Mallerstang Parish Meeting

Minutes for 2005

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Minutes of the 2005 Annual General Meeting
            Held on Thursday 24th March 2005 at 7.30 p.m., at the Black Bull Inn, Nateby


13 residents were in attendance, together with Councillor Trevor Ladhams

At the beginning of the meeting, the Chairman invited those present to stand for a few moments in memory of deceased Mallerstang residents.

The Chairman also asked the meeting to join with him in congratulating Carol and Stuart Marston on the birth of a daughter, Charlotte and Sophie and Andy Home on the birth of a son, Alexander.

1 Apologies for Absence: 
Hugh Eadon, Gordon Hutton, Greta Naysmith, Professor Keith Beven, Graham and Margaret Carver, Sue and Rob Bradley, Val Vamplew and Annie Gregory

2 Minutes of the Meeting of 4 November 2004: 
The minutes were agreed as a correct record and were signed.

3 Matters Arising: 
Mike Langley reported that, contrary to what had been stated at the previous meeting, Broadband is available in parts of Mallerstang, the Bradleys having recently gone on to it. Mike acknowledged that availability is patchy and unlikely to be available further up the valley. A discussion ensued concerning the poor service provided by BT to Mallerstang residents, both in respect of Broadband and the conventional telephone network. It was agreed that the Clerk should write to BT.

4 Correspondence: 
The Clerk reported that he had received the usual circulars from the Northern Rock Foundation, Friends of the Lake District, the Conservation Foundation and Voluntary Action Cumbria. The Clerk also reported that he had received the County Council's Draft Local Transport Plan 2006/20012, a letter from DEFRA concerning the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill and a letter from the Countryside Agency together with the Conclusive Map of registered common land and open country for Mallerstang (see item 9).

5 Mallerstang Red Squirrel Protection Group: 
Annie Hamilton-Gibney tabled a report summarising the work of the Group, stating that it had achieved its objectives and was therefore being disbanded and that the account (showing a balance of £164.70) which was also tabled, should be regarded as the final account. The Chairman pointed out that the rules governing the activities of the Red Squirrel Protection Group stated that at the end of the life of the Group, all funds must be transferred to the Parish Meeting. The Chairman proposed that the closure of the fund should be deferred to the June meeting and that the fund should be earmarked for Red Squirrel conservation. This was agreed. Annie Hamilton-Gibney said that she had been unable to proceed with the grant application to Friends of the Lake District in respect of the Travers Institute site. To facilitate the process, Ian Wade agreed to do the costings. She also asked for a volunteer to fix the replacement for the sign which had been stolen from Pendragon Castle. Glyn Dennison agreed to install the new sign. There was also a call for volunteer marksmen to "permanently discourage" any Greys that venture into the valley.

6 Reports by the Parish Clerk and Chairman: 
The Clerk reported that he and the Vice Chairman, Stephen Alderson had accompanied the County Council's Roads Inspector on a tour of the B6259 as it passes through Mallerstang. A number of problems were identified, many of which were dealt with promptly by the Council's contractors. It is intended that any outstanding defects will be remedied when the road is resurfaced during 2005/06. The Clerk also reported that he had been in discussion with the Project Manager for the resurfacing of the Highway regarding the apparent ban on pedestrians (as well as wheeled vehicles) on the section running south from Boggle Green. The Project Manager acknowledged that this had been a mistake and said that he would be coming down to alter the sign.


The Clerk reported that he had attended a meeting on 17 March to which all the parishes and parish meetings clustered around Kirkby Stephen had been invited. The meeting had been called by the Rural Regeneration Officer for Voluntary Action Cumbria and the Project Officer for the Kirkby Stephen Parish Plan. The purpose of the meeting was to invite local parishes to prepare a joint parishes plan, together with Kirkby Stephen. It was agreed that the Clerk should attend the next meeting of the group, to be held in May, and report back to the June meeting, before any decision is taken in respect of Mallerstang's involvement.

The Clerk also reported that the Audit Commission has waived its fee for auditing the Mallerstang accounts, in line with a new policy of not charging parishes with income and expenditure of less than £500.

