgs, Kevin Pike, and Frank and Zella Slater amongst others) worked hard to distribute it to the worst affected areas. Two key concerns have emerged from a police survey of residents in the Rusland area: i) deer poaching and ii) illegal behaviour by off-road vehicle users. Arrests for poaching have been made recently using DNA evidence and there is an ongoing investigation into four deer carcasses found at a location in Ulverston. Poaching of the Rusland deer herd is a now a serious concern and there is a great deal of suffering when deer are brought down by dogs. PC Baldwin urges anyone seeing anything suspicious to contact him on his mobile: 07971 140533 or if you can't reach him by mobile, then ring 01229 848535. Our next meeting is on Monday 22nd February, 7.30 pm at Finsthwaite Village Hall Monthly News for: December 2009
The extensive flooding around the Parish at the start of November
has been reported to Highways. Some striking images (and video
footage!) are on the website. Our Highway Steward, Adam Tyson, (you
might notice his white van around the parish) has been working hard
using our report list, clearing culverts and drains from Rusland to
Bridgefield. Your Councillors have also been touring the parish
recording locations for new grit bins and heaps. An annotated map
has now been sent to Highways which should help the efficient
distribution of salt this winter.
Thursday January 28th, Rusland Reading Rooms, 7.30 pm Elizabeth Bruce, a local sustainable energy consultant, is speaking at our Dec 7th meeting at Rusland about suitable green energy initiatives for Colton - all welcome, as ever. Our local Community Police team are offering the opportunity to have property 'Smart-Watered'. If you are interested, please contact the Clerk. Our next meeting is on Monday 7th December, 7.30 pm at Rusland Reading Room Monthly News for: November 2009 The Parish Council webpage on Colton's 'Green Roads' now includes copies of correspondence between the Parish Council, Highways and the National Park on this topic. The Council's request for a temporary TRO (Traffic Regulation Order) on the Nibthwaite-to-Parkamoor track brought a fairly negative response from the Park, who are unwilling to impose one unless Highways have a definite intention to make repairs. Our County Councillor, Rod Wilson, is lobbying hard in an attempt to get some agreement from Highways to allocate funds. At the High Furness Neighbourhood Forum meeting on Oct 12th, we heard about new private water supply regulations coming into force in December which will mean changes in practice and charging regimes. In particular, householders will be asked to complete risk assessments of their water supplies every 5 years, for which there will be a charge. There was concern at the late notification of these regulations, and the lack of information available. We will try to find out more detail and keep you informed. We are hoping that Elizabeth Bruce, a local sustainable energy consultant, will be coming to speak at our December 7th meeting about suitable green energy initiatives for Colton - all welcome, as ever. Our next meeting is on Monday 7th December, 7.30 pm at Rusland Reading Room
Concern about speeding motorists in Bouth, especially adjacent to the playground, prompted the Council to reconsider the possible introduction of a speed limit. Local opinion was again canvassed via a questionnaire sent to residents of Bouth asking whether they favoured no limit, 30mph or 20mph. The response was overwhelmingly in favour of 20mph, unanimously supported by the Council who will be writing to Cumbria Highways. The Council has discussed a planning application for an extended season at Black Beck Caravan Site, Bouth, currently closed from November to March inclusive. The Council had objected on policy grounds: i) that the extension would allow the occupation of caravans for all bar 6-weeks of the year, with the potential that this very large site could become permanent or semi-permanent accommodation, and ii) that the site was within a 'Quieter Area' of the National Park and an extension of season would lead to increase in traffic, recreational use and disturbance which the policy (NE5) was designed to restrict. The Council reconsidered the application in the light of new information about the possible restriction of use to holiday accommodation only, but upheld its decision to object on the basis of the 'Quieter Area' policy and the need for Bouth residents to have a break from associated tourist pressure. Colton & Satterthwaite Councils' negotiations with Highways has resulted in agreement for the road (C5022) from Penny Bridge through to Hawkshead, to included on the 'Priority 2 pre-salting list'. We are sending Highways a map of bins and salt heaps to try to ensure that salt/grit is properly provided this winter. Our next meeting is on Monday 26th October, 7.30 pm at Bouth Village Hall
