Present : Cllr. J. Graham (JG)
Councillors
D. Findlay (DF), M. Wright (MW) & C. Edmunds (CE).
Also present: Wendy Jameson – Parish Clerk (WEJ) & Tony Markley.
- Apologies Cllr. N. Dainton had sent an email to say he would not be at the meeting and after much thought has decided to resign from the Parish Council.
2. Virtual Meeting Procedure Due to the need for holding virtual meetings, the Parish Council adopted the Virtual Meeting Procedure.
3. Declaration of Interest None.
4. Exclusion of Press & Public None.
5. Co-option The existing vacancy has been advertised but no applications have been received. The new vacancy following the resignation of Cllr. Dainton will also be advertised and something included in the next Solway Buzz.
6. Minutes RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on the 14 January 2020 be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.
7. Matters Arising None.
8. Public Participation There were no requests from members of the public to speak at the meeting.
9. Financial Report The Clerk provided an up to date financial report which showed a balance of £2,495.21 in the bank on 7 July 2020. Cllr. Wright queried the Clerk’s Salary & Expenses amount which included two payments – April & July.
10. Requests for financial assistance None.
11. Payment of Accounts Cheque payments to 7 July 2020 were approved for payment by the Parish Council. The Clerk has spent some considerable time updating the Parish Council website as new legislation has come in which requires all Council websites to be compliant with accessibility regulations for people with vision and hearing impairments.
12. Accounts Accounts for the Year Ended 31 March 2020 were approved by the Parish Council.
13. Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2019/20 Part 2 RESOLVED that the Chairman sign the Certificate of Exemption, Annual Governance Statement 2019/20 & Accounting Statements 2019/20.Allerdale Area Support – Allerdale Newsletter Issue 7 & Allerdale Directory of Community Support Issue 5.
14. Correspondence
a) Action for Health Network & Mental Health Provider Forum Bulletin – 7 May 2020.
b) Allerdale Area Support – Allerdale Newsletter Issue 8 & Allerdale Directory of Community Support Issue 6.
c) Allerdale Area Support – Allerdale Newsletter Issue 9 & Allerdale Directory of Community Support Issue 7.
d) Action for Health Network & Mental Health Provider Forum Bulletin – 7 May 2020.
e) Cumbria Arts & Culture Network: Covid19 Newsletter.
g) Allerdale Area Support – Allerdale Newsletter Issue 10.
h) Cumbria Arts & Culture Network: Covid19 Newsletter.
i) Allerdale Area Support – 11th edition of the Allerdale & Copeland Newsletter.
j) Cumbria Arts & Culture Network: Covid-19 Newsletter.
k) Action for Health and Mental Health Provider Forum Bulletin –
l) Allerdale Area Support – 12th edition of the Allerdale & Copeland Newsletter.
m) Cumbria Arts & Culture Network: Covid-19 Newsletter -11 June 2020.
n) Coronavirus (Covid-19) Update – Newsletter for Allerdale & Copeland Area – Issue 13.
o) Action for Health & Mental Health Forum Bulletin – 15 June 2020.
p) Cumbria Arts & Culture Network: COVID-19 Newsletter – 16 June 2020.
q) Cumbria Arts & Culture Network: COVID-19 Newsletter – 24th June 2020.
r) Action for Health & Mental Health Forum Bulletin – 24 June 2020.
s) Alzheimers Society leaflet.
t) Cumbria CVS – Covid19 update.
u) Allerdale Area Support – Questionnaire for community groups – co-ordination of response.
v) Allerdale Area Support – Mental Health Well Being Intervention and Trading Standards Scam posters.
w) Cumbria CVS – Email seeking information about community reaction to travel to exercise advice.
x) Allerdale Area Support – Summary of UK Government’s Covid-19 Recovery Strategy.
y) Allerdale Area Support – Advice on distribution of leaflets and packages.
z) CALC – News Release from Cumbria Local Resilience Forum – Public urged not to visit the Lake District.
aa) CALC – Revised LTN 31 Local Council General Powers. S137 figure has also been updated.
bb) CALC – Guidance on returning to work after lockdown and slides from a webinar by NALC.
cc) CALC – Updated NALC guidance on holding remote meetings.
dd) CALC – Press Release issued by Cumbria LRF partners – Respect campaign update.
