1.                  Notice convening meeting.

This was posted as normal.

2.                  Signing of the attendance register.

The attendance register was signed by Cllrs. Greaves, Southworth, Park, Baumber and Butler; by the clerk, Simon Taylor.

3.                  Apologies for absence.

No apologies received.

4.                  To sign as a correct record the minutes of meeting held on 16th March 2009.

The minutes were approved by the Council and signed by the Chair.

5.                  To receive Declarations of Interest from the Councillors concerning items on this agenda.

None were received.

6.                  Report from the police representative.

No report was received from PCSO Madden.  The clerk was asked to contact PCSO Madden about activity at Aldingham toilets, the unauthorised parking at Leece car park, and about the crash barrier at Scales.

7.                  To receive comments from the Public (Limited to 10 minutes).

No comments received.

8.                  Parish Plan

No report was received from Neil Whalley.  No meeting had taken place since the last Council meeting – the next Parish Plan committee meeting was due on 21st April.

9.                  Planning.

The clerk reported that one planning application has been received:

SL/2009/0312 – Stonecroft, Mill Lane, Gleaston – Installation of window in gable end of garage (revised scheme SL/2007/0910 (retrospective).

Cllr. Southworth took this application and will give comments to the clerk.

10.              Highways and footpath matters.

Cllr. Baumber highlighted a problem with potholes at Gleaston - around the Riddings Lane area, near the farm at the bottom of the lane.  The clerk was asked to write to Cumbria Highways and ask them to address the issue.

Cllr. Greaves raised the issue of road sweeping and expressed his disappointment at the continuing lack of road sweeping services in the outlying villages.  The clerk was asked to write to SLDC in the first instance to ask about this.

11.              To receive reports not included in the above items from the County and District Councillors.

No report received.  The clerk admitted that he’d forgotten to send the agenda to Dist. Cllr. Airey.

12.              Liaison with Cumbria County Council.

The clerk reported on an-e-mail exchange between him and Joan Stocker, ex-leader of the Liberal Democrat party in Cumbria County Council.  Ms. Stocker said that she’d asked Cllr. Hemingway to contact the Parish Council to answer the criticisms levelled at him.  The clerk said that no contact had been received.  As Cllr. Hemingway is not standing for this ward at the forthcoming elections, it was agreed that no further action should be taken.  However, the Council are keen to make links with whoever should be elected in June.  The list of candidates is not yet known.

13.              Handyman.

The Council discussed the work done by Mr. Davis at Leece playground and the letter he issued regarding the overhaul of the area.  Three of the Councillors held a site visit prior to the meeting and agreed that they were not happy with the effort or approach of Mr. Davis and asked to the clerk to liaise with Crest Recruitment to find a replacement.  The clerk reported that he’d left a number of messages on Mr. Davis’s answering service asking him to ring back but no response had been received.

14.              Playground updates.

The clerk reported that Mr. Rushton has advised him that the hand mower at Baycliff is beyond repair and a new one has been ordered from Armers.

Cllr. Baumber reported that she had contacted a bark supplier in Penrith and discovered that they charge £25.90 per m³ + VAT plus £70.00 delivery.  Their minimum order is 4m³.  The order for both Scales and Leece playgrounds would be held over for discussion in May.

15.              To discuss the forthcoming Annual General Meeting to be held in May.

The Council considered who they would like to invite as guest speaker for their annual general meeting in May.  The clerk was asked to contact Susannah Bleakley from Morecambe Bay Partnership with a view to her coming to give a talk.  The Council recognised the Partnership’s important work in this area and would be interested in hearing more about their work.

In the event of Ms. Bleakley not being available, the Council suggested that someone from the local Sports Development agency or the Air Ambulance as alternatives.

16.              Appointing a new Councillor.

The clerk said he’d spoken to the person from Leece who’d expressed an interest in becoming a Councillor – she feels that she would not be able to devote the time required to be an effective councillor.

He will also contact the interested person in Roosebeck to ascertain her position on the matter.

