Minutes of Council Meeting held on 4 April 2011 Cont….
ULVERSTON TOWN COUNCIL
MINUTES of the Proceedings of the Meeting
of Ulverston Town Council held in the Town Hall, Ulverston
on 4 April 2011 at 7.15.p.m.
PRESENT : Councillors P. Lister (Chairman), J. Airey, N. Bishop-Rowe, J Hancock, C. Hodgson, M. Hornby, J. Jenkinson, P. Jones, B. Marr, J. Prosser, J. Rice, T. Watson, B. Wilkinson, C. Williams, R. Gill.
Also Present : The Town Clerk, Sgt S. Flett, Press (1), Public (18)
P.335. APOLOGIES AND REASONS FOR ABSENCE :
Cllrs. H. Irving (personal), J. Pickthall (personal), A. Rigg (personal).
P.336. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST :
Cllrs. J. Jenkinson and B. Wilkinson declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 6, with regard to planning applications as a member of the District Council Planning Committee and would not be taking part in the discussions or in voting.
Cllrs. J. Prosser and C. Williams declared a personal interest in Agenda item 8, with regard to SLDC Land Allocations Consultation.
Cllr. M. Hornby declared a personal interest in planning application SL/11/0164.
P.337. TOWN MAYOR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS :
The Mayor drew attention to the following:
· He had recently met with the Rotarians and the Furness Lions Club and was very impressed with how they are organised.
· The recent death of Lionel Denham, former town clerk of Ulverston in the early 1980’s, who would be sadly missed in the community.
· Introduction of an additional agenda item, inadvertently omitted, regarding County / District Councillors and Police, to follow approval of the Minutes. This was agreed.
· Agenda item no.15 and 16 to be Closed Session Items in view of financial and contractual information. This was agreed. The Mayor then invited Cllr. Hancock to make a statement about the Ulverston Carnival. Cllr. Hancock said that the Carnival would go ahead this summer, despite police costs and other factors. There had been long and constructive discussions with the police and Cllr. Hancock thanked Inspector Spedding and Sergeant Flett for their advice. There was a need to maintain road closures for safety, sufficient volunteers, marshals and stewards were needed to man road closures to ensure that the event was not jeopardised.
P.338. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION :
Mr. L. Pye, 4 Meeting House Lane read a statement to the Council regarding South Lakeland Development Framework Land Allocations as follows:
“Mr Mayor,
I hope that this Town Council will recognise that, unless SLDC can be persuaded to delete from their plans the fields proposed for housing development, you are not going to be able to comment on planning applications for any of these fields in the future because the present proposals, if approved, will effectively give these fields immediate outline planning approval. This has been confirmed with the planning officers.
It seems to be a case of ‘speak up now or have your hands tied for the next fifteen years’.
I would urge, Mr Mayor, that you advise SLDC to abandon the proposals forthwith and let individual applications in future be considered on merit.
Thank you for hearing me.”
Catherine Saunders, 51 Urswick Road referred to a petition containing residents’ concerns with regard to SLDC’s Local Development Framework document. Town Council members were encouraged to read the comments that have been made by residents and to pass on their concerns and the petition to Mr D. Hudson, Development Strategy Manager, SLDC.
Jackie Williams, Ford Park said she wished to support item RN178 of the LDF on behalf of the Ford Park Community Group and would be looking for support from Ulverston Town Council.
Bruce Whiteside said that there was a lack of affordable houses for the first time buyer and it was difficult to obtain a mortgage with the existing wage levels in the area.
Russell Jackson, Hart Street said that he had permission to demolish the property at Canal Banking in August 2008.
P.339. MINUTES:
The Minutes of the Council meeting held on 21 March 2011, including the Closed Session Council Meeting were approved and adopted.
P.340. COUNTY COUNCILLORS/DISTRICT COUNCILLORS/POLICE :
a. Cllr. Airey referred to the work on the setts in Market Street and said that it was running behind schedule at present, although the standard of work is excellent. There will be a break over the Easter period and the area will be cleared.
b. Cllr. Jenkinson referred to papers which had been distributed to members regarding a recent visit to Ulverston by David Sykes and Debbie Storr from SLDC. All District Councillors had been invited to attend, although it was very short notice. A number of key issues were raised with concerns and actions tabled and council members were asked to consider these.
c. Cllr. Bishop-Rowe reported that he had attended a seminar on 31 March regarding young people in the community.
d. Sgt. Flett said that there had been 35 crimes in Ulverston in March, which was a downward trend. He said that Operation Santana which covered the operation and running of licensed premises had been a success. He referred to the monthly police meetings in the Library and encouraged people to attend. It was an opportunity for the community to let the Police know where they want their efforts to be concentrated and to give their views. Cllr. Bishop-Rowe thanked Sgt. Flett and officers for the work in the Croftlands area. He added that there had been dangerous and poor behaviour on bicycles at Croftlands. Sgt. Flett said that a Cycle Proficiency system had been introduced.
