Minutes of Meeting held in the Library on Monday 15th October 2007.

GUEST SPEAKERS: Alan Russell, Community and Business Partnership Development Officer, Forestry Commission, outlined his role to co-ordinate transport links to the Grizedale Visitors Centre to and from the surrounding communities and to encourage the participation of schools of schools and community groups, especially those from the harder to reach urban and rural areas who do not currently use the Cnetre's facilities'. And also to add 'to support local businesses by providing an outlet, initially through Made in Cumbria, with whom preliminary discussions have taken place with regard to taking space in the refurbished shop next year. (more below in Minute 11.f.) The Chairman thanked Mr Russell for his contribution.

Mrs Lorna Cooper spoke of her “unofficial” vist to Solto Collina, the welcome she and her husband were given and the expectations of that town in “twinning” with Coniston. She acknowledged that there was still much to do before “twinning” could be realised. Cllr Hall, as secretary to the local Twinning Association, said there was local interest in such a link. Mrs Cooper agreed to contact Jane Sutherland, Solto Collina’s liaison officer, to invite her to visit Coniston. The Chairman thanked Mrs Cooper for her contribution.

PRESENT: Councillors – P Hill (Chairman), D Coxon, Mrs A Hall, Mrs E Kelly, H Lakin and L Tarr; Clerk – Mr C Sargeant; and, 2 members of the public (A Grant and Mrs R Park).

1. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: Nothing.

2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Cllrs Stoddart (other commitment).

3. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: Cllr Hill (all matters relating to E.ON Energy) and Cllr Coxon (all matters relating to LDNPA and Cumbria).

4. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING: The Chairman was authorised to sign, as a correct record, the minutes of the Meeting of 17th September 2007.

5. MATTERS ARISING from that Meeting:

5.a. PLAYGROUND: Clerk presented for councillors signatures letter to NS&I and the Charity Commission for the amalgamation of of the Defibrillator and Amenity Funds with a view to creating one charitable fund to serve the broad needs of the community, and initially to provide charitable status for the applications for grants to complete the playground refurbishment.

Cllr Hall spoke positively about communications with Paul Mountford, SLDC, and the Chief Executive who has agreed to visit Coniston.

5.b. HOUSING: (i) Cllr Hill attended the site meeting at Cemetery Field on Tuesday 9th October: optimistic about the acceptability of the planning application

(ii) Cllr Hall read one of the four letters sent by the young homeless people of the village in support of the application.

5.c. ‘BLUEBIRD’: Cllr Hall said the response from Cumbria Vision was encouraging and the architect has been given the go-ahead with enough resources to commence the building.

5.d. HIGHWAYS: Cllr Kelly spoke of the on-going negotiations.

5.e. VILLAGE WALK: Annual inspection of section of the village is postponed until the Spring.

5.f. HALF-YEAR REVIEW: A comprehensive survey of the last six months showed how much the councillors had completed and how little was left still to do.

6. MATTERS ARISING Since that Meeting: nothing.

7. FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS: RESOLVED:

7.a. To issue cheques:

101368 to Coniston Institute for room hire £24.00

101369 to Cumbria Landscaping for playground maintenance £705.00

101370 to Audit Commission for fee 2007 £158.63

101371 to E.ON Energy for street lighting (September) £80.00

7.b. To approve statement of accounts for signing by the Chairman.

7.c. To acknowledge completion of Audit 2006-2007

8. PLANNING ISSUES:

8.a. PLANNING APPLICATIONS:

i. 7/2007/5396 RESOLVED:to support: Location: The Old Coach House, Silverbank LA21 8HW Observations: CPC is mindful of the “modest changes to the external appearance” of a “quality building of traditional stone and slate”, that there will be “no elements of manufacturing or industrial process carried out and no machine based noise generated”, and that health and safety measures have been addressed. CPC agrees that the development will be a new contribution to the village economy and welcomes the potential for local employment.