Cllr. Butler said that she has had conversations with a third interested party in Newbiggin about becoming a Councillor.  She will investigate this further.

17.              Liaison with Urswick Parish Council.

This is a standing item on the agenda.  The clerk had nothing to report.

18.              Highway Steward.

Cllr. Southworth reported that he’d tried to contact Rob Lawley several times by various means without success.  The council agreed that their initial positive opinion on this scheme has been diminished by the continued irregularities in communication and service.  Cllr. Southworth handed the clerk a letter outlining the actions he’d taken to try and get some information on the service that the Parish Council could expect to receive.  It was noted that Parish Councils were specifically invited to attend a launch event for this service where it was announced that close working with Parish Councils was vital for the success of this service.  The Council asked the clerk to write a strong letter to Mr. Lawley explaining its view of the service and Mr Lawley’s performance as manager; and asking for his views on the future of the Highway Steward scheme.

19.              To receive feedback on the LAP meeting in February.

Cllrs. Greaves and Southworth attended a consultation event for Local Area Partnerships held by SLDC in February.  Their feeling was that this is, in principle, a good idea.  The concept is to split the Council’s geographical district into “areas” and asking the Parish and Town Councils within the areas to liaise as a unit.  The Areas would have more influence in taking action on common issues.  However, Cllrs. Greaves and Southworth noted that certain local Parish Councils were absent from the event.  This gave rise to concerns that if only one Parish or Town Council didn’t engage with the process the whole thing would fall apart.  Further information would be received after SLDC had processed the feedback on this phase of consultation.

20.              Accounts.

The following accounts were approved for payment by the Council.

To Gleaston village hall committee for hall hire 2009/10                                £250.00

To Russell Rushton for petrol for Baycliff mower                                          £46.96

Clerk’s April salary                                                                                          £388.58

The following monies were received.

Scales collection box                                                                                      £23.48

21.              To sign the account books and the 2008/09 Audit.

The clerk reported that he’d done a lot of work over the last month to get the accounts ready for this year’s audit.  The timetable set by the external auditor, BDO Stoy Hayward, had been brought forward two months from last year so there was no room for slippage.  The Chairman signed the Accounts book for 2008/09 as a correct record.  The Clerk has signed the Statement of Accounts, and the Statement of Assurance section of the audit form was completed and signed by the Chairman and Clerk. The Clerk will take the books to Mike Phipps who has kindly agreed to be the Council’s internal auditor for the year.

22.              To review the Council’s Standing Orders, Financial Regulations and Risk Assessment.

The clerk reported that he’d ordered an accident book as agreed at a previous meeting.  The clerk will hold the book.  It was noted that a formal process of reporting accidents should be formulated and agreed.  The clerk will put together a draft accident process for discussion.

The Council noted that there should be a lifebelt at Leece Tarn.  Cllr. Butler has one that can be installed – she will liaise with the clerk and the next handyman to get this installed.

23.              Correspondence.

Various pieces of correspondence have been received including:-

·         Information regarding Public Sector equality duties.  This should be discussed in greater depth at a future meeting.

·         Notification from Cumbria County Council re: the modification of a public right of way at Newbiggin near Sea Wood.

·         The clerk’s resignation.  The clerk has already let the Council know that he intends to move out of the area and tendered his resignation at the meeting.  The Council accepted and will begin the process of appointing a new clerk.

 

24.              To receive items for the next agenda.

·         Disposal of items currently in lay-by on A5087 leaving Baycliff towards Ulverston.

·         Appointing a new Councillor.

·         Liaise with PCSO Madden re: crash barrier at Scales.

·         Bark at Scales and Leece playgrounds.

·         Handyman.

·         Aldingham toilets.

·         Footpaths.

·         Appointing a new clerk.

25.              To confirm that the Annual Parish meeting will be held in Gleaston Village Hall on Monday 18th May  2009 at 7.00pm., and that the Annual Meeting of Aldingham Parish Council will follow this at 7.45pm.

Agreed.