Mungrisdale Parish Council

Clerk / RFO: Mrs Suzanne Smith

Troutbeck Camping and Caravanning Club Site, Hutton Moor End, Troutbeck, Penrith, CA11 0SX

Tel: 017687 79149

(Draft) Minutes of the Mungrisdale Parish Council held on Monday 8^th November 2010 in Mungrisdale Village Hall

Present

Chairman                                             Lesley Smith

Councillors                                          Adam Beeston, Alan Bird, David Huxley, Jennifer Stevenson,  Michael Bohling, Bob Watt, Ronnie Wilson

Eden District Council                       Roy Fisher

10/071 Apologies for absence

None received

10/072 Minutes

Resolved by unanimous agreement that the minutes of the meeting held on 13^th September 2010 be signed by the Chair as a true record

10/073 News from Cumbria Police / Cumbria County Council / Eden District Council

Eden District Council

• The mobile library service is being cut by 50% and will only be in the area every 6 weeks instead of every 3 weeks.
• Penrith New Squares will be going ahead.

 10/074 Public Participation

The Chairman adjourned the meeting to allow electors present an opportunity to raise issues of concern or interest. The following points were raised:

• A cherry tree planted for the coronation has been lost and a request was made to the parish council for a replacement. The clerk will consult the tree warden.
• M-Sport boss declared in a newspaper article back in 2005 that following the takeover of Greystoke forest it would be a haven for wildlife which is contradictory to the forest activities of M-Sport.
• The land at Berrier where the caravan had been situated has not been restored. This cannot be enforced despite the visit of an Inspector.
• Philippa Groves introduced herself as the village agent for the Northern Fells Group. There are lots of activities being planned including a series of awareness days. Apples have been collected from local communities from which bottles of apple juice have been produced. These will be on sale shortly.
• A planning application for the erection of eight kennels is a concern for a local resident on the grounds of noise. The concerned parishioner has enjoyed peace and quiet at her residence for over twenty-five years.
• The mobile library service will be an item on the January agenda to establish its importance within the community. Philippa Grove will also make enquiries with residents.

No other issues were raised and the Chairman reconvened the meeting.

10/075 Declarations of interest

Lesley Smith declared a personal interest in item 10/083.

10/076 Accounts

Payments 

Resolved that the following accounts be paid:   

Clerk’s wages and expenses                                       As disclosed to councillors prior to the meeting

Mungrisdale Recreation Room                                   £72.00

Northern Fells Minibus                                                  £300.00

A Tiffin for Bowscale Noticeboard and header    £535.00

John Bennett Groundworks                                        £255.00

Monies Received

                Car Parks                                                             £219.44

The clerk informed the meeting that the amount given for car park monies at the meeting on September 13^th was incorrect and the actual total was £323.11.

                United Utilities credit                                     £27.25

Update on financial position

                Parish Council pre-meeting account balances currently stand at £7089.09

10/077 Agree Budget for 2011/2012 – Councillors unanimously approved the budget as proposed prior to the meeting.

10/078 Set precept for 2011 – Councillors unanimously agreed the precept level for 2011/2012 as proposed in the budget which remains unchanged at £2750.00.

10/079 Planning Applications Received

• 10/0848 Mr and Mrs Cartmell, Nobles Farm, Berrier – proposed kennels. A letter of objection has been received from a local resident on the grounds of noise. Following concern raised by a local resident, councillors unanimously agreed to object to the planning application on the grounds of noise.
• 7/2010/3086 Mrs F Southern, Marks House, Hesket Newmarket – demolition of wooden garage and shed. Erection of three stable blocks and change of use of land. Councillors unanimously agreed to support this application.

10/080 Planning Decision Notices

• 7/2010/3046 Mr A Vaughan, The Barn, Troutbeck – Change of use of outbuilding to form additional living accommodation ancillary to main dwelling. Permission granted with six conditions:

i.)                  The development hereby permitted shall be commenced before the expiration of three years from the date hereof

ii.)                 Unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority, the development hereby permitted shall not be carried out otherwise than in complete conformity with the submitted plans, received by the Local Planning Authority on 16 May 2010

iii.)               The accommodation hereby permitted shall not be occupied at any time other than as ancillary annexed living accommodation by the occupiers, their dependents and guests of the existing dwelling known as The Barn, Troutbeck. Should the accommodation be sold, let separately, used as separate holiday or permanent residential accommodation or otherwise disposed of separately from the main house, it shall not be occupied pursuant to this permission.

iv.)               All doors, windows and associated framework and all external joinery shall be finished to match the dwelling to which this annexe relates The Barn, Troutbeck. Such painting or staining shall be undertaken not later than three months from the substantial completion of the development or not later than three months from the building hereby permitted being first brought into use, whichever is the sooner.

v.)                The rooflights, proposed and existing on the south elevation, shall be recessed into the roof plane such that no parts project above the surface of the roofing slates, prior to the accommodation hereby approved first being occupied.

vi.)               The development hereby approved shall be completed in accordance with sections F1 (Mitigation Strategy and timing of works) and G1 (Summary of development and mitigation) of the Bat Survey, produced by Sally Phillips dated July 2010, submitted with the application received on 3 August 2010.