9. CORRESPONDENCE: (other than that referred to elsewhere in the Minutes)

South Lakeland District Council For information only: Standards Committee Agenda (11th October) and Minutes (14th August).

Glasdon Publicity: Latest Products for Parish Councils

LDNPA Letter 2nd October: Trails Management in the Lake District National Park: changes in the operation and administration of trails management in the LDNP.

DEFRA Letter and copy of ‘Ways to tackle climate change’: copy taken by Cllr Higgins.

Cumbria County Council Letter and leaflets ‘Rural Wheels’: leaflets distributed to councillors and displayed in the Library.

Standards Board Newsletter September 2007: Chance for parish and town councils to increase democratic rights.

CALC Circular October 2007

CALC South Lakeland District Committee letter and nomination form for Standards Committee.

Citizens Advice South Lakeland Letter: Funding for General Advice Services

Connexions Letter: Local Democracy Week 2007 – Political Speed Dating

Queensbury Shelters Ltd Publicity: Queensbury Shelters for Your Community

Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency Letter & postersr: Give Your Contacts The Edge

Cumbria CC/IYSS Letter & newsletter: Integrated Youth Support Services

James Thurlow Email: We would like to inform you of an event we are planning to run on 25th November. The event is a mountain bike/running orienteering event which spread over 5hrs. Unlike typical orienteering events where competitors go from point to point; in this event the competitors try and collect as many points as they can in the allotted time, hence the routes they take are rarely the same. For this event it is expected that we will have around 250 competitors, they will initially register and park at the John Ruskin School. The competitors will start between 9.00 to 10.30am and finishing anytime up to around 4.00pm. The event is restricted to the use of public rights of way and permissive tracks where negotiated. If you have any concerns or would like to discuss the nature of the event with me please don’t hesitate to contact me on 07813 011775.

10. PUBLIC QUESTIONS: No members of the public were still present.

11. REPORTS:

11.a. POLICE REPORT: PCSO Christyne Judge submitted a written report for September and early October: (TUMV = theft from unattended motor vehicle) 1st Sept Monk Coniston car park TUMV, vehicle window smashed and property removed 2nd Sept Glen Mary bridge TUMV 8th Sept burglary priestly centre (generator) 14th Sept public order, John Ruskin School 16th Sept theft from Ship Inn (advertising board) 16th Sept theft from dwelling, Rawlinson ground 17th Sept theft, Cat Bank barn (finger board) 19th Sept theft from SummiTreks 23rd Sept theft from tent, Coniston Hall 29th Sept criminal damage to vehicle, the Garth 6th Oct domestic incident 7th Oct main door left open 3.50am by guest at Black Bull, no suspicious circumstances.

11.b. CLLR TARR: Announced that Bonfire Night will be held at the Sports and Social Centre on Friday 2nd November.