The Chairman thanked the Parish Clerk for his work during the year, also the Vice-Chairman, particularly in respect of the road inspections, and also Annie Hamilton-Gibney and her group for their contribution to Red Squirrel conservation. The Chairman went on to suggest that as there is likely to be a surplus in the Parish Meeting fund at the year end (partly due to the waiving of the audit fee), a sum might be set aside to purchase a seat for the Travers Institute site. It was agreed that the proposal should be discussed in more detail at the June meeting.

7 Election of Officers for 2005-2006: 

Chairman: Dr John Hamilton, proposed by Annie Hamilton-Gibney, seconded by Mike Langley.
Vice-Chair: Ros Bousfield, proposed by Wyn Hamilton and seconded by Annie Hamilton-Gibney. (The previous incumbent, Stephen Alderson, had stated that he did not wish to stand again.)
Parish Clerk: Richard O'Connor, proposed by Ros Bousfield, seconded by Richard Tattersall.
Internal Auditor: James Kidd, proposed by Dr John Hamilton, seconded by Paul Watson.
There were no other nominations for any of the above posts and all were elected.

8 Mallerstang Standing Orders/Constitution: 
The Chairman explained that both documents had been drafted in the light of advice from the Cumbria Association of Local Councils and the County Council's Head of Legal Services. Reliance had also been placed on extracts from legislation governing the conduct of parishes which is pasted into the old minute books.
Financial Regulations: Amendments were agreed at 8.1 (which becomes 8.00 as there is no 8.2) and 9.2 (deletion of the final sentence). The Financial Regulations were agreed as amended with 11 in favour and two abstentions.
General Standing Orders: Amendments were agreed at 2.2, 4.5, 5.1 and 5.6. The General Standing Orders were then agreed as amended with 12 in favour and one abstention.

9 Conclusive Map of Registered Common Land and Open Country: The Chairman said that the map would be available for inspection at the end of the meeting.

10 Any Other Business: 
a) The Chairman announced that Keith Beven's annual musical evening is to be held on 28 May, with music provided by the Lune Valley Jazz Band. 
b) Wyn Hamilton informed the meeting that the travelling library visits Mallerstang every three weeks and asked the Clerk to post the schedule of visits on the Parish notice board. 
c) Annie Hamilton-Gibney reported that the previous Vice-Chairman had sought an assurance that nothing would be done on the Travers Institute site that would compromise any future decision on the reinstatement of a community facility on the site, an assurance which she felt able to give.

Dates of Next Meetings: 
It was agreed that the next meeting would be held at the Black Bull Inn, Nateby on 23 June 2005 and the one after on 3 November 2005, also at the Black Bull.

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Minutes of the Mallerstang Parish Meeting
Held on Thursday 23rd June 2005 at the Black Bull Inn Nateby

13 residents were in attendance, together with Councillor Trevor Ladhams and P.C. Roly Earl.

1 Apologies: Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Tim Stoddard, Hugh Eadon and Ian Wade.

2 (a) Minutes of the Annual General Meeting 24 March 2005: The minutes were agreed as a correct record and were signed.

2 (b) Matters Arising: There were no matters arising.

P.C. Earl: The Chairman invited P.C. Roly Earl to raise his concerns regarding motorcycle traffic on the B6259. P.C. Earl said that it was his impression that there had been a recent increase in the number of bikers using the road, and asked if residents shared this impression. There was general agreement from those present that there had been an increase. A number of residents expressed concern at the high speeds and dangerous driving that they had observed. P.C. Earl said that he would make representations to his colleagues in the traffic division with a view to the situation in Mallerstang being monitored.

3 Correspondence: The Parish Clerk reported on correspondence received since the previous meeting. An affirmative reply had been received to the Chairman’s letter to Mr John Goldsmith asking him if he is prepared to act as a volunteer marksman to destroy grey squirrels as part of the measures undertaken to protect red squirrels. Mr Goldsmith’s phone number is 71343.

 A Mallerstang parish profile based on the 2001 census had been received. The profile has been posted both on the website and on the parish notice board. BT had sent an acknowledgement of the Clerk’s letter complaining about the poor service experienced by phone users in Mallerstang, promising to respond fully in due course. No reply to a similar letter had been received from BT Broadband. The Chairman reported that Mr Raymond Cowperthwaite had complained that the Outhgill phone box was out of order. The Clerk said that it had since been repaired. It was agreed that the Clerk should write to BT to invite a representative to attend the November meeting to address residents’ concerns about the poor service.

