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The meeting was attended by 29 residents, together with Councillor Glenys Lumley.
Commemoration: The Chairman started the meeting by asking those present to stand for a minute’s silence in memory of deceased Mallerstang residents:
especially Val Porter, Chris Alderson, Stan Bousfield, Tony Firth, Arthur Birbeck and Bill
O’Connor (all of whom died since the last Annual Meeting).
1 Apologies: apologies for absence were received from Councillor Trevor Ladhams, Dave and Margaret White, Keith Beven, Charles and Becky Cowling, Andy Butler and Zoe Harrison-Butler, Val Vamplew, Councillor Tim Stoddard and Stuart Marston.
2 National Park Extension: The Chairman reported that the consultation on the extension to the Yorkshire Dales National Park has been deferred due to the Inspector reopening the South Downs Public Inquiry. The Inquiry will hear evidence that may impact on designation work in the north-west.
3 Minutes of the meeting held on 1 November 2007: the minutes were approved as a correct record.
4 Matters Arising: Upper Eden Community Plan, the Clerk reported that the Plan is to be launched by David Maclean MP on 25 April. The Chairmen of the 17 parishes in the Plan Group will be invited to the event. Richard O’Connor added that a monitoring committee is to be established to oversee the implementation of the Plan and expressed a wish to remain as Mallerstang’s representative. This was agreed. Priority Signs at “The Narrows”, Gordon Hutton said that in his view, while the warning sign at the north end was correctly placed, the sign at the south end, which has been sited about a third of a mile away, is too far from the approach to the narrow section of the road to be effective. It was agreed that the Clerk should write to the Highways Engineer who had met with Parish representatives in July
2007 and subsequently commissioned the work. Parking at Victoria Corner, Nateby Road, Gordon Hutton said that the proposed parking restrictions had still not been implemented, adding that the proposals were in any event inadequate. Councillor Lumley confirmed that the County Council is applying for orders to restrict parking at Victoria Corner and at other sites in Kirkby Stephen.
5 Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting held on 27 February 2008: Gordon Hutton proposed that at item four line five, the words “some of” be inserted between “owner of” and “the land”. With this amendment, the minutes were approved as a correct record.
6 Matters Arising: Gordon Hutton said that he had been in touch with the solicitor who has been retained by the Parish and had been advised that he was unable to take matters much further as he had not heard from Giles Thompson’s solicitor. Mr Hutton added that he and the Clerk had recently made a joint approach to Mr Thompson, who had indicated that he had been preoccupied with his imminent move to Kirkby Stephen. He said that he would be seeing his solicitor in the near future and would be raising the Village Green conveyance at that meeting.
6 Correspondence: The Clerk reported that he had received requests for donations from the Kirkby Stephen Council and Community Centre and from Mencap. Gordon Hutton offered to take the former to a meeting of the trustees of the Mallerstang Consolidated Charities. This was agreed. It was also agreed that the request from Mencap be refused. The Clerk reported that he had received an owner’s consent form from the Wayleaves Officer at United Utilities for the laying of five metres of cable on the Village Green to provide an electricity supply to Ian Smart’s studio. Following discussion with the Chairman of the Parish Meeting and a site meeting with the Chairman of the interim Village Green Committee, a reply was sent to the effect that while the Parish Meeting has no objection in principle, the consent form should be sent to Mr Thompson as he is the still the owner. The letter also stipulated that the work should be carried out in such a way that the trees which have recently been planted adjacent to the site of the cable are safeguarded. The Clerk reported that he had received a letter from Paul Foote, Director of Corporate and Legal Services at Eden District Council noting the developments in respect of the Village Green and acknowledging his role as one of the Parish’s trustees. The following correspondence had also been received since the previous meeting: a pamphlet on tackling climate change from DEFRA, A Parish Charter for Eden, the Cumbria Rural Housing Trust Update, annual reports from Cumbria County Council and the Cumbria Association of Local Councils and the Cumbria Primary Care Trust consultation paper Closer to Home. A guide for parishes on registering land and a guide on managing open green spaces were handed to the Chairman of the interim Village Green Committee. A letter had been received from Eden District Council inviting views on options for new political arrangements. Councillor Lumley commented that the Council had engaged in hours of debate and is likely to opt for option one, a Cabinet with Leader, elected by the Council. Ian Murray said that it was unrealistic to expect the Mallerstang Parish Meeting to come to a view in the timescale available and proposed that the Parish make no response. This was agreed.