11.c. CLLR KELLY: Presented a report from the Chairman’s Annual Report from the Coniston Community Development Centre: Coniston Community Development Centre, under its present management structure, came into being on 1 August 2006. During the year the Committee has worked hard to ensure that this vital community resource has continued to flourish and develop. We have tried to develop the nature of activities undertaken at the Centre. These include the usual computer classes such as: • Computers for Beginners • Clait/Clait Plus But also we have tried new activities such as: • Cookery Club • Sugarcraft • Adult Literacy and Numeracy Certificate Qualifications • Basic Introduction to Spanish • Digital Photography Day • Buying On Line We have also had other organisations hiring our facilities that have included: • Coniston Tourist Information - training session for volunteers • HF Holidays - Photography Holidays for visitors in conjunction with Monk Coniston Also, due to some valuable funding from UK Online Centres we have offered a free course for Introduction to Computers, Internet and Email, which was titled "The Connect Project, and this was offered to those in our community who were aged over 60. This Project saw some 15 people attending weekly sessions on a Monday afternoon 1-3pm as well as two home visits for those unable to attend the Centre due to disability. This Project was very popular and we are grateful to UK Online Centres for their valuable financial support to make this possible. This funding, together with the invaluable support of local organisations such as Rawdon Smith Trust, Coniston Parish Council, Coniston 14 and Coniston European Project has allowed us to offer a varied programme which we hope will continue during the coming year. Also, the Centre could not have continued to be so successful without the support of the tutors and community helpers or the members of the Management Committee and Governors and staff of Coniston Primary School. The Centre also supported an Internet outlet at the Village Pantry in Yewdale Road. Unfortunately due to reducing income and increasing running costs it was decided by the Committee that this facility would be withdrawn at the end of June 2007 as other Internet facilities were now being offered elsewhere in the village. Another project that we have become involved with is the Coniston Community Email Group. This was taken over by the Centre after the retirement of Mike Salts in June 2007. We now have over 200 email addresses who receive a twice weekly newsletter to update them of important news for the community and also a 'What's On' guide. This is continuing to grow and is seen as an important addition to the role of the Centre. We have had a successful start to our venture. From our records we have a recorded 882 visits to the Centre over the year. We hope that this will continue during 2007/08.

11.d. CLLR HALL: i. Reported that the mostly likely future for the library service in Coniston will be a library link in one of the village shops.

ii. Commented on the recent Recycling Show visit to the village and the continuing complaints about the collections on the Banks. The pc agreed to monitor the situation.

iii. Said the twinning visit to Illiers-Combray was a great success: Cllr Hall, the Chairman and Mrs Hill represented the pc.

iv. Urged the clerk to contact Nick Thorne, LDNPA, to gauge the number of footpaths in the parish that are not dedicated.

v. Commented on how good for the village the increasing number of sports events were.

vi. Following local newspaper reports of threatened closure, she urged the clerk to contact Mark Hodgkiss, Passenger Transport Officer (Bus Services), to establish the security of the X12 service.

11.e. CLLR COXON: Announced the creation of a new Water Festival committee and its vision for the event to be more centred on the lake.

