Mallerstang Parish Meeting

MINUTES for 1994

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF MALLERSTANG PARISH MEETING AT THE BLACK BULL HOTEL, KIRKBY STEPHEN 

ON THURSDAY, 24TH. MARCH 1994 STARTING AT 7.30 PM.

1. 16 residents of the dale were present and apologies for absence had been received from 7 others.


2. The meeting got off to a bad start. It was to have begun with a presentation by Cumbria Constabulary about crime prevention in the valley and the possibility of setting up a neighbourhood or farm watch system. This was cancelled at the last moment because police operational requirements called for the officer concerned to be elsewhere. Those present nevertheless asked that the police be invited to address a future meeting. The Clerk having given his apologies for absence for that first part of the meeting, the start of the business meeting was delayed until about 8.15 pm.


3. Because there had been more frequent meetings than usual in the previous year and because various current matters had been considered at the previous Annual Meeting as well as the routine elections etc., the minutes of that meeting had been approved at an earlier meeting. Nevertheless the Clerk offered to read them again if anyone so wished or to read the minutes of meeting on 27th. January 1994, copies of which were available. The meeting chose to accept both sets of minutes as read.


4. There were no matters arising other which were not included elsewhere on the agenda.


5. The Clerk and Treasurer's Report: The Clerk outlined some of the main concerns of the Parish Meeting in the previous year including, for example, the Review of Local Government boundaries which was now approaching its final stages, the establishment of the Rural Eden Local Plan and the present state of play on both the Kirkby Stephen Bypass and the proposed Pennine Bridleway.
He also referred particularly to two matters which would need to be considered at future meetings:
(a) The Mallerstang Parish Appraisal which was available for anyone who wanted to read it and which contained much helpful information about what the dale's residents wanted. He believed that it should be considered further to see if, and if so what, action the dale might wish to take on it.
(b) The Travers Institute situation would again have to be considered in the near future. The nature of the Charity placed a major burden of liability on whoever was the Parish Chairman yet the Parish had, in effect, refused to do anything about the site. Correspondence and discussion was continuing with the Charity Commissioners and the matter would probably be on the agenda of the next meeting.
The Clerk also asked for instructions on the many appeals for financial help which the Parish receives. The officers had long assumed that the Parish has such limited funds that it was an inappropriate target for most such appeals. Requests for assistance for directly local purposes (such as the recent request for a contribution towards the legal
costs of the hippy injunctions) were brought to the Parish Meeting, others were courteously refused. Should that continue or should each individual case come to the Parish Meeting for decision? The meeting endorsed the continuation of the present policy.
He reported that the Parish finances were satisfactory and in accordance with the draft budget discussed at the meeting in November 1993. The Parish would receive the 1994/5 precept in May 1994. The statutory 3 year audit of the Parish accounts was due in 1995.


6. Election of Officers: The existing officers were all re-elected to serve the Parish for the year 1994/5, namely Mr. S. Alderson as Chairman, Mr. A. McWhirter as Vice Chairman and Mr. G.D. Thompson as Clerk and Treasurer.


7. Appointment of 4 Trustees to the Mallerstang Consolidated Charities: The situation had been outlined in the Mallerstang Newsletter No. 7 which had been sent to each household in the dale earlier in the month. 4 representative Trustees were to be appointed for a three year term and of the four retiring Trustees, Mrs. M.A. Moore and Mr. E. Bousfield were eligible and offering themselves for re-appointment. Mr. T. Atkinson and Mr. J. Morphet were standing down, the former having served continuously since 1964 (and as Chairman since 1987) and the latter for several terms since 1967. The meeting expressed its gratitude to both of them for their long service.
As more nominations were received than the number of posts, a secret ballot was held which resulted in the following being elected to be appointed as the Parish's representative Trustees for the ensuing 3 years: Mrs. L. Alderson, Mrs. M. Atkinson, Mrs. M.A. Moore and Mr. E. Bousfield.


8. Frequency of Meetings and Newsletter and the date of the next meeting: 4 meetings had been held in the previous year and there was extensive discussion about the most suitable frequency for the coining year (always allowing for the possibility of an extra meeting if special circumstances arose). It was finally agreed to hold 2 further meetings before the next Annual meeting, on Thursdays, 21 st. July and 24th. November. It was agreed that the Newsletter should continue, going out shortly before each meeting so as also to act as a detailed notice and agenda.


9. AOB: no further business was raised and the meeting closed. 

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF MALLERSTANG PARISH MEETING AT THE BLACK BULL HOTEL, KIRKBY STEPHEN 

ON 24TH. NOVEMBER 1994 STARTING AT 7.30 PM.



1. 13 residents of the dale were present under the Chairmanship of Mr. Stephen Alderson and apologies for absence were received from 3 others. County Councillor E.R.P. Frankland was also present as was Sgt. Phillips, a Crime Prevention Officer with Cumbria Constabulary.


