Silverdale Parish Council

 

Silverdale Parish Council

The Annual Parish Meeting
will be held in the Main Room of the Gaskell Hall, Silverdale on
Wednesday 15th March 2017 at 7.30pm

Only persons registered as local government electors for the Parish will be entitled to vote at the meeting, but the meeting will be open to the public during the proceedings unless the Parish Meeting, by resolution, directs otherwise.

AGENDA
To receive apologies for absence.

To approve the Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on the 21th March 2016.

To consider matters arising from the Minutes, not covered elsewhere on the Agenda.

To receive a report from the Lancashire Constabulary.

To receive information about the future of the library service for Silverdale .

To receive a report from District Councillor Nigel Goodrich.

To receive a presentation from Mr Andrew Frankish, Environment Officer.

To receive a report on the Children’s Playground.

To receive a report from the Chairman of the Parish Council.

To receive and discuss any matters raised by members of the public.

Terry Bond MBE
Chairman of the Parish Meeting

Before the meeting light refreshments will be served.
15th March 2017

11528 Unconfirmed Minutes: of the Annual Parish Meeting for Silverdale held in the Gaskell Hall, Silverdale on Monday, 15th March 2017 at 7.30 pm.

11529 Present: Chairman – Councillor T.G. (Terry) Bond, the Clerk – L.D. (Denise) Challenor, the Deputy Clerk – S.D. (Sue) Hayward, City Councillor N. (Nigel) Goodrich, Mr Andrew Frankish, Environment Officer (Environment Agency) and 56 members of the public.

11530 Apologies for Absence: Councillor D. (David) Sandiford, Mr Steve Lamb, Canon Paul Warren and Mrs P. Donoghue.

11531 Minutes of the Previous Annual Parish Meeting
The Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 21st March 2016 were approved then signed by the Chairman.

11532 Matters Arising
Councillor Bond reported that the policy of culling grey squirrels is going well – more than 1,700 have been culled in the Silverdale/ Arnside area so far and the nearest sighting of a red squirrel has been at Levens.

11533 Police Report
There was no representative from the police present and their report was not available, however, Councillor Bond advised that PC Massingham had attended the parish council’s ordinary meeting on 6th March and had reported on recent recorded incidents then. Councillor Bennett noted the importance of members of the public reporting incidents via 101 in order that the police have a record and Councillor Bond added that the police will always attend to 999 calls when the caller is reporting an offence in the process of being committed.

11534 Library Report
Councillor Bennett reported on the current situation regarding the library. Silverdale library was closed (along with around 20 other Lancashire libraries) in September last year. A Library Working Sub Group (made up of representatives from the parish council and the community) was set up to evaluate the feasibility of reopening the library and submitted an application to run the library as an Independent Community Library and Village Information Hub. Lancashire County Council have approved the application in principal and it is likely that the building will be transferred on a leasehold basis. More than 45 people have volunteered to help and 10 sub-groups have been set up to deal with various aspects of the library. It is not possible to set an opening date yet, but it is hoped that the library will open between the end of May and the end of June. Councillor Bennett thanked the public for all their support.

11535 Report from City Councillor Nigel Goodrich
Councillor Goodrich reported on last year’s road closures whilst work was carried out by United Utilities at Millhead and mentioned that the closures had highlighted problems with some local routes, in particular the junction of Nineteen Acre Lane and the A6.

He recommended that if residents wish to object to the plans for Whinney Fold that they write to Lancaster City Council (Lancaster CC), similarly, if they wish to comment on the Arnside and Silverdale AONB Development Plan Document they should write to Lancaster CC.

Councillor Goodrich reminded those present that the country council elections will take place on 4th May.

 

11536 Presentation from Mr Andrew Frankish, Environment Officer (Environment Agency (EA))
Mr Frankish reported that Silverdale is possibly the largest village without a mains sewage system and lack of treatment is an issue. Most properties have septic tanks which should be emptied once a year; ‘good’ bacteria (which regenerate naturally over time) are needed to break down solids in septic tanks and so bleach and other strong cleaning agents should be avoided as these kill the bacteria. The EA can provide leaflets with guidance and good practice for maintaining septic tanks. The EA’s “General binding rules” cover all new properties, businesses and any other need to dispose of waste water as well as existing properties and can be found on the www.gov.uk website. It is the responsibility of each individual to make an assessment that their property follows the rules. The rules are mandatory, but are limited and their enforcement is an issue.
In response to a question about planning and issues around extra waste generated by additional properties, Mr Frankish explained that the planning authorities consult the EA on new planning proposals and that sewage disposal is the joint responsibility of both the planning authority and the EA. The EA ground water specialist will check each proposal to ensure that the plans for sewage disposal are appropriate. Councillor Bennett pointed out that new installations should satisfy building regulations as well as planning approval. Mr Frankish advised that, currently, building regulations approval can be given by the council or by an independent inspector; the EA are recommending that Lancaster CC and the EA together draw up a list of approved independent inspectors who fully understand the geology etc. of Silverdale.

Councillor Bond advised that the parish council has been told by United Utilities that they do not have any plans (in the next 7 years) to put mains drainage in Silverdale.

11537 Playground Report
Councillor Bennett reported on the playground. He advised that the playground is inspected quarterly by Lancaster CC and weekly by the contractor acting on behalf of the parish council. Most of the equipment is about 12 years old, has wooden parts and is starting to deteriorate – an example of this is the roof panels on the junior multi-unit which needed replacing at a cost of more than £1,300; the wet pour areas have also been repaired in various places at a cost of more than £1,000. It has been agreed that the soft surface under the aerial slide be upgraded from woodchips to a rubber ground matting system at a cost of between £3,000 and £4,000. Funding for the playground through grants etc. will be looked at.