Monthly News for: September 2009 Following earlier discussion on 'green lanes', at its August meeting the Council has agreed a number of actions to address the issues of erosion and poor driver behaviour. One very promising solution may result from discussion between the National Park Authority and the Highways Department with the intention of introducing a programme of repairs similar to the Fix The Fells project. The Council is to ask the National Park to place a temporary Traffic Regulation Order on the High Nibthwaite - to - Parkamoor track until such time as repairs can be made and fell-sides given a chance to recover from excursions made by off-roaders. A Green Lanes Working Group was formed to take forward a number of other ideas, in conjunction with local farmers. The Community Plan Working Group would be very pleased to hear from anyone who would like to help with plans to shape the future of the parish. An interactive display was prepared for the Rusland Show. Please contact the clerk if you have something to contribute; 'no previous experience necessary' as they say. The Council is pleased to report that after negotiations with the Highways Department, the road from Penny Bridge to Hawkshead, via Colton and Satterthwaite, has been included on the 'Priority 2 pre-salting list' which, we think, means that it may get salted by Council gritters occasionally! Our next meeting is on Monday 14th September, 7.30 pm at Finsthwaite Village Hall Monthly News: August 2009 From: Bethecar Moor Commoners ESA Association. In accordance with the Moor Management Plan agreed with Natural England, some bracken control by helicopter spraying will take place on the Moor in August. It is not possible to give exact dates, as these will depend on the weather and also aircraft availability. However notices will be put up at the main access points to the Moor prior to any spraying, and anyone going up onto the Moor in August is asked to check first. The Commoner Association regret any inconvenience this may cause, but active management of the Moor is not only to help preserve the moor itself and its habitat, but is also a legal requirement under the ESA scheme. If needed,the contact is John. Atkinson, Tel. 01229 885 663. Colton PC News for August: We welcome our new Parish Councillor, John Taylor. John and his wife Joan came to Finsthwaite in 1977, following his retirement from the Royal Navy. He served in the RN for 30 years (Cmdr John Taylor OBE MA), teaching and then as a meteorologist in most parts of the world. John continues to keep daily meteorological records and is a member of local history societies, the Milestone Society, the Lake District Horticultural Society and the local branch of the Royal British Legion. He is keen advocate of alternative energy initiatives, particularly local generation of electrical power by water. The Council held an 'additional Parish Council meeting' on the maintenance and use of its 8 unsealed Unclassified Country Roads (UCRs) on 6th July at Rusland. Colin Barr (Chairman) gave a presentation on the appalling state of some of these routes, some of which are now impassable for farmers needing to get to their stock, and expressed our concerns about the behaviour of some off-roaders. Representatives from the National Park (our local Ranger, Tony Hill), Cumbria Highways and the Cumbria Countryside Access Partnership 'Motor-propelled Vehicle sub-group' took part in useful discussions that identified previously unclear areas of responsibility. See the website or contact the Clerk to see minutes of this meeting. Our next meeting is on Monday 3rd August, 7.30 pm at Rusland Reading Rooms Monthly News: July 2009 We are very pleased to see that re-surfacing work has at last been carried out on large sections of the worst roads in our parish - Colton Hill and Finsthwaite to Backbarrow, in particular. There is to be an 'Additional Parish Council' meeting on Monday 6th July, 7.30 at Rusland Reading Rooms specifically to address issues concerning our eight Unclassified Country Roads (or 'green lanes'), their maintenance and the poor behaviour of some off-road vehicle users. This is planned to be a forward-looking and constructive meeting to determine what can be done to improve the situation by the various parties involved.