Other correspondence: notice of a District Council election on 28 July, following the resignation of Councillor Mark Saunders; an invitation to a meeting of the Upper Eden Neighbourhood forum; promotional material from the Cumbria Asset Reinvestment Trust (CART); a guide to taking part in the Trafalgar Weekend 21 to 23 October; a directory of voluntary organisations operating in Eden District.

4 Proposal for Upper Eden Community Plan: The Parish Clerk reported that he had attended a further meeting of the group of parish representatives which has been meeting to discuss the Upper Eden Community Plan. Funding is likely to be available to appoint a worker to help parishes write their plans. Parishes are being asked to identify four or five key concerns and also to decide “where they would like to be” in five years time.

It was suggested that some of the issues facing Mallerstang are the state of the road, the poor telephone service, traffic, and red squirrel conservation. Without making a commitment at this stage, there was general agreement that the Parish Clerk should continue to attend meetings of the group and report back.

5 Proposed Amendments to Standing Orders:  Mr Hutton proposed an amendment to 4.1Those Entitled to Attend and Vote. He said that in his view, restricting the right to vote to those who are on the electoral register disenfranchises others who may not be on the register

but who nevertheless may be a member of a household in the parish (whether full or part time) and as such should be regarded as having a legitimate right to vote. The feeling of the meeting was that the amendment tabled: “All those of 18 years and over, a permanently residing member of a household within the Parish on which Council Tax is due to be paid….” required further thought, and it was agreed that the Chairman would come up with a form of words to address the points raised.

Mr Hutton also proposed inserting an additional clause, as an amendment to 4.5 Declaration of an Interest, which would read: “4.5(a) Anyone attending a meeting at which a matter is discussed in which he/she has a direct interest shall declare that interest.”  [The Existing section 4.5 would become section 4.5(b)] The Chairman proposed that both amendments be voted on at the November meeting. This was agreed.

6 Charities Reports:

a) Mallerstang Consolidated Charities: The Chairman, Mr Gordon Hutton gave his report. He said that there had been no fundamental change in the position previously reported and that the value of the fund in March 2005 was £15950, an increase of £487 over the previous year. Since March however, the trustees had made donations to local residents totalling £350. The policy of the trustees continued to be protection of the capital with disbursements made out of income. A discussion took place regarding the type of beneficiary that might qualify for future donations. Mr Hutton concluded by asking that the agenda for the November meeting include nominations for vacant trusteeships. The Chairman thanked Mr Hutton for his report.

b) Travers Institute: The trustee Dr John Hamilton gave his report. He said that there had been no income and no expenditure since his previous report and that the account showed a balance of £269. Dr Hamilton pointed out that Keith Beven had built an attractive wall on the site of the former institute and expressed his view that the site could be further enhanced by the provision of a bench bearing a plaque in memory of the founder of the Institute, the Rev Travers McIntyre. As it was not clear how the bench and plaque would be funded, the matter was left in abeyance.

7 Report from the Red Squirrel Protection Group: Mrs Annie Hamilton-Gibney reported that there had been no change in the financial position since her previous report, the account showing a balance of £164. She also said that no road deaths had been reported in Outhgill since the erection of the road bridge, that she would be attending the Red Alert A.G.M. in July and that she would be issuing a newsletter in August, for which contributions would be welcome.

8 The Accounts: The Parish Clerk presented the accounts for the year ending 31 March 2005. He said that the healthy balance of £155 was partly accounted for by the Audit Commission’s decision not to charge a fee to parishes with income and expenditure of less than £500. The Parish Clerk proposed that the accounts be accepted. The proposal was seconded by Gordon Hutton. The proposal was carried nem. con.

9 Any Other Business: The Chairman thanked Graham Carver for cutting the grass in front of the parish notice board. Mr Carver said that he had also cut the grass in front of the Jew Stone and around the Raven Frankland memorial oak tree.

Stephen Alderson raised the question of whether the transplanted tree should now be replaced, as it appeared to be dying. It was agreed that the issue of whether the tree should be replaced would be discussed at the November meeting.