11.f. THE CLERK: Presented: Minutes of Local Consultative Group Meeting 20th September 2007 at the Forestry Commission Offices, Grizedale Present: Mark Street, Development Manager, Forestry Commission, Emma Athersmith, Admin Officer, Forestry Commission, Mike Thornley, Local Representative, Forestry Commission, Alan Russell, Community & Business Partnership Officer, Barbara Brown, Hawkshead Parish Council, Liz Cringle, Satterthwaite Parish Council, Charles Sargeant, Coniston Parish Council, Tony Atkinson, Colton Parish Council, David Hall (David), Cumbria Constabulary, David Robinson (Dave), Lake District National Park Authority Apologies: Tania Crockett, Forestry Commission 1.Approval of minutes: The minutes were approved and signed by the chair. 2.Matters arising: a.Emma confirmed to the chair that a letter of thanks had been sent to Ron Mein, thanking him for his time as Chair of the Group. b.Section 3a) (from previous minutes). Mark confirmed that Tania had tried to contact the National Park regarding interpretation but no contact has yet been made. David said that Bob Sutcliffe (LDNPA) had been out of the office for most of the summer but is now back in the office. Action: Tania to report any progress on this matter at next meeting. b.Barbara asked for an update on the bat licence. Mark explained that this has come through and that Tony Marshall, the bat consultant came out last week to do survey. Tony didn’t see many bats around but did see bats coming out of old toilet block. Therefore any work in this area needs to be managed carefully in line with the licence. A few amendments been made with LDNPA. c.Visitor monitoring – Charles revisited the issue of having a recognised footpath to Coniston and asked if this had been looked at further. He has found a Mary Welsh walk on a website that goes from the Visitor Centre via Brantwood (Charles has since emailed details of this to Emma and this has been forwarded to Tania). Mark said that some work had been carried out on bridleways but that this area is being covered by Tania. Action: Tania to feedback progress on recognised walk to Coniston at next meeting. d.The Chair asked if the old gates had been re-hung. Mark confirmed that they have. e.The Chair then revisited the issue of the unclassified road to Esthwaite (previously raised by Helen Houghton). David confirmed that some maintenance had been carried out in April on UCR. The National Park has been chasing the Council regarding this road but they are not convinced that this work will get done. Mark is meeting with John Bell (Capita Highways – Kendal) next week and Mark said that he will raise this issue with him. Action: Mark to report progress of this issue at next meeting. f.Liz asked if Kanku (local 4x4 training company) donate money to the LDNPA for the upkeep of UCR and asked how many vehicles were supposed to use the UCR at any one time. David confirmed that Kanku do not contribute towards the maintenance of the UCRs. The recommended number of 4x4 vehicles on a UCR at any one time is 4. However that is an advised number and has no legal standing. 3.Intro of new group members: a.Alan Russell – Community and Business Partnership Officer employed by the Forestry Commission for the Grizedale Project. Alan’s contact details: Email: alan.russell@forestry.gsi.gov.uk Telephone: 01229 860373 (reception) or 01229 862022 (direct dial) b.Dave Robinson – LDNPA. Dave used to work on trails etc. There has been a restructure at LDNPA and Helen has moved to a planning role. Dave moved to access and recreation role which includes the Grizedale project. This includes working with Barney Hill on the B4 project. c.Tony Atkinson – Colton PC representative. Taking over from Ron (sometimes Colin Barr, who attended the previous meeting, may attend in Tony’s place). 4.Update of progress of project to date: Mark updated the group on the progress of the project based on the newsletter circulated on 14/09/07. Further updates: The Arts officer has accepted the post. Looking to start Phase 2 and be on site by second week in October with the construction continuing to May. Asbestos has been removed on Phase 2 side and the Woodfuel boiler has been ordered. This should be fitted in February. The first part of Phase 2 (Phase 2a) will begin on the old Visitor Centre and Go Ape office. The Forestry Commission has been looking at establishing a broadband link to Grizedale. There are 3 options: 1) dig new cable from Satterthwaite, 2) put in a repeater station or 3) a satellite dish. The 2nd option is currently being researched (1st is very expensive). A cabin at Grizedale will link through to radio mast at High Mann; a planning application will be needed for this. Looking to trial wood chip production (for the wood fuel boiler). Will Bardon will be bringing a chipper to Grizedale so that a trial can be set up within the next couple of months. If we can supply chips from Grizedale then this should reduce lorry wagon movements through the valley. A planning application for Go Ape is about to be submitted. Currently the opening period is from April to October. The planning application is to request for an extended opening period from February to Nov. i.e. closed in December and January. 