7 Reports by the Parish Clerk and Chairman: The Clerk tabled his report saying that as the Parish had recently been involved in submitting grant aid applications with regard to costs associated with the Village Green, it had become apparent that funding bodies require an annual report along with the application. In consequence, a written annual report is being submitted for the meeting’s approval. Under paragraph four, Highway Matters, Gordon Hutton proposed that at line eight the words “but still inadequate” be inserted between “additional” and “signage”. The Chairman proposed that the Clerk’s report be validated at the present meeting rather than held over for consideration at the June meeting with the minutes. This was agreed. With the above amendment the report was approved.
[See panel below for full
text of the Parish Clerk's Annual Report].
The Chairman said that his main consideration in his report was to thank all those who had worked for the Parish in the previous year, in particular the members of the Village Green Working Party, the trustees of the Mallerstang Consolidated Charities, the Red Squirrel Committee, James Kidd the Internal Auditor, Nigel McWhirter the Vice Chairman, particularly for his tree planting at Water Yatt, Councillors Ladhams and Lumley for their regular attendance, Tim Garland for litter picking the verges of the B6259 and the Tommy Road and the proprietors of the Black Bull Inn. It was agreed that the Clerk write a letter of thanks to the latter for providing a venue for the meetings. Finally the Chairman reminded the meeting that Richard O’Connor is not standing for re-election and proposed a vote of thanks for Mr O’Connor’s contribution during the five years that he had been Parish Clerk. 28 votes were cast in favour, with one abstention. The Chairman presented Mr O’Connor with a certificate commemorating “five years of excellent service” signed by all those present.
8 Election of Officers for 2008/09: Annie Gregory proposed John Hamilton for the post of Chairman, seconded by Nigel McWhirter. There were no other nominations and Dr Hamilton was re-elected nem. con. Dawn Dobson proposed Nigel McWhirter for the post of Vice Chairman, seconded by Mike Langley. There were no other nominations and Nigel McWhirter was re-elected with 27 votes in favour and two abstentions. Nigel McWhirter proposed Richard Tattersall for the post of Parish Clerk, seconded by Glyn Dennison. There were no other nominations and Richard Tattersall was elected with 28 votes in favour and one abstention. John Hamilton proposed James Kidd for the post of Internal Auditor, seconded by Nigel McWhirter. There being no other nominations, James Kidd was re-elected nem. con. The Chairman proposed that the Clerk’s honorarium be set at £50 per annum, as in the previous year. The proposal was seconded by Richard O’Connor and agreed nem. con.
9 St Mary’s Church: The Chairman invited Graham Carver, Churchwarden, to speak. Mr Carver said that he wanted to follow up the letter which had recently been sent to every household in the Parish by the Rector and Churchwardens. He said that he wanted to quash rumours that the church was going ahead with plans for an annexe without consultation. Mr Carver set out the case for the facility, which would include a meeting room, toilet and kitchen, stressing that it would be built in a way which would preserve the present shape and integrity of the church itself. The facility should be seen as a resource for the whole community and in this respect it is important to have a representative of the community on the church’s working party. Mr Carver said that as the proposal was at such an early stage, it would not be appropriate to seek a representative at the present meeting, but the June meeting would probably be the right time. When the project reaches the stage of a planning application, the church would welcome an opportunity to make a presentation to the Parish Meeting. Wyn Hamilton asked whether the proposed facility could be regarded as a village hall. Mr Carver said that that could be one of its functions. Stephen Alderson commented that the creation of such a facility was long overdue. John Hamilton asked if the imminent departure of the present Rector would have any effect on the project. Mr Carver replied that it would not.
Mr Carver concluded by advising those present that both the owner of the field immediately south of the church and the farmer who rents the field had agreed to a drain being put in to alleviate the periodic flooding of the churchyard. He said that as it is proposed that the drain takes excess water down to the river, permission would need to be obtained from the relevant authorities.
