Present: Carolyn Cripps chaired the meeting. Other members present were D. Angus, T. Roberts, J. Fleet, T. Foster, R. Bragg. Roy Fisher and PC Andy Holliday attended the first part of the meeting.
Apologies of absence: were received from G. Duxbury, L. Dalzell and T. Robson
Declarations of interest: None
Minutes of the previous meeting: these were signed.

Joiners Shop – No news.
Footpath from Gategill to Scales – no news.
Recycling Bins – Deborah Garnet would be chased up on this as it was an ongoing problem. The school would also be approached.
Safety Barrier A66 – A letter had been received back from Amey Mouchel. It stated that the safety fencing was designed to deflect when impacted by a vehicle, due to the physical restrictions at the site any safety fencing would actually deflect to the extent that it could hit anyone walking on the footway. Due to recent changes in design standards such an installation was not allowed.
Works at the Castlerigg junction were scheduled to commence after the May Bank Holiday, these had been delayed due to over-running works at Keswick and the need to control the amount of traffic management on the network at any one time.
Street Light at Fellside – no further news.
Cars Parked Outside Melbutts – Stagecoach would be contacted to obtain confirmation in writing of their concerns. PC Holliday said if yellow lines were put down then it was the responsibility of the Parking Warden to police it.
New Houses at Town Cross – No response had been forthcoming from Paul Foote, Director of Corporate and Legal Services at Eden District Council. An email would now be sent to the Chief Executive stressing the concerns of the Parish Council and pressing for action. No work had been done on the site during the past couple of weeks and PC Holliday stated that it could be a potential target for crime.
New Notice Board at Fell Side – No update.
Gategill Beck gravel problem – No new update.

Dickney – A donation box for parking at Dickney would be put in place, Les Dalzell would be asked to follow up on this.

Kiln Howe – Some rubbish/scrap had been left but would be cleared away. Correspondence had been received from the Environment Agency stating that the proposed works to remove gravel from the catch pit would be carried out by them on behalf of the Parish Council during the summer. The date for this would be confirmed so that it did not clash with the Cumbria in Bloom judging in July.

Red Squirrel Signs – Tim Foster had brought along the red squirrel sign, this would be put up on private land somewhere it could be seen upon entering the village.

Threlkeld Study – 20 people had attended the recent meeting to discuss issues and ideas emerging from the study and focus group meetings. The final write up of the study was expected from Len Cockcroft in the next 2/3 weeks. A summary of this would then be presented to the Parish Council.

April 2008 Parish Council Meeting – It was decided not to hold a meeting in April as the scheduled date clashed with the Highlights production to be held in the Public Room on 29 April. Any matters arising in the meantime would be circulated to the Parish Councilors by email and the next meeting would be held on 27 May along with the annual meeting. A note would be put in Beneath Blencathra.

Public Room Update – No news had yet been received from the planning authority regarding the pre-application enquiry. Trevor Roberts was looking into the legal and constitutional side of things and exploring more grant ideas. The Promises Auction to be held on 11 April was being well publicized with flyers and the Folk and Blues night was planned for 4 May.

Finance:
Monies Received-
27.02.08 £40 Beneath Blencathra adverts
3.03.08 £15.24 Barclays Bank interest

Cheques Made Out –
10.03.08 £7,696.25 Len Cockcroft – Threlkeld Study
12.03.08 £987 Green Design – fees and services

Village Hall Revitalisation Project –
Monies Received –
Total at end of January £7,145.90

27.02.08 R. Bragg, HSBC Donation £450
6.03.08 Donation – Annon £500

Current Total £8,095.90

Planning Applications – none.

Correspondence:
S. Cresswell letter to Cumbria County Council regarding Threlkeld roads and drains, copied to the Parish Council for information. The Parish Council had noted the comments and was in support of the points raised in the letter.
Berrier Windfarm Opposition Group letter. Thanking the Parish Council for their support in opposition to the windfarm. A donation of £50 would be sent on behalf of the Parish Council.
Great North Air Ambulance Service letter requesting a donation. The Parish Council currently gave a donation to the Pride of Cumbria.
Mencap letter also requesting a donation – this would be declined.
EDC – Parish Charter for Eden, a copy of this would be requested electronically and circulated to the Parish Council.

Representatives Reports:
Donald Angus reported on the recent Towngate Trust meeting and gave a breakdown of how money would be given out to the needy.

Tim Foster would give a presentation at the next Parish Council meeting on the proposals for development of the Blencathra Centre. Trevor Roberts was officially noted as being the representative for the Parish Council and would report back on meetings attended.

Carolyn Cripps noted that approx. £370 had been raised from teas held in the Public Room over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.

Matters To Be Placed On the Next Agenda
Joiners Shop

There being no further business the meeting was declared closed at 9.10pm. There would be no meeting in April due to the clash with the Highlights Production in the village hall on 29 April. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 27 May 2008 at 7pm in the Public Room followed by the AGM.