P.341. TOWN PLANNING :
(i) Resolved: That the following observations be made on planning applications:-
SL/11/0164 Oubas House, 3 Oubas Hill, Ulverston. The Town Council APPROVED this application.
SL/11/0178 9 Beech Bank, Ulverston. The Town Council APPROVED this application
SL/11/0214 12 Clarence Street, Ulverston. The Town Council APPROVED this application, subject to the views of neighbours being taken into consideration
.
(ii) Applications Granted and Refused by the District Council noted.
P.342. CORRESPONDENCE :
a. Setts in Market Street
The Town Clerk referred to communication from John Tucker, an Ulverston resident who had raised concerns about the work in Market Street and the affect on the town, relating to the traders and various festivals, namely the Flag Festival, Walking Festival and St George’s Day. He asked for the work to be halted until these festivals were complete. Members noted the comments already made by Councillor Airey.
b. Update on Potholes
The report from CCC Highways about work programmes and timescales was noted.
c. North West Ambulance Service
Application by the NWAS to become an NHS Foundation Trust was noted.
d. Low Furness and Neighbourhood Forum
A summary of the recent meeting held at Bardsea Malt Kiln on 9 March had been received.
e. Walkers Welcome Scheme
Information had been received from Mr. D. Bigland at the Walkers Hostel, Ulverston regarding the “Walkers Welcome” scheme. It was generally agreed that the scheme would be very appropriate for Ulverston, with an annual walking festival and the town being at the start of the Cumbria Way. It was noted that the criteria for becoming a “Walkers Welcome” community is a demonstration of local support, including endorsement by the local council. Cllr. J. Hancock proposed that the Town Council endorsed the scheme. This was seconded by Cllr. Rice and agreed. It was also noted that the new visitor website for the town highlights the many walking opportunities in and about Ulverston, including where three national walkways cross, The Cumbria Way, The Cumbria Coastal Way and the Cistercian Way.
P.343. SLDC LAND ALLOCATIONS CONSULTATION :
The Town Mayor said that although Councillors had made responses individually, the Council had not yet taken a corporate view. He read a note that had been received from “Ulverston First Time Buyer Group” asking for support for young Ulverstonians onto the property ladder. The Mayor also referred to the previous Town Council Minutes dated 21 March 2011, Minute Nos P.322. and P.325a. After various discussions, Cllr. Hodgson proposed that a letter be sent to the Development Strategy Manager at SLDC raising concerns by the Town Council and Ulverston residents with regard to the Local Development Framework document and the Land Allocation proposals. The current proposals should be reviewed and the land allocations are excessive and there needs to be a proportionate examination of the housing and employment needs for the town, including affordable housing. This was seconded by Cllr. Jenkinson and agreed by the Council.
P.344. ULVERSTON CANAL UPDATE:
The Town Clerk referred to his paper dated 30 March 2011 regarding a recent meeting with representatives from NPL Estates, responsible for management and maintenance of the canal. In addition, he referred to an email from NPL with proposed terms of reference for a Steering Group to take matters forward. Two Councillors need to be nominated and it was agreed that there would be one from each group. The Town Clerk will be informed.
P345. LOW BRIDGE AT NORTH LONSDALE ROAD:
It was agreed to defer this item to another meeting due to the absence of Cllr. H.Irving.
P.346. REPORTS ON OUTSIDE BODIES:
The reports on St John’s Ambulance, ATC, St George’s Committee and the Dickensian Committee were noted.
P.347. FINANCES :
All income and expenditure since 7 March 2011, including Salaries and National Insurance as shown on the Agenda were noted and agreed by all council members.
P.348. OTHER MATTERS :
a. Cllr. Gill referred to a recent litter pick on the Canal path on 27 March. Over 50 bags of rubbish was collected, including 2 duvets, 2 large sheets of plastic, deck chairs and many other items. Dog excrement bags which were full were hanging from trees and some bags were in the canal. One area that could not be cleared was the area of the canal bank, where the abattoir was once situated. It is an eyesore with a mattress and assorted debris deposited.
b. Cllr. Bishop-Rowe said that the Croftlands Field Play Area was almost complete. He added that maintenance of the paths in Lightburn Park was still an issue that he was discussing with SLDC.
P.349. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
Nil
P.350. EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC AND PRESS:
The Chairman proposed in accordance with Section 100a (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 that the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the agenda items concerning the future cost of running festivals and LAP Notice board costs, because of the likelihood that otherwise exempt information would be disclosed. This was agreed.
8.25 p.m. The public and press left the Chamber and the meeting continued in closed session.
Chairman
(The meeting closed at 9.03 p.m.)
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