Event List

MINUTES OF THE ORDINARY MEETING OF EGREMONT TOWN COUNCIL HELD ON TUESDAY 16th JULY 2019 AT 5.30PM IN THE SUPPER ROOM OF EGREMONT MARKET HALL
Present:
Mr Neil Ferguson (NF) Chairperson
Mr Sam Pollen (SP) Vice-Chairperson
Also:
Mrs Lena Hogg (LH) Mr Wilf Sibson (WS)
Mr Michael McVeigh (MM) Mr Ryan Fitzwilliam (RF)
Mr Stephen Bell (SB)

Mrs Geraldine Pritchard (GP)        Town Clerk
Mrs Cheryl O’Pray (CO)      Assistant Clerk 
        Mr David Southward (DS)                 County Councillor
        Mr Chris Whiteside (CW)                  County Councillor
        Two members of the public

56.19.20

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74.19.20 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
RESOLVED to accept apologies (with reasons noted) from Mrs Jean Lewthwaite, Mr Thomas Higgins & Mr Graham Calvin

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST ON ITEMS ON THE AGENDA
RESOLVED to be noted that:
MM declared an interest in all planning applications
LH & SP declared an interest in the Crab fair agenda item

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
A tenant from East Road allotment site attended the meeting to discuss a letter of termination that he had received which had been a shock to him as he had received no previous correspondence. GP stated that a letter had been sent to him stating that if no improvement was carried out, his tenancy would be terminated & at the last inspection, no work had been carried out. The tenant stated that he had been doing work and had spent money making the improvements.
NF thanked the tenant for attending & informed him that the matter would be taken to the next allotment meeting & he would be informed of the outcome. The tenant thanked the Council & duly left the meeting.

NF welcomed DS to the meeting who spoke about the following:
The new care home – The Gables at Whitehaven will be officially opened in September.
The new school campus was officially opened recently by the Princess Royal & DS reminded Councillors that the majority of the money to build the campus had come from the Nuclear Industry & the rest from the County Council
Nuclear Industry – the NDA are holding a briefing in Penrith to form a strategy for 2020 – 2026, the Magnox site which finishes in 2020 would take 80 – 90 years before decommissioning could start so they are to consider areas individually to be worked on sooner.
DS also mentioned the public accounts commission & the GDF, he confirmed that the sale of the former Castle Mount care home had not been finalised as yet & following SP’s request for assistance, he ask that SP forward him details about the beautification scheme at Smithfield
DS was then thanked for attending & he duly left the meeting & NF welcomed CW to give his report as follows:

Speeding traffic issues from Keekle to Moor Row – any work on this road will not fall into the current financial year.
Gateways at the beginning & end of Moor Row may need to be considered at the next budget meeting.
School traffic controls – no decision has been made but on the basis that most crossings in Copeland do not match the national standard, some difficult decisions will have to be made. Councillors are very concerned that the safety of children will be compromised if these crossings are not provided. Using volunteers was mentioned but, for example, the necessary insurance cover may restrict this being possible.
SP mentioned speeding at Gulley Flatts, CW said he would put this on the work list & request that CRASH look at the problem too.
NF said that the bank repair work at Rothersyke had not been done, CW said he would look into this.
CW was thanked for his report & he duly left the meeting

CHAIRPERSON’S REMARKS
Chairperson reported on the Cumbria in Bloom competition that was judged last week, unfortunately it poured down on the day but it still went well.
The Bowling Green looked fantastic & children from Bookwell & St Bridget’s School had attended to show the judges their beds (Orgill School had also planted a bed but were unable to attend). The Castle was decorated in an Alice in Wonderland theme & everyone enjoyed some light refreshments at the Mad Hatter’s tea party whilst the children enjoyed a game of croquet. NF thanked the staff for all their hard work & SP reiterated that the staff had done the town proud & a lot of positive comments had been received.
GP thanked SB on behalf of the curator who had really appreciated his help.
NF said that more help was required if the Council was to enter again, LH said the community & businesses should be encouraged to get involved.
MM was disappointed that a photograph of the Elected Mayor & the caretaker made it appear that Copeland were responsible for providing the planters, NF said that he had made it clear on the website that Egremont Town Council is responsible for paying for the floral displays in Egremont.

TO CONSIDER, APPROVE & SIGN THE MINUTES OF THE FOLLOWING:
RESOLVED to approve and sign the minutes of the Ordinary Town Council meeting held on 18th June 2019.

TO CONSIDER & REVIEW PLANNING APPLICATIONS
MM left the meeting

4/19/2044/0F1 Creation of three flood storage areas, Egremont
Amended plans for the proposed Falcon Club/ West Lakes Academy storage area.
Egremont Town Council requests a site visit to fully understand the amendments to the plans.

