2002/08/05
5th August 2002
7038 Minutes: of a meeting of the Silverdale Parish Council held in the Silverdale Institute, on Monday 5th August 2002.
7039 Present: Councillor Mr C.J. Eden (Chairman), Councillors Mr C.H. Beckford, Mrs S.M. Fishwick, Mr T.B. Fryer, Mrs J. Greenwell, Mr R. Henderson, Mr A.J. Houghton and the Clerk.
7040 Apologies for Absence: Councillor Mr A. Graves and Police Constable 874 Daley (Community Police Officer).
7041 Minutes: The Minutes of the previous meeting held on the 1st July were amended and then signed by the Chairman.
7042 Matters arising from the Minutes of the previous meeting:
7026 Report of any relevant matters by City and County Councillor Mrs S.M. Fishwick.
Councillor Mrs Fishwick reported that she had investigated the removal of the aluminium recycling bin from the village and had been informed that it was no longer necessary. Discussion of this subject was left in abeyance as the Clerk advised that correspondence had been received regarding the proposed new refuse collection system, which included provision for collection of recyclable materials. The correspondence would be presented under item 13.
7027 Carnforth Market Town Initiative. Councillor Mrs Fishwick reported that a meeting of the Steering Committee had been held on 31st July and another was scheduled for 7th August.
7043 Report of any relevant matters by City and County Councillor Mrs S.M. Fishwick.
Councillor Mrs Fishwick expressed her concern about the recent breakdown in the operation of the barriers at the level crossing and the fact that motorists had been crossing the line by weaving between the barriers. As there were understood to have been three similar instances during the past few years, the Clerk undertook to write a ‘strong’ letter to Railtrack. Other matters reported included parking on Stankelt Road right up to the junction with Spring Bank / parking partly on the pavement in Emesgate Lane / report on the AONB National Conference.
7044 Reports on Meetings
AONB Executive Committee meeting 17th July. The Chairman presented a report of the meeting which he had attended as the Council representative and which had also been attended by Cllr Henderson. A talk about the history of AONB’s had been given by Rosemary Budd and Ian Henderson spoke about the work of the CMS. There continue to be questions about funding and the work undertaken by the CMS, but it appears that the CMS will continue to be largely financed by the income from projects. A copy of the Draft Constitution had been presented and there were indications of strong opposition to the proposed review of Parish Council representation and the suggestion that this be cut from six members to just three.
7045 Parish Council Web Site (Minute 7031)
The Clerk advised that the site is nearing completion, which had been slightly delayed by an unexpected incompatibility between the wordprocessing package used by himself and the conversion filter used to produce HTML text. The site host is working on an adaptation and it is expected that the site will become operational within the next few weeks. The E-mail address “clerk@silverdale-pc-lancs.gov.uk” is now fully operational and may be used.
7046 Parish Plan Grant Application (Minute 7029)
It was reported that the application had been successful and that the first instalment of £2,500 is expected to be credited to the Council’s account within the next few days. The Countryside Agency had however introduced a grant condition which was proving to be somewhat troublesome and would prevent the incurring of any expenditure until satisfactorily resolved. The Clerk will defer writing to all members until compliance with this condition has been achieved.
Councillor Greenwell reported on a meeting held on Monday 29th July, attended by four representatives of the Parish Council, three members of the Neighbourhood Watch group, May Malteno from Pathways and Roy Hymas from the Countryside Agency. Three specific areas for prime consideration had been identified as being facilities for: youth, playing field and library. May indicated her desire to try to facilitate access to extra sources of funding for the youth facilities which the Neighbourhood Watch group wished to promote. There is also a need for early liaison with the pre-school playgroup and the library service. May had suggested that a Village Conference be organised for October, so that ideas can be put forward and all sectors of the community can make their feelings known. The Neighbourhood Watch group agreed to make a full presentation of their ideas for youth facilities, at the conference. A short questionnaire was being prepared and this would be distributed with the Neighbourhood Watch Newsletter. It was also hoped to be able to mount some sort of exhibition at one of the Coffee Mornings and to use the questionnaire as part of the consultation effort on this occasion. A meeting was arranged for Tuesday 6th August to agree ten priority schemes for listing on the questionnaire.
7047 Hall Bookings for Parish Council Meetings 2002
It was agreed that the following dates would be suitable for Parish Council meetings in 2003 and the booking secretaries will be approached with a view to making bookings:
Monday January 6th
Monday February 3rd
Monday March 3rd
Monday March 24th – Annual Parish Meeting – Gaskell Hall
Monday April 7th
Tuesday May 6th – Annual Parish Council Meeting
Tuesday June 3rd
Monday July 7th
Tuesday August 5th
Monday September 1st
Monday October 6th
Monday November 3rd
Monday December 1st
7048 Audit Return 2001-2002
The Statement of Assurance for the 2001-2002 Audit Return had been circulated with the agenda. All members indicated that they were happy to give all the assurances requested and authorised the Chairman and Clerk to sign the declarations on behalf of the Council.
