ULNES WALTON PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF A MEETING HELD 9 FEBRUARY 2004

In Attendance:

Mrs E Doran (Chairman) Mrs D Todd, Mr D Ormerod, Mr J Ascroft and Mr D Williams

Also Present:

Mrs L Rowett (Clerk)

14/04 Apologies

There were no apologies.

15/04 Minutes of the Last Meeting

Minutes of a meeting held on 12 January 2003 were accepted and signed as a true record.

16/04 Matters Arising on the Minutes (not elsewhere on the agenda)

a) Dumped Rubbish River Lostock (Item 04/04a)

The Environment Agency had inspected the river and confirmed that the responsibility for the removal of the rubbish lay with the landowner, unless it presented a flood hazard. The Agency had offered to help with the clean up project by providing equipment.

b) New Lane Residents Survey (Item 04/04b)

The County Council had lost the original letter requesting that New Lane be included in the business plan so it had been resubmitted, along with the request for improvements at the junction of Moss Lane with Ulnes Walton Lane.

c) Wymott and Garth Prison Officers Club (Item 04/04c)

The request for a Parish Councillor to join the Club Committee had been put on hold until the arrangements regarding the lease are known.

d) Bus Service 112 (Item 04/04d)

The County Council had responded regarding the price of the journey. The differential between the stop at the Black Bull and Paradise Lane was 15p compared to 50p between Paradise Lane and the next stop. As a result if an approach were made to the operator it would be likely that an increase would result in an effort to even out the differential. It was agreed that it would be best policy not to pursue the matter further.

More information was requested about the failure of some buses to pick up on the estate.

e) South Penwortham By Pass (Item 04/04f)

There was still no reply from Lindsay Hoyle.

f) Fly Tipping (Item 04/04g)

A clean up operation had been mounted but dumping was already occurring again.

g) The Old School (Item 10/04)

Mr Harrison had approved the advertisement and suggested a person who might be interested in becoming a Trustee.
It was agreed that the two vacancies be advertised and the interested person be invited to apply in writing.

Mr Harrison had indicated that he wished to pass on the records of the Trustees to the Clerk. It was agreed that this action was not appropriate, the records should be responsibility of the Chairman of the Trustees.

h) Overgrown Hedge (Item 12/04a)

The hedge was a subject of some debate as to who was responsible for the cutting. The matter was now with the County Council.

i) Dangerous Kerb (Item 12/04b)

The kerb would be inspected by the County Council.

j) Bollards (Item 12/04c)

The bollards would be inspected by the County Council.

17/04 Prison Issues

a) Notes from the meeting with representatives from the Prison Authorities, Chorley Borough Council and Lancashire County Council had been previously circulated. It was agreed the meeting had been of great benefit to all concerned and that new avenues of communication had been opened. As a result of the meeting the Prison Authorities intended to resubmit the planning applications accompanied by a Green Travel plan that includes targets for reducing the number of vehicles travelling to the prisons.

The Clerk was asked to write to Mr Croston and thank him for the help and support given.

b) A meeting had taken place with Prison Staff to discuss screening and prepare a draft plan showing the proposals. The draft was agreed ready for submission to the Prison Authorities.

The Clerk was asked to write to the Governor of Wymott and pass on thanks for the assistance given by the Officers.

c) Visit to HMP Garth

The visits had been very interesting and informative. The Clerk was asked to write to the Governor and thank him and the prisoners for allowing access.

It had been noted that the suggestion to use Ridley Lane as an access road to the prison would probably not be given consideration as it presented a security risk.

d) Arrangements for Visit by Residents to HMP Wymott

Ten residents had requested to be included on the list for the visit. It was agreed the Parish Council representative should be Mr Ascroft with Mr Williams in reserve.

18/04 Ulnes Walton Multi-User Track

At the meeting with the Prison Authorities the possibility of reducing traffic by the creation of a cycle track had been discussed and it had been agreed that this had potential. The Clerk had been asked to submit proposals for a track over Home Office land.

The Parish Plan Steering Group had also met with a Manager from SITA (landfill site operators) and he was willing to consider cycle/bridle tracks across the former landfill sites.

Following on from these discussions the Steering Group had drawn up proposals and the Clerk had met with Mr Lund the Countryside Officer from Lancashire County Council to discuss the project in more detail.

Mr Lund had been very impressed by the proposals and had prepared a detailed map showing the proposed routes and had offered further help when needed. It was also probable that the County Council would offer some financial assistance.

The proposals included upgrading some of the existing tracks to allow access for walkers; cyclists; riders and importantly disabled access. Additional tracks were proposed on the former landfill site and further negotiations would be needed to consider access to ponds off Ridley Lane and access to Stannings Folly.

Plans had already been submitted to SITA for the proposals on their land.

Following consideration the proposals were agreed for submission to the Prison Authorities. 

19/04 Update on the Parish Plan

The plan had been submitted to the printer.

20/04 Action for Ulnes Walton

The Clerk had meet with officers from Community Futures to discuss the way forward in setting up the group.

A draft constitution had been agreed by the Parish Plan Steering Group and a public meeting was now needed to formally adopt the document and to establish the Executive Committee. When this had been done a grant to start the groups operations could be applied for. It was hoped the group would be active from the 1 April 2004.

21/04 Green Centre Issues

The Clerk reported on recent dealings with the Green Centre.