Dates of Future Meetings: The Chairman said that the date of the next meeting (3 November) had already been agreed, and proposed that the 2006 A.G.M. should take place on 23 March and the following meeting on 22 June 2006. These dates were agreed. 

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MINUTES OF THE MALLERSTANG PARISH MEETING  

HELD ON 3rd NOVEMBER 2005 AT THE BLACK BULL INN, NATEBY

22 residents were in attendance, together with Councillor Trevor Ladhams, PC Roly Earl and Tony Ambrose and John Leece from BT.

1 Apologies: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors John Raw and Tim Stoddard, Ros Bousfield, Mary Langley, Hugh Eadon,  Zoe and Andy Harrison-Butler, Wyn Hamilton, Margaret Carver and Keith Beven.

 

2 PC Roly Earl: PC Earl said that he was still hopeful that colleagues from the traffic division would mount an enforcement and education programme in Mallerstang, possibly next summer, which would address residents’ concerns about speeding motor bikes. With regard to the Highway, PC Earl said that while recognizing that it is classified as a Byway Open To All Traffic, he would welcome reports of inappropriate use of the road, possibly leading to damage, which he would pass on to the Highways Department.

 

3 BT: The Chairman introduced Tony Ambrose, Customer Services Manager and John Leece, Planning Manager, explaining that they had been invited because of the poor levels of service which residents had been experiencing. Dr Hamilton said that the meeting was hoping that the reasons for the poor quality of service could be given, together with an account of the measures being undertaken to effect improvements, with a timescale. Mr Ambrose acknowledged that Mallerstang was one of three rural “black spots” in Cumbria where abnormally high levels of faults were being experienced. He said that investment is targeted at areas with the most fault potential and that service users should soon begin to feel the benefits of new cabling which had been installed between Kirkby Stephen and Nateby. Mr Leece explained that a further 800 metres of cable is due to be renewed from Castle Cottages southwards. This would bring about further improvements, although it was not possible at this stage to give an exact timetable, due to the fact that way-leaves need to be negotiated where the existing cable is being rerouted. Mike Langley said that he was experiencing difficulties in obtaining broadband and asked if the improvements would make this technology more widely available in the valley. Mr Ambrose said that he was confident that the work already undertaken and still to be carried out, would make broadband more widely available but that he was unclear whether there would be sufficient capacity to meet total demand.

The Parish Clerk handed over a dossier of emails and verbal reports regarding telephone numbers which had recently experienced faults, which Mr Ambrose said he would look into. He also said that if required, he would be happy to attend the next meeting and report further. This was agreed.

 

4 Minutes of the Parish Meeting held on 23 June 2005: The minutes were proposed as a correct record by Greta Naysmith and seconded by Gordon Hutton. The minutes were agreed.

 

5 Matters Arising: a) Outhgill Village Green and Memorial Tree: Graham Carver reported that a replacement oak tree had been ordered, which would be planted at the appropriate time. The Chairman thanked the team that had cut the grass on the green, including the area to the front of the parish notice board.

b) Travers Institute Plaque: The Chairman reported that a commemorative plaque had been purchased for the site of the former Travers Institute and thanked Keith Beven for fixing it to a prominent stone in the new wall.

 

6 Correspondence: The Parish Clerk reported on correspondence received since the previous meeting. All the items were circulars requiring no further action, apart from a letter from the Kirkby Stephen Community and Information Centre requesting financial support. Mr O’Connor explained that the Parish Meeting’s financial position in the current year (see item 8) would allow a one off donation of £50. The proposal was seconded by Val Vamplew.  21 votes were cast for the proposal with one abstention.

 

7 Amendments to Standing Orders: 4.1 Those entitled to attend and vote. Gordon Hutton reiterated his view expressed at the previous meeting that restricting the right to vote to those on the electoral register, disenfranchises those who may not be on the register but who nevertheless may be a member of a household in the parish and as such should be regarded as having a right to vote. Mr Hutton proposed the following amendment: 4.1(a) Any resident of Mallerstang over the age of 18 years who is an established member of a Mallerstang household on which Council Tax is paid, shall be entitled to attend and to vote at Parish Meetings. Dr Hamilton also proposed the following amendment to 4.1 (b) Any person not covered by 4.1(a) is very welcome to attend meetings. He or she may speak, at the Chairman’s discretion, but may not vote on any matter.

