Parish Council Minutes - September 2012

Minutes of the Threlkeld Parish Council Meeting held in the Village Hall on Tuesday 22^nd September at 7.30pm.

Present:  Cllr Carolyn Cripps chaired the meeting, with Cllr Guy Duxbury, Cllr Roger Bragg, ,  Cllr Les Dalzell, Cllr Trevor Roberts, and Cllr David Huxley.  Lizzie Phipson attended to discuss item 15, and left

1. Apologies
   • Cllr Donald Angus, Cllr Tim Foster & Cllr Bert Richardson
2. Minutes
   • To authorise the Chairperson to sign the minutes of the Council meeting held on 24 July as a true record.  (Circulated prior to meeting).
3. Declarations of Interest

• Cllr Roger Bragg – Item 14 – Cllr Bragg took no part in this discussion. 

4. Members of Public to Speak if present
   • Cllr David Huxley reported back on the Eden Association of Local Councils, as item 20, with Cllr Trevor Roberts.
   • Cllr David Huxley mentioned correspondence from the Environment Agency, which the Parish Council had not received, he would see if he was able to send this on. 
   • Footway / Street lighting – if there are lights which need reported, to contact Cllr David Huxley.  The light opposite The Salutation Inn was mentioned as this has still not been repaired. 
   • 4G – The Clerk to chase our broadband champion for an update on this.
5. New Parish Councillor
   • The advertisement of Parish Councillor vacancy was discussed, and it was revealed that three village residents were interested in the vacancy.  It was decided that the fairest way to decide who was to become the Parish Councillor was to have an anonymous vote.  The Clerk to write to inform the interested parties of the outcome, and to contact the new Parish Councillor.   
6. Website
   • The email received by a B & B owner was discussed, and responses were discussed.  The Clerk to respond to the email, alongside the Chair. 
   • The Clerk to send friendly reminders to those who have not paid.
7. Guardhouse Gates
   • The grant application for this is been declined, due to the Parish Council not being the landowner. The Clerk to contact the Highways department and see if this is something which they would be able to arrange the repair of. 
8. Parish Online Newsletter
   • The Clerk reported back that you had to enter the payment details for the subscription before you can get your “free Trial”.  The Clerk to email the partied responsible for this to see if there was any other was to access this prior to paying.
9. Eden Rivers Trust
   • The Chair reported that she had a meeting on Thursday with Ian Creighton from Eden Rivers Trust, and welcomed any other Councillors who wished to attend. The Chair to report back at the next meeting. 
10. Cumbria in Bloom
    • Threlkeld did very well again in Cumbria in Bloom, getting 2 runner up awards, in Large village and landscape gardening.  The Clerk to publish a Thank you in the Beneath Blencathra, and write a letter congratulating the resident whose garden was the runner up in the landscape gardening section.
11. Flooding
    • The meeting with the Environment Agency was discussed, and it was decided that the Clerk to contact EDC to rearrange for the representative to meet with the Parish Council due to their non attendance at the previous meeting. 
    • The clerk to obtain a copy of the report which had been complete regarding the flooding and contamination at the Cricket Pitch. 
    • Cllr David Huxley mentioned a letter from the Environment Agency regarding the toxicity of ghylls and rivers.  David to try to obtain a copy for the Parish Council, and the Clerk to distribute if possible.    (as item 4)
12. Plastics skip and garden waste skip
    • The Clerk reported that EDC have emailed stating that they have no responsibility for this.  The Clerk to contact EDC regarding this, as it is not the responsibility of the Parish Council or the Village Hall. 
    • The skips need to be relocated before the end of November.
    • The Clerk to research who arranges the garden skip in surrounding villages, and see if Threlkeld can be “linked in” on these collections, as the garden waste skip at Threlkeld is due to end in the next few months. 
    • The Clerk to research any other contractors who may be willing to carry on this service. 
13. Ideas for School interaction within the Parish
    • To place on the next agenda. 
14. Mr Pickering Letter
    • The letter received at the last meeting was discussed, alongside a letter received at tonight’s meeting.  Points were discussed, and it was decided for the Clerk to write to Mr Pickering stating that in future if he has any concerns regarding the Parish Council it may be beneficial for all parties that he attend a parish council meeting.
    • Regarding the point in Mr Pickering’s letter about the notice boards, and where the Agenda is displayed, it was decided for the Clerk to gain advice as to whether planning permission would be required, who the land owner was, and prices for a new lockable notice board, to be situated in a more central location in the village, which would only be available for use by the Parish Council, and to look into the practicalities of this. 
15. Beneath Blencathra
    • The editor of the Beneath Blencathra was discussed, and it was decided that if the editor receives letters in the future for her to suggest firstly that they contact the person / group which the letter is regarding, if it is decided for the letter to be printed in the Beneath Blencathra, then the editor to allow the person / group which the letter concerns an opportunity to respond to the letter in the same edition of the Beneath Blencathra.  The editor
    • The December edition of Beneath Blencathra was discussed, and it was decided to delay this edition by 2 weeks, to enable various village events which take part in early December to be reported on. 
16. Village Hall Revitalisation Scheme update
    • Cllr Trevor Roberts updated the Parish Council on the progress of the Village Hall Revitalisation Scheme, he reported that the Big Lottery Grant had been successful, and the Parish Council congratulated this and  thanked Cllr Trevor Roberts and all others involved for their input and help in it. 
17. Finance

Please note monies received before / at meeting:

• Car Parking - £103.12
• Donation – £15.00
• Website - £25.00

18. Planning Applications & Permissions
    • LDNPA -7/2012/3072 – Land adjacent to The Paddock – comments as per the emails received prior to the meeting.
    • LDNPA – 7/2012/3062 – 6 The Croft – no comments
    • LDNPA – 7/2012/3083 – Threlkeld Hall – no comments
19. Correspondence

• To note items of correspondence received since the last meeting if available
  • West Cumbria MRWS – The Final Report – the Clerk to contact Cllr Bert Richardson reiterating the Parish Councils opinion on this matter.
  • The Local Government Boundary Commission – Electoral Review of Cumbria: Final Recommendations
  • Society of Local Council Clerks
  • Audit Commission

20. Reps. Reports
    • Cllr Trevor Roberts (and Cllr David Huxley) attended the Eden Association of Local Councils meeting, and discussed the following with the Parish Council:
      • The Declarations of Interest need to be published online – hopefully EDC will give Electronic copies or a link to where that have them online.
      • Parish Council Standards – the Clerk and Cllr Trevor Roberts to research
      • Appendix 1 seems to be missing from the email from CALC – The Clerk & Cllr Roberts to look into this.
      • Code of Conduct Training – Clerk to look into this and attend.
      • Flood Protection – Sand bags situated near grit bin

21. Matters to be placed on the next agenda

• As above
• Emergency planning / responses

22. Date of the next meeting
    • The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Tuesday 23^rd October 2012

The meeting was closed by the Chair – Cllr Carolyn Cripps at 10.05pm