Minutes of the Monthly Meeting of The

Minutes of the Monthly Meeting of the Moresby Parish Council held on the 3rd February 2014.

1. Attendance: Chairman Cllr Lawson, Cllrs Clarke, Coward, McGuirk, Troughton, Young, Ward Cllr Blackwell and County Cllr Hayman and the Clerk.

2 Apologies and Announcements: There was an apology from Cllrs Horricks, Conway and Pritchard

3. Approval of the last minutes: The minutes of the January 2014 meeting were agreed.

4 Declaration of Member’s Interests: It was agreed that should an item arise where it was proper for a declaration of interest to be made it would be done at that stage.

5. Ward/County Councillors. Ward Cllr Blackwell said that he had received numerous complaints about dog fouling on the village of Moresby Parks and he had asked that the district council enforcement team patrol the village. He said that in addition to dog fouling concern had been expressed about dogs being allowed to roam free. The clerk said he had received complaints on this issue. The ward councillor said reports of damages to motor vehicles had been brought to his attention and there were still serious drainage issues in the parish. County Cllr Hayman said that she had arranged to meet the Traffic and Highways Network Manager for Copeland to discuss the many road problems in the parish. She said that the county council officers needed to take action about road side memorials and attempting to pass the issue to the police was not appropriate. b) Public Participation Mr Sewell asked what further action could be taken at the old railway bridge where drivers simply refused to obey the priority signs.

6. Police The clerk said there had been no apology from the PCSO and she had not on this occasion provided a note of the logs taken since the last month. He said he would contact her and mention the complaint about the white van parking inappropriately at the junction of Dent Road and Walkmill in Moresby Parks.

7 Traffic and Highways The clerk said he had spoken to the manager for the Copeland area in the county council highways department who said that Gallows Lonning would re open before the end of February 2014. He said a local farmer had been given permission to lay a silage pipe under the road whilst Gallows Lonning was closed and that work was now being undertaken. The clerk said that in view of the concern expressed in Low Moresby over the closure he was surprised that no information had been provided about the early re-opening given that the parish council had been told that the work could not commence until the new financial year. Mr Troughton said that unless other action was taken particularly at the foot of Rectory Brow the problems on Gallows Lonning would recur. Mr Clarke said that the U 4009 Constitution Hill down to Low Moresby was deteriorating with the roadsides crumbling because of heavy traffic. The clerk said that neither the POPE report nor the Parton five junction report had been released despite his continuing request for a copy of the five junctions report. He said a draft POPE report was in the hands of the county council officers. Mr Troughton referred to the substandard repair work that had been undertaken on the C4006. The clerk said he had been contacted by residents of Tivoli Cottages about the need for a grit bin. The county councillor said she had already taken this matter up with officers and would again pursue both these matter.

7a). Budget and Precept. The clerk said that the council had provisionally settled the precept at £13300 at the last meeting when they expected a council tax reduction grant at the same figure as last year. In fact the grant would be reduced by a little over £200. Given this relatively small amount he had confirmed the precept and the result would mean that at Band D the precept would be £23.09 as against £23.98 last year.

8 Lengthsman Scheme The clerk said he was still in discussions with the district council officer. He said that so far as a permit was necessary to use the motor mower in the parish he said the council’s public liability insurance met the requirements.

9 Play Area and Allotments. The clerk said that he would make arrangements with the developer for a preliminary meeting prior to work starting. He said that he had asked Ward Cllr Blackwell to make enquiries about planning permission although he was sure that it was not necessary given it was to replace existing equipment. He said that Mrs Pritchard had confirmed that the rugby club car park could be used. The clerk said it had been too wet to press the contractor to start on improvements to the allotment plot discussed at earlier meetings. He said that he had issued rent requests for the coming year.

9. Planning Applications and Notifications Ward Cllr Blackwell reminded the parish council that he was the chairman of the district council planning panel and could not discuss any current application. Applications i) Alterations and extensions Round Close Park (No objection) Notifications i) Dormer window 72 Moresby Parks ii) Extension 114 Moresby Parks iii) Variation of Condition Anemometer Mast Castlerigg Farm Permission granted in all cases. The clerk said that he had written to the district council officer about the application discussed at the last meeting for a certificate of lawfulness suggesting that if they wanted a considered response they would need to provide full information. He had received a response providing the information Ward Cllr Blackwell said he would speak to the officers. The clerk said that he had received a further message from the district council about the continuing issue of the clearance of the site of the former St Michael’s Chapel on Moresby Parks Road. The e-mail dated the 13th January 2014 said that a further month had been given to the developer to clear the site. The parish council expressed real concern that the issue had been allowed to drift for too long. Ward Cllr Blackwell said he would pursue the matter.

9. Correspondence a) A product information brochure had been received from Glasdon Ltd

10 Cheques to be approved for payment 101057 J C Shaw (Salary January) £180.00 101058 J C Shaw (Expenses) £12.00

13 Parish Councillor’s Items a) Mr Troughton said that the latch on the gate to the path through Walkmill Country Park from the Old Pit Lane had broken and some trees had been blown down in the park. The clerk said he would speak to the countryside ranger. b) Mr Clarke said should it be necessary to bring wind turbine parts through Moresby Parks prior notice should be given to allow villagers to move their vehicles c) Mr Clarke said that there was concern on Moresby Parks about the Home Group system for allocating families to their properties. d) Mr Clarke said as a parent of a child at the village school he was very pleased that the school was continuing to improve. It was agreed that the council would contact the head teacher giving their support. e) Mrs Coward said she would report a street light at the old railway bridge f) It was agreed that the Whitehaven News could use the un-ratified minutes as they appeared on the website.

The meeting closed at 8.00 pm. The next meeting was fixed for the 3rd March 2014

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