2. The meeting started with the postponed presentation by Sgt. Phillips of the possibilities and advantages of establishing a Neighbourhood Watch or similar scheme in Mallerstang.
His talk revolved around the various aspects of his job which he described as being "to reduce crime and foster and improve community spirit and the life of people in the community and to liaise in such matters between the police force and the people of the community".
He spoke about different aspects of crime prevention and reduction, ranging from the need for "locks, bolts and bars" (on which free advice is available from the police) to a greater local awareness of unfamiliar cars, for example, coupled with a willingness to pass on such information quickly to the police through a Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator or similar. That system could also work in reverse so that a warning from the police about some particular threat could quickly be passed around the valley through a "cascade" of telephone calls.
Both in his presentation and the following questions and discussion, Sgt. Phillips acknowledged some of the difficulties: the appointment of a suitable co-ordinator, the fear of appearing to mind other people's business, the difficulty in deciding what was or was not suspicious when for example, many walkers leave oddly parked cars for long periods, and the difficulty of securing co-operation with the police from those in the community who were not the constabulary's greatest fans.
He left a copy of the Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator's Guide with Mrs. M. Atkinson who agreed to arrange a further meeting of those interested sometime after Christmas to see what might be established. Sgt. Phillips or P.C. Anne Murray would be happy to attend such a meeting provided the date was possible for one of them.
The Chairman thanked Sgt. Phillips for his presence and presentation.

3. The Minutes of the 1994 Annual Meeting were read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a true and correct record. There were no Matters arising other than those already elsewhere on the Agenda.


4. The Clerk gave a brief report on parish business since the Annual Meeting, including the Local Government Review. He expressed thanks to the Parish Chairman and Vice Chairman for dealing with the affairs of the Parish while he had been in hospital and convalescing and for the good wishes and kindnesses he had received from so many in the dale.


5 The Clerk outlined the situation regarding the Travers Institute and Parish insurance which had now become apparent and which had been referred to in the Parish Newsletter.
The Parish owned the Pinfold in Outhgill and a small piece of registered village green near Dalefoot but had never carried Public Liability insurance in respect of either. A valid claim on the Parish could only be met by a precept on all the residents and, although the risk was slight, the sums involved could be considerable
Although the Parish did not own the site of the Travers Institute, any valid claim in respect of it would be the liability of the Parish Trustees, in whom it is vested. One of these is appointed by Eden District Council and believed to be insured by that Council. The other, ex officio, is the Chairman of Mallerstang Parish Meeting who has no protection against a valid claim unless he or she provides this personally, as the present Chairman had done.
The cost to the Parish of securing adequate insurance in respect of all 3 sites would be about £100.00 per annum and that would not reduce significantly if only 1 or 2 of the plots were insured.
This problem could only be avoided by either (i) disposing of all 3 plots, or (ii) securing an income from them sufficient at least to meet the insurance premium. In practice this could only be done from the site of the Travers Institute. Furthermore it could only be done if the Parish chaged an earlier decision and agreed to recover possession of the site and then let it off or sell it and such proceeds would anyway probably not be available to meet the premiums on the other plots, as they would be restricted by charity law to serve only the Travers Institute site.
It was reluctantly agreed: (i) to arrange appropriate insurance (at a lower premium if possible) in respect of all 3 plots, ideally by transferring the Chairman's own recently made arrangements into the name of the Parish, (ii) to reimburse the Chairman for the premium he had recently incurred (approx. £75.00) or such part of it as he could not avoid, and (iii) to put to a future meeting of the Parish the full details of all the plots and the options for dealing with them, whether by retention or disposal.


6. The Clerk outlined the current state of the Parish's finances and submitted a budget for the period to 30th. May 1996 as a basis for setting the precept for 1995/6. Apart from the possible insurance premiums referred to in the subsequent item of these minutes, he was recommending a precept for 1995/6 of £ 100.00 and this was accepted.
However the meeting accepted, albeit reluctantly, that the premiums would have to be paid for at least one year and that, if they were also to be paid in subsequent years, the first 2 annual premiums would probably fall within the budget and precept period being considered and would therefore have to be allowed for. A total precept of £325.00 was therefore agreed for 1995/6.


7. Any Other Business:
a) Concern was expressed about the safety of the Outhgill road bridge (which appears to be moving) especially in the light of ever increasing volumes and weights of traffic.
b) Concern was again expressed about the apparently ever more frequent flooding of the road in the Dale and between the Dale and Kirkby Stephen.
c) Concern was again expressed about the state of some of the roadside trees and hedges in the dale which are limiting vision and/or impeding and damaging vehicles.
The Clerk agreed to take up these points with the highway authority.

There being no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting.

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