Monthly News: June 2009 Your Council has submitted a response to the Commission for Rural Communities' Uplands Inquiry, set up to identify the major challenges facing England's upland communities. This was a call for evidence from "businesses and communities on their fears and hopes as farmers and food-producers, tourism and recreation resources, and as the guardians of landscape, wildlife, heritage and natural resources'. Key issues identified included: the severe difficulties faced by farmers, the closure of local facilities, support services and employers in favour of large centralised businesses, tourism pressures and related environmental damage (e.g. off-road vehicle use), the increase in second homes, and the lack of affordable housing and employment opportunities for local young people. We are sorry to lose Cllr Peter Harrington from the Council after his decision to step down due to ill-health. We thank him for his hard work and good humour - he will be much missed. This of course now means that there is a vacancy, and we are looking for someone from East Ward, preferably Lakeside, to fill the position as soon as possible. Please contact the Clerk if interested. Bouth Village Green and Playground Committee: Mr Roderick Smith, who has been such an active and committed member and Chairman of the Committee for nearly 35 years, has decided to stand down. The Council thanks him wholeheartedly for all his hard work and enthusiasm. Mr John Osborne has taken on the Chairmanship, with Mr David Hammer as Vice-chair. Our next meeting is on: Monday 22nd June, 7.30 p.m. in Colton Church Hall.
Monthly News: May 2009 The Colton Community Plan Working Group held its first meeting in Bouth on 24th March. Liaison officers Clive Wickham (LDNPA) and Judith Quigley (SLDC) explained the increasing importance of these Plans as a source of local opinion for informing policy on key issues like housing, planning, countryside access, etc.. The Plan is to be a community-led initiative that will express your views, desires and ideas for the future of the Parish, so we need your participation! The Working Group will be consulting you in the coming months by holding events as well as sending out questionnaires. We welcome anyone who would like to play an active part in the development of the Plan - please contact the Clerk. Over the past few months, the Parish Council has been involved in discussions about 'Locality Working' and 'Local Area Partnerships' (LAPs). LAPs are groupings of parishes that will enable us to have greater influence on how District and County services are delivered and budgets spent. The Highway Stewardship scheme is an example of this new way of working and so far seems very successful - we have had a much greater say on priorities for road repairs over the past few months (see Highways page). Each Parish Council was asked which LAP it would like to join; Colton has opted for High Furness, which includes for example Blawith, Coniston, Satterthwaite and Hawkshead parishes. We await the final outcome of the consultation. Our next meeting is the Annual Parish Council on: Monday 11th May, 7.30 p.m. in Bouth Village Hall.
Our reporting of flooding trouble-spots via our Highway Steward to Cumbria Highways is bearing fruit. They are to carry out engineering work below Rusland Tannery (Skowbarrow Beck), which we designated as the highest priority in the parish. The 'Rusland Beeches' road will be closed for a week from Monday 20th April whilst this takes place. Our website now has a Highways page with information on who to contact about different issues. The Council has been considering ways to encourage 'greener living' in the Parish and will be putting information on the website soon about green initiatives like recycling, car-sharing, alternative energy, and insulation of our old houses! If anyone has ideas or is keen to help us with this venture, please get in touch with the Clerk (see below). The Forestry Commission invited us to attend a meeting at Bessy Bank to discuss the local forest development plan. The aim is to gradually fell the conifers and restore the area to mixed broadleaves. However, some of the larches will now be retained to provide a more diverse habitat for wildlife and to preserve a mix of trees in the landscape. Our next meeting is our Annual Parish Council meeting on: Monday 11th May, 7.30 p.m. in Bouth Village Hall.