Mr Hutton said that he felt that 4.5(b) also required amendment and proposed the following: 4.5(b) If the Chairman or Parish Clerk or any officer has declared a direct interest in any matter on the Agenda, he or she must stand down from their official position during the discussion of that item, unless the meeting decide otherwise.

Amendment 4.1(a) was proposed by Gordon Hutton and seconded by Annie Gregory. 20 votes were cast for the amendment, with two abstentions. Amendment 4.1(b) was proposed by Dr Hamilton and seconded by Richard O’Connor. 21 votes were cast for the amendment, with one abstention. Amendment 4.5(b) was proposed be Gordon Hutton and seconded by Dr Hamilton. 21 votes were cast for the amendment, with one abstention.

 

8 Budget and Precept for 2006/2007: The Parish Clerk reported that he felt able to recommend a lower precept for 2006/07, due to the fact that the Audit Commission had decided to waive the fee for organisations with income and expenditure of less than £500 a year. Taking into account forecast expenditure to the end of the financial year, the year end balance will be in the region of £200 (less donation, see item 6 above). Mr O’Connor therefore proposed a precept for 2006/07 of £300 (the precept for 2005/06 was £400), seconded by Nigel McWhirter. 21 votes were cast for the proposal, with one abstention.

 

9 Mallerstang Consolidated Charities: The Chairman reported that the terms of three of the trustees were expiring, Gordon Hutton, Richard O’Connor and Ian Wade. All three were willing to stand for re-election. Dr Hamilton asked for nominations; and as no further names were forthcoming, he  proposed that all three be re-elected; seconded by Nigel McWhirter. The motion was carried, 22 for, nem. con.

 

10 Upper Eden Community Plan: The Parish Clerk reported on the meetings that he had attended on behalf of the Parish, on the grant that had been obtained to develop the plan, the positive response from the majority of the eligible parishes and the appointment of a community planner to take the plan forward (Tom Woof). In view of these developments, Mr O’Connor proposed that Mallerstang join the Upper Eden Community Plan planning process and invite Mr Woof to the next meeting. The proposal was seconded by Dr Hamilton. 21 votes were cast in favour, with one abstention.

 

11 Red Squirrel Report: Annie Hamilton-Gibney reported that there was growing evidence that grey squirrels were moving into the valley. She stressed the need for sightings to be reported so that they could be dealt with. It was also reported that Mallerstang has been designated as one of only 16 red squirrel protection areas in England. The account stood at £164. Mrs Hamilton-Gibney proposed that two traps for greys be purchased, together with the appropriate bait ( approximate cost £80). The proposal was seconded by Annie Gregory. 20 votes were cast in favour, with two abstentions.

 

12 Any Other Business: (a) The Chairman asked if there were any matters that anyone wished to raise with Councillor Ladhams. Mr Hutton said that he was concerned that unrestricted parking outside Kirkby Stephen Primary School is creating a hazard. Councillor Ladhams said that he would raise the matter with the appropriate authorities. Councillor Ladhams went on to say that the local authority had raised the possibility of introducing fortnightly refuse collections as a savings measure. He took the feeling of the meeting to be adverse to the proposal and therefore undertook to oppose the measure, should it be put to committee.

(b) The Parish Clerk requested the support of the meeting for a request to be made to the County Highways Department for “slow” signs to be painted on the road either side of the community at Aisgill Moor – the matter having been raised by local residents. This was agreed.

(c) Nigel McWhirter asked that a request be put to the Highways Department for a selective early safety cut to be carried out on the verges to the B6259. This was agreed.

(d) Gordon Hutton asked if the meeting would consider the early distribution of minutes (within 14 days), when those present at a particular meeting judged that a matter covered by the minutes of that meeting might prove controversial or require detailed thought and consideration. This was agreed.

 

13 Dates of Meetings in 2006: The AGM will be held on 23 March 2006; the following meeting will be held on 22 June 2006. The Chairman proposed that the next meeting be held on 2 November 2006. This was agreed. 

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