5.Alan Russell – role and responsibilities: Alan explained that he is looking at the old timetable for minibus shuttle, originally prepared by Sue Manson. Things have changed since Sue prepared this so Alan has done a revised timetable for shuttlebus. The service will be put out to tender by end of October. Timetable may change so that interested parties can work around new shuttle timetable. Alan is also looking at commuter service for staff and has contacted local employers to see whether other organisations/businesses may want to share. Alan explained that he has come from community based background. He sees the links to the local community through the Parish Councils as they can give him the knowledge for rural aspect of project. Also, he has had a lot of interest from groups in Barrow/Ulverston: groups who don’t normally use forest and who are looking to come to visit forest to do activity days. On the business side he would like to see more businesses become involved in the project i.e. through woodfuel. Alan explained that potential funding is available for community based businesses (The Community Initiative Fund). These funds could help provide support for local businesses and groups i.e. groups of farmers. There is help available to do funding applications: for further information please contact Alan on the contact details provided. Alan said that he is happy to talk to groups/Parish Councils so please contact him if you want him to attend any meetings. Dave asked if he could see a copy of the new provisional shuttlebus timetable. There is a B4 network meeting on 15th November and it would be good to have this information for this meeting. (Alan provided Dave with a copy at the end of the meeting). Mark said that 2 operators are interested in providing the shuttlebus service. Both operators did not want to impinge on any of the other services that they provide (and/or other local services). Mark also pointed out that this wouldn’t be a commercial operation: the project has committed to a 3-year proposal. Also with the potential developments at Haverthwaite there may be lots of changes in next couple of years. Therefore the emphasis for the service may be more toward the south of Grizedale. Tony stated that Colton PC are happy about bus service as Colton’s main concern with the project is an increase in traffic. Tony asked if visitors would be able to take bikes on the buses. Mark and Alan explained that both potential bus providers have bike provision. Mark also wanted to point out that new bus services can take a while to get going so it might take be couple of years before the new shuttlebus is used to it’s full potential. David noted the parking problems experienced at Grizedale towards the end of August. He suggested that the FC could use the “No Parking” signs that are used for the rallies, to stop people parking on the grass verges until the end of October. David also asked if the new speed limits are working? Mike replied that the speed limits work well during the day but seem to have no effect at night. David suggested using speed limit signs which flash speed up to drivers. This is to be discussed outside of meeting. (Since the meeting Ambleside police have contacted the Grizedale office as they have a sign available for use – being passed to Mark Street to action). Action: Mark to follow up and to report back the results at the next meeting. 6.Issues and incidents: GMBC rally last weekend – Liz asked why she/the Satterthwaite residents had not given any information about this or other large bike events? The route across Force Forge to Blind Lane becomes dangerous during this event and causes a tail back of cars with bikers weaving in and out. It had been reported to Liz that this was a nightmare for people coming to forest and for local residents. Mark suggested that the FC make it part of permit process for organisers to inform local residents and Liz about big events to go in to Parish newsletter. Action: Emma to speak to Recreation Manager /Recreations rangers. To report back through Mark at next meeting. Liz pointed out that, from a horse riders’ point of view, there is a lot of Ragwort in the forest which needs spraying. Tony said that it is too late to spray this year and the Ragwort would need to be pulled out. Tony asked if the group had noted all new signs in and around Oxen Park and Colton. These were put in place after the signpost survey was carried although. Mark said that the FC would support Satterthwaite PC if they want to do something similar in and around the village. Tony commented that more signs have appeared at Rusland so this should make it easier for visitors coming to and from Grizedale. He confirmed that Cumbria County Council has paid for all signs this time. Mike reported a couple of incidents, which have since been sorted, such as workers appearing in resident’s back gardens without notice. He also said that the Grizedale Lodge Hotel has reported lots of people wandering in and out with dirty boots etc. looking for the constriction site. Mike has spoken to the recreation team and they looking at getting a couple of new signs near hotel. Dave spoke about the footpath link to Brantwood. He asked that the FC keeps the LDNPA authority in loop and then they may be able to help with any legal work etc. Charles said that the idea of a route to Coniston was to use the existing footpaths and to produce a leaflet showing the paths over to Brantwood/Coniston. This could then be placed in Tourist Information offices. Charles felt that if this doesn’t happen the visitors will not use Coniston as a parking place/place to visit. Liz asked Dave if the LDNPA could do anything about the state of Moor Lane from Satterthwaite to Nibthwaite, as the condition is terribleDave said that this road is difficult to do anything with. The National Park has done small scale work but this washes out every time. The National Park Are aware of the problem and it may be possible to look at larger scale works. 7.Date for next meeting: Thursday 6th December 2pm Grizedale.

12. DATE OF NEXT MEETING: RESOLVED: to confirm that the next Meeting will be held on Monday 19th November 2007 at 7pm in the Library.

Meeting closed at 9.10pm.

SIGNED: Chas Sargeant, Clerk
DATE: 15th October 2007