4/19/2243/0F1 Removal of existing garage structure, creation of new
garage base & erection of replacement fabricated garage.
Site no 12, East Road Allotment site, Egremont
No objections

TO RATIFY COMMENTS WITH REGARDS PLANNING APPLICATIONS RECEIVED BETWEEN TOWN COUNCIL MEETINGS
There were no plans to ratify
MM returned to the meeting.

TO CONSIDER ANY REPORTS INCLUDING FINANCE, PERSONNEL, CEMETERY, BOWLING GREEN, MARKET HALL, WEBSITE, ALLOTMENTS, DILAPIDATED BUILDINGS, HEALTH & SAFETY, CUMBRIA IN BLOOM, PUBLIC REALM & WC PARTNERSHIP

Dilapidated buildings
GP read out the update from M Key stating that the notice of intended demolition had been submitted & 15th July was the first day he could commence demolition but it didn’t mean he had to start on this day. A meeting will be held shortly with the owner along with a structural engineer to discuss the condition of 4 & 5 Market Place but it is hoped the current situation will not go on for much longer. SP stated that this was positive and going in the right direction.
SP raised his concern that Whitehaven get a lot of officer time & outside investment which the rest of Copeland do not get.
NF mentioned the old cinema site where some of the boards had fell down, MM said that he had contacted the site owner a month ago to ask that these be re-instated.
There was also concern raised about the half built structure next to the Wheatsheaf where work had appeared to be happening again but has now stopped.

Bowling Green
Report had been sent in by the Bowling Green committee stating that the painting & repair work on the pavilion had started & was looking much better.
The recent friendly game held on 2nd June between club members and Councillors who attended – SP, NF, TH, MM, GC, SB (& family) & the cemetery curator had been a great success & a lovely evening was had by all.
The inter school tournament took place on the 1st July & Moor Row School was announced the winner. The star player award (donated by Jacqui Smith) went to Lexi Park from Bookwell School & medals & trophies were presented by Stephanie Moffat an ex-County player and Bowling Green member.

Allotment
Sandholes – the pest controller had recently attended & reported that rat activity was noticed in areas around the site & not only in the plots. All bait stations have been topped up which will allow him to effectively monitor the situation until his next visit.
SB & NF had met with a tenant regarding the amount of hens on his plot, the tenants stated his intent to move some of these hens to his son’s plot.

East Road – RF had met with a Toman’s representative to discuss the crumbling of the path edges & the weeds coming through. The rep stated that the 60mm thickness was sufficient & the crumbling was due to there being no kerbs in place, he also stated that it was normal for strong weeds to push through tarmac.
To alleviate the problem, Tomans is going to cut away two areas of the path where it has crumbled, lay a more substantial amount of tarmac down to substitute for the lack of kerbs & spray the weeds with more weed killer.

GP reported that the allotment judging will take place on 18th July

Website
NF will train up SB so he can utilise & upload onto the website then he will train up the staff too.

Health & Safety
LH reported that the Health & Safety policy had been reviewed & amended & a training day will take place shortly for the curator & caretaker.

Public Realm
No update had been received from Copeland regarding this scheme.

Cemetery
LH reported that she had walked round the cemetery & she reported that people often said how nice & tidy the cemetery is.

Main Street Inspection – MM & GC
Need to chase up the war memorial quotes
MM had spoken to the old taxi office owner who stated again that she would not be spending any money on this building, a buyer would have to take it as it was.
Co-op – there is still a tree growing out of one of the upper windows.
MM mentioned that the roof on the Simply Drinks building is still an issue, at the last update it was being looked at but this needs chasing up with Copeland
TO CONSIDER & REVIEW CORRESPONDENCE
Copeland’s Review of Polling Districts/Places – Councillors considered Copeland’s proposal to review the Masonic Hall & St Mary’s Parish Centre but as these are well attended (as shown by Copeland’s figures), it was RESOLVED that Egremont Town Council propose to Copeland that these two polling stations are retained.
GP reported that a £100 donation towards the Christmas lights had been received from the Egremont & Heritage Centre, RESOLVED that a letter of thanks is sent.
Email from CALC inviting Councillors to become a volunteer who is prepared to lead a project for better internet access in Cumbria for the approximate 6% of households in Cumbria who will be left with slow broadband. GP stated that a public session was held in the past & not one person attended, it was therefore deemed that no volunteer was necessary.
CALC were offering additional training courses for September, RESOLVED to note the Council’s interest in the Code of Conduct training & the Managing trees training for our curator.
Email from CALC inviting Councillors to submit their views with regards designing a new Community Cancer Nurse Service for North Cumbria & dates of drop in sessions were read out – this was noted.
A well done card was received from a Thornhill resident to thank those responsible for providing the beautiful flower arrangements on Egremont Main Street, this was noted.
TO RECEIVE THE CLERK’S REPORT
RESOLVED to accept, consider & approve the Clerk’s report.