ee) CALC – Invite to an informal chat hosted by CALC on Monday 1 June at 2pm to discuss the positives and pitfalls of hosting meetings virtually.
ff) CALC – Every Monday (excluding Bank Holidays) for the next few weeks, Climate Emergency UK are hosting webinars to create action plans to address and adapt to the climate and ecological emergencies with the emergency they demand.
gg) NALC – Coronavirus – information for parish and town councils.
hh) CALC – Press release from Cumbria LRF and Respect campaign update.
ii) Stagecoach Standard Timetable due to resume from 1 June (Allerdale).
jj) CALC – Re: continued use of delegated powers. Councils should be starting to make arrangements to hold meetings remotely in light of the continued restrictions on social gatherings.
kk) CALC – Footway Lights – Email with a copy of the guidance received from NALC and outcome of a meeting with the Borough Council in relation to the transfer of costs for footway lighting to parish councils.
ll) Letter of thanks from Stewart Young, Leader of CCC to Parish Councils for all that parish councils have done to support their residents and communities during Covid-19.
mm) CALC – Updated NALC legal guidance on procurement.
nn) CALC – New guide from NALC on risk assessments relating to Covid-19 for town and parish councils.
oo) Cumbria Police – Current PCSO Changes.
pp) Allerdale Borough Council – Confirmation from Electoral Services that an election has not been called to fill the vacancy and the Parish Council can now co-opt to fill the vacancy.
qq) CCC – Information about the recommencement of on and off-street parking enforcement.
rr) CALC – Coronavirus and other updates from CALC.
ss) CALC – NALC Legal Topic note (LTN8 – Elections & Co-option) have been updated.
tt) CALC – Information about an Electric Vehicle charge point Webinar to be held on 30 June 2020 at 4pm.
uu) CALC – Information about the Digital Borderlands Voucher Scheme which goes live for applications on 26 June 2020.
vv) CALC – Footway Lights – Update following a second meeting with Allerdale Borough Council.
ww) Allerdale Borough Council – Footway Lighting – Breakdown of the lights and costs of footway lighting in Silloth. Energy costs are likely to be approx. £300 per annum for 2 lights at Calvo, 5 lights at Causewayhead and 1 at Seaville. Allerdale will be sending a plan showing the location of the individual lights in due course.
xx) CALC – Email urging Town & Parish Councils to respond to the new Code of Conduct Consultation which will see an updated national model code of conduct for all tiers of local government and the recommendation for a new power for local authorities to suspend councillors for a period of up to six months. Deadline 17 August 2020.
15. Planning Applications None.
16. Reports from Representatives on Outside Bodies – Longcake Education Foundation – £750 each was given to the four schools, £40 for postage and room hire, with the remainder to cover Clerk’s salary and audit fees in October.Sea Dyke Charity – Amy Beverley from Abbeytown has been appointed as Clerk to the Sea Dyke Charity, following the resignation of Tanya Brown.
17. Allerdale & County Councillor Reports Cllr. Markley provided a report for Allerdale and County Council. Work is ongoing to the setts on Criffel Street. Work is to be done to the groynes on Silloth seafront. It is going to cost £60k to prepare a report on what work is required which will help secure funding of over £600k. Work has been done at Stanwix corner to alleviate the flooding problem but more is to be done. The pumping station at Epsom Green needs upgraded which should have been done when the houses were built.
18. Causewayhead Cemetery Building The lease has been received but it contains a clause stating that the Parish Council is responsible for connecting the water, however the agreement was that Allerdale were going to provide a standpipe. The lease is in the hands of solicitors now, with Bendles (former Beaty & Co) representing the Parish Council.
19. Reports from Councillors The metal sign at the end of West Causewayhead Lane is in need of attention. Email to be sent to Ricky Crawford at Cumbria Highways and copy Cllr. Markley into it.
20. Chairman’s Announcement The Chairman thanked everyone for attending the meeting and also thanked the Clerk for setting up the Zoom meeting.
21. Date of next meeting Parish Council meeting – Tuesday 13 October 2020 at 7.30pm which will either be in the Community Hall or via Zoom.
22. The Parish Council’s first Zoom meeting passed quite quickly and there were a few laughs had by all, as Cllrs. were getting familiar with the Zoom platform, with Cllr. Markley providing some useful tips.