7049 Planning
(1) Applications received since the last meeting:
It was noted that the following applications had been considered under Standing Order 25:
02/00813/LB – Land at rear of Knowe Hill Farmhouse, Shore Road, Silverdale – listed building consent to allow creation of a new access road alignment into new development – NO OBJECTIONS, however the Council would strongly recommend that the walls be taken all along the access roadway and be constructed of local limestone. Members would also ask that the pavement outside the front of the Farmhouse, should be designed and constructed in a manner which is ‘sympathetic’ to the appearance of this important listed building.
02/00826/FUL – Silver Sapling Camp Site, Chapel Lane, Silverdale – erection of an extension to the existing hut to provide shower rooms and drying areas – NO OBJECTIONS.
The following applications were considered at the meeting:
01/01408/FUL – 3 St.John’s Cottages, Emesgate Lane: retention of circular window in gable end – NO OBJECTIONS
02/00808/FUL – St.John’s C of E School, Emesgate Lane: erection of extension to form new classroom with infants external play area – NO OBJECTIONS
(2) Decisions notified by Lancaster City Council:
02/00221/FUL – Hazelwood Barn, Hollins Lane: erection of a summerhouse and modification to existing window – GRANTED
02/00536/FUL – 12 The Row: erection of a two storey extension to the side comprising dining area WC and entrance with en-suite bedroom over – GRANTED.
02/00604/FUL – land between 11 & 13 Townsfield: installation of rooflights and rear dormer to house – GRANTED.
02/00683/FUL – 18 The Row: erection of a detached garage – GRANTED
TPO 49 (1979) – rear of 18 Wallings Lane and also rear of Mole End, Wallings Lane: selective thinning of dense woodland by the removal of certain trees within W1, as marked with marker paint – GRANTED.
7050 Correspondence
Thirty items of correspondence had been received since the last meeting and were tabled for the information of members. The following needed further action:
(a) A letter had been received from Silverdale Bowling Club expressing concern about the condition of the wall abutting Cove Road. It was thought likely that this wall belongs to the Bowling Club and a letter had therefore been sent suggesting that the Deeds be checked. If this is not the case then the matter will need to be referred to County Highways (the Parish Council is not involved).
(b) A reply had been received from County Highways to the letter from this Council expressing concern at the traffic hazards on Red Bridge Lane. Members of the Parish Council did not accept the statement, in the reply, to the effect that there was no hazard which would not be consistent with any rural road in the locality. The Clerk was asked to write again, stressing the danger of cars being hidden from view, in the bottoms of the undulations on the straight section of the road and the hazard resulting from motorists trying to overtake in ignorance of the presence of an oncoming vehicle.
(c) A letter had been received from Morecambe Bay Partnership, which appears to indicate that they would like to list members in return for donations, even though the existing levels of communication would continue for ‘non members’. It was not considered appropriate to make a donation or to seek listed membership.
(d) A letter had been received from the Recycling Officer for Lancaster City Council, offering to give a presentation about the new wheeled bin and recycling scheme, to be introduced to Silverdale in October. The Parish Council will suggest that the Recycling Officer should arrange to give her presentation at a public meeting, to be arranged by the City Council.
7051 Roof of Bus Shelter
The Chairman had been in contact with two contractors and was awaiting their reports and quotations.
7052 Provision of a seat in memory of Mrs Annie Lynch (nee Webster).
It was suggested that the seat currently located next to the telephone box in Lindeth Road should be replaced with a new one dedicated in accordance with the request. The old seat could be offered to the Cricket Club.
7053 Reporting of Parish Council matters by Mr Richard Grave in the Lancaster Guardian.
Members have repeatedly expressed their concern about the standard of reporting in the “Town & Country” section of the Newspaper and felt that the time had come to make a formal representation to the Editor. RESOLVED that a letter be sent to the editor asking that the Newspaper should refuse to accept any reporting of Silverdale Parish Council matters submitted by Mr Richard Grave. The text of a draft letter, which had been circulated with the Agenda, was approved. A copy of the letter would be sent to Mr Grave. The current practice of sending copies of Minutes to Mr Grave would cease and copies would instead be sent direct to the Newspaper.
7054 Accounts for Payment
Cheques for the following accounts were signed:
1. Mr P.G. Challenor – salary, allowances and expenses £715.44
2. Mr P.G. Challenor – refreshments for Parish Plan meetings £ 4.30
7055 Items for Information
(a) Concern was expressed about overgrown hedges and the ingrowth of ground-level vegetation causing reduction of roadway width. Particular examples highlighted were: The Row, Cove Road, Hollins Lane and Gibraltar Road. Whilst it has become quite normal to express concern at about this time of the year, it was considered that the situation was unusually bad this year.
(b) Although Stoneleigh Court has now been adopted it does not appear to be included in the street cleaning programme. There is also a lamp standard which does not work and it is thought possible that it has never been connected to the electricity supply.
(c) The driver of the Shuttle Bus had experienced difficulty in getting along The Row because of the road being blocked by delivery lorries.
(d) It is understood that the Carnforth Connect bus timetable indicates that the 9.50am from Holgates Caravan Park does not run on a Saturday, whereas it would appear that the service has been reintroduced.
7056 Date of Next Meeting – September 2nd 2002