Beckermet with Thornhill Parish Council Mrs S Tucker (Clerk) 3 Wilton Mews s.tucker3@btinternet.com Wilton 01946 820607 Egremont Cumbria CA22 2PJ Minutes of Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 16 th September 2015, 19:00, Thornhill Social Club 1) Present J Edwards (Chair), S Meteer, D Humpreys, B Taylor, D McGhee, K Woolley, S Caddy, P Sherwood, S Tucker (Clerk) 2) Apologies P Manning, K Cook 3) To declare any interest in items on the agenda None. 4) To consider approvals of the minutes of previous meeting The minutes of the July 2015 meeting were approved. 5) Public participation None.
6) Finance It was resolved that the following payments should be made: To Pay Comments Amount Sian Tucker Clerk September Salary Monthly Salary - 339 Internet - 15 Travel - 8 Expenses Microsoft Office Pro Plus 9.95 Printer cartridge 11 382.95 Thornhill Social Club September Meeting 20 Playsafety Limited Annual Playground Inspections 244.80 BDO Annual Audit 174 Egremont Town Council Lengthsman Scheme 511.50 7) Budget Update The September 2015 report was agreed. The meeting noted that at 14 September 2015, the total spend was 6,084 which was equivalent to 44% of the 2015/6 precept of 13,871.94. 8) Progress Reports Parish Council Website DM reported the website was up to date although it was noted during discussion that financial information needed to be included. Action: ST and JE to prepare statement for DM to include on the website. It was suggested that a useful numbers page should be added and any information regarding planned road closures within the Parish should be included.
Traffic and Highways Report JE reported that the schedule was up to date. Although no Police report had been issued the Police had put a Speed Indicator Device in Beckermet in July and results have been reported back to the Parish Council. The results indicated that ca23% of the traffic monitored on Morass Road exceeded the 30mph speed limit. ST was asked to invite PC Burgess to a future meeting of the Council to discuss the results and any planned action by the Police. Action: ST to contact PC Burgess Lengthsman JE met with the new Lengthsman in early August for a walkabout round Beckermet. After considering the list of jobs developed in both Beckermet and Thornhill ST was asked to report back to the Council after attending the Lengthsman meeting on 17 September 2015. Action: ST to feedback after Lengthsman meeting Litter bins Thornhill SM reported the bin in the playground in Thornhill was not being emptied by CBC. It was suggested that the lengthsman could empty it on a weekly basis or if this was not acceptable the Parish should pay CBC for it to be emptied. Action: ST to discuss the issue at the lengthsman meeting and if necessary obtain a cost for emptying the bin from CBC for consideration at the next meeting. National Grid Connections Update The National Grid Co are holding community information events associated with the North West Coast Connections Project around the NorthWest. The event will be in Beckermet on 24/09/15. Ongoing Projects It was agreed that C Harrison should be invited to the November meeting for an update on his proposed playground improvements. The Copeland Community Fund are celebrating their 10 th anniversary this year. Photographs of the playground in Beckermet have been taken for inclusion in a video/film. It was agreed that a questionnaire to identify what Parishioners would like the Parish Council to focus on should be discussed at the November meeting. SM agreed to try and develop the questionnaire. 9) Play Area Inspections
Inspections of the three play areas in the Parish were completed in August by ROSPA. As a result there were some issues that were medium risk. SM will review the playground maintenance issues and come back to the next meeting with any repair work needed. It was hoped that the Lengthsman may be able to support the review and repair work. Action: SM to review the reports and status of the repair work already completed and to identify any additional repair work needed. 10) NuGen Update JE noted that PM and himself had attended a NuGEN briefing in August and that he had attended the Moorside Technical Group (MTG) meeting on 10 September as PM had not been available. At the MTG he had noted that the report on the Phase 1 Consultation should be published in November and that to support the Phase 2 Consultation planned for May 2016 some working groups would be set up covering specific topics (siting, transport, skills and environmental issues). From November 2015 to April 2016 further onshore studies will involve drilling 200-300 boreholes and carrying out seismic surveys. From March to July 2016, offshore work will involve drilling around 30 boreholes. JE noted that at the MTG NuGen had noted that applications were welcome until end October for Green Grants to encourage environmental improvements. SM agreed to develop a proposal for Thornhill and DM agreed to consider if any applications could be made for Beckermet. (Note that since the PC meeting it has been established that NuGen are still developing their ideas and that the application forms are not yet available) 11) Applications for development The following were discussed; CH/4/15/2354/0F1 Storage shed, Cop Lane, Beckermet CH/4/15/2359/001 Residential development, Beckermet Kitchen extension, Station Crescent Kitchen and bedroom extension, Branlin How, Beckermet The Council noted that ST had written to Copeland raising a number of concerns about the Cop lane proposal. It was agreed at the meeting that ST should also write to Copeland with concerns about the proposed residential development at Croft House in Beckermet where concerns had been raised about the safety of the junction with Old Church Road and as a result the need for it to be upgraded should be a planning condition, the suitability of the sewage system to cope with the development and the suitability of the road leading to the site where cars park to attend the
Reading Rooms and traffic has to travel blindly on the wrong side of the road. 12) Co-opt New Councillor Keith Woolley Keith Woolley was co-opted onto the council. 13) Playing Field Thornhill SM updated the council and noted that this will be an ongoing issue. CCC had said that they could not do an asset transfer for the field but leasing the field could be an option. An idea being developed by SM was for a large multi use games area to be located in the field. 14) Thornhill Football Club ST and SC have both spoken to Ian Wells regarding the use of the football club. There are still ongoing discussion relating to sharing the use of the club. Ian Wells has suggested getting a freestanding container. ST agreed to contact the planning department at CBC to discuss whether or not planning permission would be needed. Note that since the meeting it has been agreed between the two parties that they will use lockers and that a freestanding container is not required. PS told the council that IW would like to get a strip for the junior team and the Council noted that he should make a grant application for funding to the next PC meeting. ST will send IW a grant application form to complete. Action: ST to update IW. November agenda for update. 13) Meetings at which the council is represented JE noted that he had attended a meeting of the WCSSG sub group on Spent Fuel Management but there was nothing significant to report. BT noted that he had attended a meeting of the WCSSG sub group on Emergency planning and that a Draft Emergency Plan was due to be issued on 7 October 2015. BT noted that PM and himself had attended a meeting with the Copeland Mayor. A note on the meeting had been issued by PM. 14) Councilors reports JE suggested a meeting with Norman and Yvonne Clarkson to discuss traffic issues, NuGen proposal and any other PC concerns. It was agreed to consider this idea further at the October meeting of the PC. Action: ST to include discussion on October agenda.
DM updated the council that superfast broadband is now due to be installed in Beckermet in the Autumn 2015. BT had not explained the reason for the delay. SM suggested a new noticeboard was needed in Thornhill. It was agreed that it was not necessary to obtain three estimates as this exercise was completed recently for the Beckermet notice Board. Action: ST to get quote from the supplier of the Beckermet notice Board. SM to identify a suitable location in Thornhill. SC would like to the drains on Cop Lane to be cleaned/repaired. Action: JE to add to transport schedule. The council agreed to a request by SC to order a wreath for rememberance day. 14) Next meeting The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 21 st October, 7pm at Beckermet Reading Rooms