11538 Chairman’s Report
A copy of the report was circulated at the meeting and is appended to these minutes. Councillor Bond emphasized that usage of the bus service is lower than last year and reminded those present of the adage “use it or lose it”.

11539 Matters Raised by the Public
1. The need for parking in the centre of village – Councillor Bond noted that the Freemasons have offered their car park for use by the public on Saturday mornings and the parish council are looking at possible parking sites such as the Telephone Exchange.
2. The use of Facebook which was recommended as a way of alerting others of the presence of cold-callers in the village.
3. Mobile phone mast – Councillor Bond clarified that St. John’s church had not refused to have the mast in the church tower, but that Vodafone have found an alternative location. The parish council has suggested sites including Silverhelme Scout Camp.

11540 The meeting closed at 8.45pm.

Sue D. Hayward, Deputy Clerk to the Council
Appendix 1

Annual Newsletter & Chairman’s Report to the Parish Meeting

Silverdale Parish Council

Annual Newsletter & Chairman’s Report to the Parish Meeting

As the Chairman of Silverdale Parish Council, I would like to present my report on the Council for the year 2016-17. This is my tenth report as Chairman.

Parish Council
The Parish Council is the lowest tier of local government and plays a significant role in representing the interests of Silverdale and local villagers. With the austerity measures imposed by the present government and cutbacks to local authority funding the parish council finds itself having to actively engage with both City and County councils to ensure that this parish receives the appropriate services. Our Clerk, Denise Challenor supports all of us and manages the day to day tasks of the Council. The Deputy Clerk, Sue Hayward, is also a great help. This past year there were 172 items of correspondence so it can be seen these roles are important.

Meetings
The Parish Council meets usually on the first Monday of each month at the Institute on Spring Bank. These meetings are open and members of the public can attend to hear Council business or to express a point of view about an issue. Verbal reports are also provided by our District Councillor Nigel Goodrich. The County Councillor has not been attending any meetings with the consequence that Silverdale has not been represented at meetings in Preston and she has now been deselected. We hope to work with whoever is elected in May on a much more positive note.
The Agenda and Minutes of the Council are displayed on the Notice Board outside the Gaskell Hall, and available on the Council’s website at www.Silverdale-pc-lancs.gov.uk The attendance of Councillors at the past 12 meetings was: Cllrs, Bond – 12, Houghton – 11, Mason – 10, Williams – 9, Palmer – 11, Ribbons – 11, Bennett – 11 & Sandiford – 10.

Planning and Related issues
During this year, the Council considered 49 planning applications and made comments to Lancaster City Council, which is the legal planning authority. Some of the applications we have commented upon are outside the village, notably Cumbria, but which affect us all the same. Although we make comments, and sometimes objections, the City Council does not always concur with us. There have been times when we have objected on environmental grounds and the City Council still allow development, thereby disregarding the views of the Environment Agency. One of the major items this past year has been the Development Planning document produced for the AONB jointly by Lancaster City and South Lakes Councils which indicated sites for residential and commercial development. A welcome part of this policy document is that there should be no more caravan sites or extensions to existing ones.
There have been several contentious planning applications this past year, notably one for the Institute playing field, which upset some local residents, and another for the demolition of Leeds Holiday Camp and provision for 25 caravans/mobile homes. The latter is still under consideration by South Lakes Council and the fact it has been given time extensions to make amendments to the application, would suggest that approval of the application is likely. Given the commitment by SLDC to the Development Planning Document and the ‘no more caravan sites policy’ any approval of this application by SLDC would make the DPD meaningless.

Contracts
The Parish Contractor maintains all Council property, including over 40 seats and benches around the village, as well as maintenance of the playing field. The new contracts for this will be awarded in April The contract for the toilet cleaning was agreed at the March meeting, incorporated into this is the provision of free dog waste bags at three sites within the village.

Transport
After successfully negotiating a continuance of the bus service the council are awaiting to see whether funding will be available from April 2018 or if the service will go altogether. Usage of the service has not improved, if anything it is worse, and therefore it is likely that funding will be severely curtailed next year.

Community Aspects
The Council maintain good working arrangements with the local Police, the AONB, the RSPB, the National Trust, and local charitable groups.
The closing of the library last year created great angst within the village but the chance to take the building over has been grasped and we are close to completion of that project. With a large group of volunteers, limited funding and help with obtaining books it is likely that the building will be open several days each week for residents to use. Thanks, should go to Cllr Bennett for leading this project.
Following the floods of December 2015 funding was made available for villages to plan for emergency situations. The council made a bid and have obtained funding which enables us to make the Gaskell Hall a ‘crisis’ centre in the event of an emergency within the village. Cllr Sandiford has led on this project.
Some residents have commented on the state of benches throughout the parish. We are replacing wood seats with a plastic type wood, made from recycled milk bottles, as needed. The older bench ends have gone for shot blasting to restore their detail and will then be reinstated.
The playground has needed money for renovating equipment and a substantial amount has been earmarked for replacing the bark under the zip-wire with rubber matting.
A small volunteer group meet on a regular basis to help maintain the parish woodlands and my thanks go to them for their efforts.

In conclusion, I would like to thank all the Councillors, Parish and District, for their hard work throughout the year, we, as your Parish Council, will continue to serve this village to the best of our abilities and seek your support in doing so.

Terry Bond MBE
Chairman
Silverdale Parish Council 13/3/2017