- Cycle rack project. As there had been no action taken to order the racks the funding was in danger of being lost. Additionally the Prison had pulled out of the project so the money would not go as far as was originally intended. The Green Centre had promised to give priority to Ulnes Walton and Charnock Richard being the only parishes to fully submit designs and location; however the original designs could not be provided.

- Boundary signs. There was no progress via the Green Centre with this project.

- Tree planting on Southport Road. There had been a lot of confusion and misinformation associated with this project. In an endeavour to rectify the situation the Green Centre had offered to apply for a grant to replant the trees and plant the buddleia still in pots.

It was agreed that enough time had been spent on this project and it was time to bring it to a close. The Parish Council would arrange to plant the buddleia and not bother with further trees.

It was further noted that the Green Team were now only insured to carry out gardening tasks and as such could no longer help with parish projects.

- Clarification on the Roles. It was unclear what Mr Ormerod’s role was on the ECET Steering Group. He had been originally appointed to represent the Parish Council, but now his status appeared to have been changed and he was considered to be a resident of Ulnes Walton. It was agreed that Mr Ormerod still represented the Parish Council until advised otherwise.

Concern was expressed that the Clerk was wasting a lot of time dealing with projects via the Green Centre for little gain and it was felt that better results could be obtained by direct contact with the funders rather than through a third party.

22/04 Boundary Signs

The Clerk had discussed the proposals with the Prison workshop. Unfortunately they did not have the equipment to manufacture the designs suggested. It was acknowledged that use of wrought iron was appropriate as it required little maintenance. It had been advised that the suggested size was too small a minimum width of 3 feet would be required.

Rebecca Freear had been asked to provide a design incorporating a Viking ship. When this was complete the Clerk agreed to liase with Mr Mortimer with a view to obtaining a quote for the production and then funding could be sought, possibly by sponsorship.

23/04 Parish Council Notice Boards

Unfortunately the woodworking department at the prison had closed so the notice boards could not be made. It was agreed that other options be considered and possibly sponsorship.

24/04 Parish Council Website

It was felt at some stage there was a need to review the good points about the website and decide what else was needed. Possible the way forward might be to establish a small working group. A bulletin board had been introduced to allow advertising events; discussion and simple surveys; the software was free. Feedback was requested on the site.

25/04 Wymott Park – Tree Planting

It was noted that a grant a £200 that has been obtained by Groundwork for tree planting on the Park. The future of the Community Association was unclear, it was suggested it could form a group under the Action for Ulnes Walton umbrella.

26/04 Local Government Reorganisation

Having given consideration to the proposals comment was made as follows -

• The Parish Council has not formed a collective opinion on the proposals and are still of an open mind.

• The documents presented do not give a clear indication of what it is hoped to achieve by the reorganisation. If little is achieved it is questioned whether the upheaval represents value for money.

• Relationships established between Parish, Borough and County Councils would be destroyed and the bond of trust would need to be rebuilt.

• Given a choice the preference would be for Option 2, a smaller authority. To some extent the County Council is now considered to be remote, to opt for a larger authority would make the Authority even more detached from the views of the community.

• Concern is expressed that some of the smaller parish councils may have to amalgamate with the larger ones to cope with the expected delegation of responsibilities. 

• There would possibly be advantages in terms of applying for European Funding etc. as has happened with the already established Regional Authorities in Scotland and Wales.

27/04 Road Side Advertising/Illuminated Signs

The Clerk having contacted the Borough a numerous occasions regarding advertising at the Mill; The Highfield and Oakdene but there had been no response. It was agreed that the Borough Councillors be asked to take the matter on board.

28/04 Finance

Approval was given to the following expenditure - L Rowett salary Jan £111.58, Parish Plan ECET photocopying £28.10

A consultation documents had been received from Chorley Borough Council regarding budget issues. The proposals were agreed apart from the intention to cut the small grants scheme. It was also felt that Borough employees should be encouraged to use more environmentally friendly forms of transport.

29/04 Planning

Two new applications were given consideration –

132a Southport Road
Mr Ormerod declared an interest in this item.
Erection of front extension. There were no objections.

Lostock Bridge Farm
Mrs Todd declared an interest in this item.
Erection of new cattle barn.
The Members objected to the proposal on the grounds that it was disproportionate to the size of the holding, the illumination would cause further light pollution and screening was needed. It was agreed that a request be made that the proposal go before Committee.

Concern was expressed that developers should take more consideration of local views. 

It was noted that approval had been given to the relocation of existing stable block and erection of new building at Lowe Farm Cottage.

The application to change a window to a doorway at Norris’s Farm had been refused.

It was noted that the barn conversion at Lostock Bridge was still not being advertised in accordance with planning consent. The Borough Councillors were asked to take this matter on board.

30/04 Matters Raised by Members

a) Car Boot Sales

It was noted that parking for the sales was again causing an obstruction. It appeared the gate allowing access to the car park was closed.

b) Ulnes Walton Lane – Traffic Issues

It was felt that the Borough Council should be lobbied with a view to seeking support for traffic management along the Lane.

It was noted that there had been a number of minor accidents along the Lane.

31/04 Public Forum

a) South Penworthan By Pass

Cllr Iddon had received a reply from the County Council, but more discussion was needed.

b) Accident Statistics

Cllr Iddon was trying to compile a list of minor accidents in the area. It was agreed an item should be put in the newsletter and the possibility of introducing an accident log on the web site be considered.

32/03 Date and Time of Next Meeting.

It was agreed the next meeting should be convened for Monday 8 March 2004 at 7.30 pm.

Signed ……………………………………………………………………….. Date……………………