This month's news is all about roads! We now have two additional salt bins: one at Rusland Cross and one just below Bent Hawes. These bins are provided for people to spread salt on the icy stretches of road nearby, as required. Your Councillors have been touring the Parish armed with maps to locate i) salt bins and heaps (both existing and required), and ii) flooding trouble-spots. The former will be sent to Cumbria Highways as part of our campaign for better salt provision next winter. The latter will be given to our Highway Steward so that he can assess the problems and call upon the Area Highways Teams for major work, as necessary. We think the best approach is to draw up a list of flooding trouble-spots in priority order and lobby hard for resolutions to the worst one or two first. These concern severely blocked, damaged or inadequate beck culverts that cause deep floods or wash-out damage to roads, walls and property. We have been sent notification of 'surface dressing' to be carried out on 3 roads in the Parish during the summer: Little Mill to Tottlebank Wood, Colton Hill and Cappy Lane, and Finsthwaite to Backbarrow. (Hooray!) Our next meeting is our annual Parish Open Meeting followed by a Parish Council meeting on: Monday 30th March, 7.30pm in Finsthwaite Village Hall. Monthly News: January 2009 Mr Malcolm Leadbetter from the STOP campaign against the Stribers wind-farm, gave a presentation at our December 1st meeting. Photomontages showed that the visual impact of the planned turbines were likely to be high, and figures were given showing energy output and CO2-saving as a fraction of claimed levels. He explained that access and construction impact would also be high in the Cartmel Valley, with talk of significant alteration of the narrow roads to accommodate vehicles. STOP had real concerns about the likely effects on tourism, local businesses, heritage, wildlife and hydrology. Salt/grit: You will all have been frustrated during the first cold snap at the start of December at the lack of salt/grit provision, with icy conditions causing many accidents. The Council's phone was alive, quite understandably, the main sentiment being: "Not only are our roads not salted, but we are not even given the salt to do it ourselves!" Your Council has been lobbying Cumbria Highways resulting in salting of the more major routes in the parish, and eventual provision of salt for bins and heaps in some places (but not yet others, e.g. Rusland!). We are submitting letters, including a joint one with neighbouring parishes, the main request being that Highways consider planning ahead for each winter, delivering salt to all bins and heaps well in advance each year. Our County Councillor (Ted Walsh) has arranged for Colton to have two additional salt bins, to be located at Rusland Cross and just below Bent Hawes. Our next meeting is on: Monday 23rd February, 7.30pm in Rusland Reading Rooms.
Monthly News: November/December 2008 The Council has already formally expressed its concern about the proposed wind-farm at Stribers on the Cartmel peninsula, because of the visual impact on views from the Parish. The wind-farm company, 'Energia in Natura', spoke at our October meeting, and the STOP campaign against the turbines has been invited to speak at our December 1st meeting. The Council's decision on any planning application will follow. In his presentation on the proposed wind-farm, Mr Bob Ayres explained that the company was monitoring wind speed, assessing the visual impact of the turbines and estimating potential noise levels. Their surveys had shown that ecological harm was unlikely as was any negative affect on tourism. In response to questions he said that any decommissioning would be a condition of planning, off-shore wind farms were expensive to connect to the grid, turbines cost £1.3M with a shelf-life 20-25yrs, government grants for wind-farms were "significant" but linked to performance, wind farms were compatible with hill-farming, and any further turbines would be unlikely as 5-6 was the optimum number for the site. Sadly, the red phone box at Oxen Park is due to be removed by BT as it is rarely used. Your Council considered the BT 'Adopt-a-kiosk' scheme, but the cost of retaining the compulsory electricity supply to the light (£40 per year) and any future disconnection charge (£100's) was too much of a financial commitment. Our next two meetings are on: Monday 1st December, 7.30pm in Colton Church Hall and Monday 12th January, 7.30pm at Water Yeat Village Hall Monthly News: October 2008 We have now met our new County Council-appointed 'Highway Steward', Adam Tyson, who will be starting work on the roads in Colton Parish on 20th October. Colton is just one of the parishes in his area and he will be with us for an intensive fortnight of work, four times per year. His remit includes cleaning and repairing signs, cutting back vegetation, clearing blocked gullies and, crucially, emergency pothole repairs. Penny Lovegrove (01229 861091) is his point of contact, as she is for our Lengthsman, Chris Slater. Chris continues to work with us 1 day per week. The remit of the Lengthsman, or 'Parish Steward' as we are now to call the role, might extend to include some work away from the road on paths and notice-boards. We will be monitoring how the two roles work together for the future. A representative from 'Energia in Natura', the Stribers wind-farm company, will