• Correspondence was received by the parish councillor from a local resident who was disappointed in the parish council’s earlier decision to support the application for a dwelling at Eycott Farm in Berrier. He also suggested that the parish council could do more to consult parishioners on planning applications. During the discussion that followed it was pointed out that all parish council meetings are public and residents are encouraged to express their concerns regarding local issues at these meetings. In addition notices are posted at the proposed locations and also in the local newspapers. For future applications the parish council agreed to post information on the parish website and to request the local planning authorities to inform immediate neighbours of any forthcoming applications.

10/081 Broadband Questionnaire and Conference – The survey results have been coming in and the return rate is currently about 52% which is encouraging. The average speed is 1 megabyte per second but this figure is inflated by a couple of higher speeds. The most common speed seems to be at around 0.5 megabytes per second. There is quite a lot of frustration amongst residents both regarding the slow speeds experienced and also with the lack of co-operation from service providers. A full report will be produced once the returns have subsided.

Representatives of the parish council attended a conference about rural issues on 5^th November which was also attended by about 150 other people from the county. One of the discussion items was rural broadband and some examples of how broadband has been brought to other rural communities were presented. One of the points highlighted was the usefulness of a parish plan and working with neighbouring parish councils in tackling some of the bigger, common issues. This will be an agenda item for the January parish council meeting.

10/082 Allotments The parish council has been asked by a resident to consider the possibility of providing allotment space within the parish. A parish council is obliged to provide allotments within the parish if six people request them, providing the land is available. Councillors unanimously agreed that in the first instance an advert will be posted onto the parish website to see whether any local residents have spare land they could rent out as allotment space.

10/083 Parish Stones At this point Lesley Smith left the room having earlier declared a personal interest in this item.

A proposal was received by the parish council for a project to renovate the Township Stones in the parish of Mungrisdale. The parish is rather unique in having such a large number of stones still standing although in order for them to be preserved some restoration  work would need to be undertaken. The cost excluding labour for this work has been estimated at £5000 and a request has been made for support for the proposal and also financial assistance. The parish council agreed that this is a worthwhile project and that the heritage of the parish should be preserved.  At the end of this item Lesley Smith rejoined the meeting.

10/084 The Big Society and Devolved Powers A conference was attended by a parish councillor on 9^th October which discussed what is meant by the Big Society at parish council level. The main objective is to remove much of the red tape surrounding local government in order to allow parish councils to continue their work unhampered. There was also discussion about parish councils taking on greater responsibility and how that will impact financially.

10/085 Cumbria County Council Electoral Review Cumbria County Council is consulting local councils on making local elections fairer by ensuring that all county councillors represent a similar number of people and that the council has the right number of councillors for effective representation. The parish council discussed the lengthy documentation and were referred to the recommendations by Eden District Council.

10/087 Noticeboard Update – The final noticeboard and header has been erected at Bowscale on the opposite side of the road to the previous one.

10/088 Highways Update

• New documentation has been issued by Highways regarding the Stewards scheme which raised several questions. A meeting has been arranged between the parish council and Mr Raymond who authorised the changes in order to clarify some of the changes.
• Salt bins have been requested but a team has to visit the requested locations to inspect their suitability. In addition to the two for the old A66 between the road end and the caravan site further requests have been made for Barrowbeck, Hutton Roof Hill and the bottom of the hill between Blakebeck and Askew Rigg.
• Potholes continue to be filled in.
• Some of the wood for the railing repairs in Mungrisdale village has been received.
• Following the discussion of the parish council helping the community during the winter snows a sub-group was established comprising three councillors. The sub-group will progress the issue and a special meeting may need to be arranged once some details have been established. It was felt that if feasible the equipment should be purchased in preparation for winter 2010/2011. The sub-group will operate in conjunction with the parish council liaison for highways.

10/089 Set Meeting Dates for 2010

Suggested dates follow the current pattern of the second Monday of the month and bi-monthly, as follows:

10^th January                                                                                                        11^th July

14^th March including Annual Parish Meeting                                         12^th September

9^th May including Annual Parish Council Meeting                               14^th November

These dates were unanimously agreed.

10/090 Correspondence

• CALC Circular
• Documentation supporting the joint EDC / EALC meeting to be held on Wednesday 10^th November
• CALC AGM Saturday 6^th November
• CALC notification of Local Council Elections, 5^th May 2011
• Highways Briefing on Highways and Reactive Maintenance in Eden
• Cumbria and the Public Spending Review – Corporate Plan Consultation
• Electoral Review of Cumbria County Council Consultation
• Lake District National Park Core Strategy Document
• Friends of the Lake District Membership Joining Form
• Friends of the Lake District Open Green Spaces Brochures
• Information from NextGenUs UK about the setting up of rural broadband
• Cumbria County Council Newsletter

10/091 Date of Next Meeting Monday 10^th January 2011, 7.30pm, Mungrisdale Village Hall