10 Any Other Business:
Red Squirrels: Annie Gregory explained that she was standing in for Margaret White, who is on holiday. She reported that permission had been obtained from Richard and Elizabeth Tattersall, Judith and Duncan Greene and Greta Naysmith for “red squirrel friendly” trees to be planted on their land. At present there are insufficient funds in the account to buy the number of trees required, but grants are being sought. Annie also appealed for donations from those present, adding that she had brought along red squirrel greeting cards for sale.
Mike Langley raised the issue of Highways responsibility for repairing bridge parapets over culverts, a section having collapsed at Southwaite. It was agreed that the Parish Clerk would write to Highways. Gordon Hutton raised the issue of damage caused by railway contractors on Birkett Common and to the Tommy Road. Richard O’Connor said that there were similar concerns about damage and litter at the Aisgill access to the line. Mike Langley proposed that a representative of Network Rail Community Relations be invited to the next meeting. This was agreed.
Gordon Hutton also raised the issue of the accumulation of mud on the road just south of the northern Water Yatt cattle grid, caused by runoff from the ploughed field on the eastern side of the road. It was agreed that the Clerk would also raise this issue in the letter to Highways.
11 Dates of Future Meetings: The Chairman said that the meeting scheduled for 19 June would now take place on
26 June, due to the fact that Richard Tattersall is not available on the earlier date.
He also proposed that the next meeting be held on 6 November 2008 and that the next AGM be held on 26 March 2009 (not 27 March as printed on the agenda). These dates were agreed.
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Parish
Clerk's Report for the Year 2007/08
Accounts: the current balance is £29.78. In recent years the annual accounts have been presented to the June meeting by agreement with the Audit Commission. This convention will remain in place for the 2007/2008 accounts. The year end balance is substantially lower than usual due to costs incurred to enable the Parish to fully consider the consequences of accepting the offer of the Village Green to the Parish. However, there is every expectation that these costs (and others yet to be incurred) will be recouped via grants from Cumbria County Council, and Friends of the Lake District. The Parish’s financial position will in any event improve during 2008/2009 due to the increase in the annual precept from £350 to £500.
Representation: The Clerk continued to represent the Parish at meetings of the Upper Eden Community Plan Group. The Clerk also represented the Parish at a consultation meeting on the introduction of parking restrictions in Kirkby Stephen. Both the Chairman and the Clerk attended a meeting called by the Kirkby Stephen Town Council and the Cumbria Primary Care Trust to discuss the latter’s “Closer to Home” proposals. In the days immediately following the Outhgill flood, the Clerk assisted residents in bringing Ward Councillors and public officials to site to advise on options for remedial action.
Village Green: While Parish Officers were initially slow to react to Mr Giles Thompson’s generous offer to gift the Village Green to the Parish, a working party was established at the November meeting. The working party reported in February, recommending that the offer be accepted. Transfer of title is currently underway.
Highway Matters: The Clerk liaised on a regular basis throughout the year with the local Roads Inspector, resulting in remedial action being taken in respect of blocked culverts, damaged verges and eroded road surfaces. With only qualified success, representations were also made to Network Rail Community Relations in respect of damage and littering caused by railway contractors. In July, a meeting between the Parish Clerk, Mr Gordon Hutton and a representative of Cumbria Highways eventually led to repairs being carried out to the fencing at Jenny Wood and Watter Yat and to the siting of additional
but still inadequate signage at “The Narrows”.
Broadband: Dialogue continued throughout the year with BT Openreach and other agencies, with a view to broadband technology being installed throughout Mallerstang. In January BT advised that the cost of installing the necessary copper wire infrastructure from the exchange in Kirkby Stephen was unacceptably high. Following this setback, the Clerk made a direct appeal to the North West Development Agency, the body responsible for funding the infrastructure. As the financial year draws to a close, a radical solution appears to be nearing completion, funded by the Agency i.e. the rolling out of broadband through much of Mallerstang where the facility was previously unavailable, by means of wireless technology routed in via Garsdale.
Richard O’Connor
Parish Clerk
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