be speaking at our next Parish Council meeting on 20th October at Finsthwaite Village Hall, followed by a representative from the 'STOP' campaign (Stop Turbines On Peninsula) at the following meeting on 1st December at Colton. Our new Community Police Officer is PC John Baldwin, who came to introduce himself at our recent Parish Council meeting. He is based at Ulverston Police Station and will be working closely with the local councils and agencies in the area. The next meeting will be held on Monday 20th October, 7.30pm in Finsthwaite Village Hall. Monthly News: September 2008 Cllr Penny Lovegrove attended a presentation on affordable housing called 'Owning the Assets', organised by the Cumbria Rural Housing Trust. "Community Land Trusts" are 'not-for-profit' organisations, based in and run by the local community, that own land and property for the long-term benefit of local people. If suitable land can be found, this approach seems a possible way forward for Colton Parish. At our July meeting, Mr Andy Bennet of the Forestry Commission presented a management plan for Old Hall Wood, Bouth. This will involve removal of all the spruce trees and gradual thinning of the larch to leave a good mixture of broadleaf and larch trees, with areas of coppice much like the adjoining Woodland Trust wood. Footpaths and permitted paths will be diverted during operations and re-instated thereafter. Andy is happy to be contacted for information on: 01229 860373 or email: andy.bennett@forestry.gsi.gov.uk. We are being consulted on changes to mental health services by the Cumbria Primary Care Trust. The proposal is to concentrate resources to provide fewer, but higher-quality facilities. Intensive care facilities would be based in Carlisle. Cllr Anne Robinson is coordinating a response and would welcome views from residents. Contact Anne on 01229 860242 or email: ANNE@annerobinson46.wanadoo.co.uk. The next meeting will be held on Monday 8th Sept, 7.30pm. in Rusland Reading Room. Monthly News: August 2008 The Lake District National Park's "Local Development Framework (LDF) - Core Strategy" has been published for consultation and your Parish Council will be responding. Broadly, the LDF divides the National Park into five 'distinctive' areas based on socio-economic and environmental criteria; Colton falls in the 'South Lakes' designation along with Coniston, Broughton and Hawkshead. There are proposals to relax some planning restrictions in cases where need, e.g. for affordable housing, can be demonstrated, using local information (e.g. housing needs surveys such as that already undertaken for Colton). The LDF recognises that development needs to be linked to employment and services. See www.lake-district.gov.uk/ldf for more details. Your Council has sent in comments on the Stribers Wind Farm scoping study, explaining that it is likely to object to the planning application on the basis of visual amenity (preservation of which ranked 5th of 15 priority issues in the recent Parish questionnaire). Many of Colton's fine views look south-east over the Ellerside ridge and the wind-farm would be highly visible. SLDC has granted permission for a wind monitoring mast on the ridge. The next meeting will be held on Monday 8th Sept, 7.30pm. in Rusland Reading Room. Monthly News: July 2008 The recent Parish Plan questionnaire identified the priority issues as: increased traffic & state of highways, affordable housing, preservation of the local environment and cost of council tax. In response to a suggestion that there should be ‘surgery sessions’, the chairman has agreed to arrive at each meeting at least half an hour earlier and would be pleased to have a chat with anyone who has something to discuss. The next meeting will be held on Monday 28 July, 7.30pm. in Bouth Village Hall.
The Council is increasingly concerned at the damage done to our
lanes and fellsides by off-road vehicles. The Cumbria Highways
Authority says that it does not have the funds for repair. The
Council has written again with accompanying maps and photographs;
these are also viewable on the website: Incidents, good & bad, should be reported to Tony Hill who will log them on to the Trails Register. Contact: 015397 24555 or tony.hill@lake-district.gov.uk, copy to HQ@lake-district.gov.uk . Monthly News: June 2008 With regret, we say goodbye to Sally Baxter and Tony Atkinson who have resigned from the Council, and thank them for their hard work and helpful contributions. We welcome two new Councillors: Mrs Brenda Fishwick from Nibthwaite (for West Ward) and Mr Ken Dean from Bouth (for East Ward) who have been co-opted following the recent elections. The Community Board have approved part-funding for our Lengthsman, Mr Slater, this financial year. He is now at work and will collaborate the County's new Highway Steward (recruitment pending). Cllr Penny Lovegrove (Bouth, tel: 01229 861091) will be the point of contact for both parties. The Mitre Housing Association hopes to start work later this year on the construction of seven houses & flats on the site of the former Satterthwaite School. All the residences will be subject to local occupancy clauses which will extend to surrounding parishes. Further information from the Association Tel: 01768 861 400, Email: enquiry@edenha.org.uk Our next meeting will be held on Monday 23rd June at Colton Church Hall at 7.30pm.
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