TO RATIFY THE PAYMENTS MADE BETWEEN MEETINGS
RESOLVED to ratify the payments amounting to £8,103.87

TO RECEIVE & APPROVE THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT AT 10th JULY 2019
RESOLVED to accept, consider & approve the financial statement at 10th July 2019 amounting to £14,066.23

TO CHOOSE A SUITABLE & ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT OF THE GOOD CITIZEN’S AWARD FOR 2019
SP requested the Council to consider another award to be given to a group as well as the award for a single person, this was thought a good idea & it was RESOLVED that GP purchase another shield for this purpose.

GP reported that there were two nominations which G Pritchard read out & it was RESOLVED that the single person award goes to Mrs Ruth Banks who was nominated by Helen Shipman Smith for her hard work & dedication given to the Egremont Fairtrade & local campaign group as well as helping out at the monthly farmers market.

It was also RESOLVED that the group award goes to Egremont Bowling Club who were nominated by SP for the hard work and commitment they have given to the club by totally refurbishing the grounds making it a beautiful area to walk around & successfully gaining more members to the club to help the continuation of this leisure facility.

Letters will be sent to both recipients inviting them to the September meeting to be presented with their award.

TO CONSIDER & MAKE A DECISION RE: THE ESTIMATE TO REPAIR THE CEMETERY GATES
RESOLVED to accept the quote to repair the cemetery gates.

TO CONSIDER & MAKE A DECISION RE: THE REQUEST FOR SPONSORSHIP FROM THE CRAB FAIR COMMITTEE
LH & SP declared an interest & took no part in the vote, the remaining Councillors considered the request & it was RESOLVED to donate £250 to sponsor the food marquee at this year’s Crab Fair event.

EGREMONT MAIN STREET INSPECTORS FOR SEPTEMBER (TO GIVE THEIR REPORT AT THE SEPTEMBER TOWN COUNCIL MEETING)
Main Street inspection to be completed by NF & SB and to report their findings at the September meeting.
COUNCILLORS’ MATTERS – AN OPPORTUNITY FOR COUNCILLORS TO RAISE MINOR MATTERS NOT ON THIS AGENDA AND NOT FOR DISCUSSION
Calderwood House – NF stated that the annual Calderfest will take place on Saturday 17th August in the Castle & volunteers would be very welcome. SP mentioned that Calderwood had requested the use of Whitehaven market gazebos but this had been turned down despite them being offered for free to the Crab Fair – SP will speak to the Elected Mayor about this.
There was an issue with overgrown verges along the Falcon path, GP said that the lengthsman had cut back some. Castles to Coasts & Westlakes had also been contacted to address their responsibility along the path.
The original closure notice of the Falcon path for environmental work for 6 months from 24th June has not yet commenced & the path is still open, NF said the path would not be closed until end of August/beginning of Sept. SP said there will be a drop in session held on 11th September which Egremont Councillors will be invited to & NF said he will raise it at this meeting to ensure that the Council & the schools are notified of the correct closure date once known.
The path at Croftlands – the lengthsman cannot cut back any of the path due to the japenese knotweed, the office staff have exhausted all options to try as the path is unregistered so it was passed onto GC & WS to look into further. WS said he had tried to contact GC but to date had not managed to reach him but he will chase this up.
SP reported that the beautification scheme at Smithfield was complete but the sign post has still not been painted & a bin is required. SP will chase Home Group up & keep the Town Council informed of any updates.
SP to email a date for the next litter pick
SP reported that the Farmers market approached him to ask for additional parking spaces & funding towards their micro bus, SP will take the parking issue up with Copeland & he will ask H Shipton Smith to contact the Town Council direct with regards their request for funding.
ITEMS FOR INCLUSION ON THE NEXT AGENDA.
Brisco Mount play area
RESOLVED THE DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING
Due to the fact that several Town Councillors are involved with Crab Fair, it was RESOLVED that the next meeting of Egremont Town Council will be held a week earlier on Tuesday 10th September 2019 in the supper room of Egremont Town Market Hall at 5.30pm, this means the finance meeting will be held on Wed 4th Sept. RESOLVED that the notice date is changed in the poster point & NF was asked to change the notice date on the website too, the County Councillors to also be notified of the new date. WS wished to submit his apology for the next meeting & the meeting was brought to a close at 7.50pm