MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 17th SEPTEMBER 2007

PRESENT: Councillors – P Hill (Chairman), J Stoddart and L Tarr; Clerk – Mr C Sargeant; and, 17 members of the public (J Armstrong, B Bateman, Mrs Bradley & daughter, E Clunan, Mrs D Dixon, Mr & Mrs M Grant, P & Mrs M Hearty, Mrs L Inman, R Inman, Mrs J Jones, Mrs E Jopson, P Hutchinson, A Piper, D Wright).

1. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: The Chairman welcomed the public, understood that it was at the meeting to debate the development of the cemetery field and moved the planning application to the fore. Letters opposing the scheme had been received from Mr Armstrong, Mr Hearty and Mrs Inman and these formed the substance of the debate. Ninety minutes of vigorous exchanges ensued, the outcome of which is summarised in the council’s response to the LDNPA in minute below.

1.a. LETTER from J Armstrong: I wish to object to the above proposal for the following reasons.Firstly this a greenfield site, fairly central to the village. It lends itself to the rural character of the village which is becoming important in view of the number of 'block' sites built here over the past 30 years. It is a quiet area and of considerable benefit to bird life, and, to a lesser extent, small mammals. Building upon it would be a retrograde change to both the character of the area and the visual amenity. Once covered with concrete and tar macadam the environmental and rural benefits would be lost and the change would be permanent.Secondly, the site is served by what is at present is a country back-lane. Relatively quiet and traffic free. This would change. It would become another thoroughfare with a notable traffic increase. Another retrograde step. The Board have probably noted that the exit/entry junctions at each end could well be accident prone.Thirdly, the field is the property of the church, and ear-marked for graveyard extension. It should remain so. I have lived in Collingwood Close since April 1987 (having been a resident in the village since 1970), and my back garden wall is against the graveyard. When I came, I would look over the wall noting the in-fill with new graves. In those days I would need to look well over to the right, way down towards the lych gate. You will know that the graveyard is triangular in shape, with it's base at the lych gate and narrowing to the apex northwards. Now, the graves are being dug directly over the wall from my garden, that is, the area has only the top one third of space left for infill. I have been told that there is room for another 30 years of burials. This, I do not believe. I have not done a proper survey, and, of course, no one can know how many people will need burial plots, but I wouldestimate that 15 years would be more likely. When, in 1974, I did a survey of the social structure of the village, 27% of the residents were elderly/retired. This compared, at the time with 13% for the UK, and 17% for Cumbria. Since then, with the building of Little Moss Close, Campbell House, St. Martin's Court, Church Beck Close and Beckyeat and one or two extra Buildings/ conversions, the proportion has gone up. My point is this, the potential numbers for burial will be increasing. The space will be needed.Fourthly, I wonder if I may comment in general terms on our problem of affordable housing, with which we all have some sympathy. It is a national one, but in this village, exacerbated by the blight of second homes, especially second homes that do holiday lettings. Our present group of youngsters needing help could be accommodated by infill on brownfield sites, and using the green areas would be shameful. A more radical solution would be to adapt the housing/planning acts to allow, in areas like National Parks, SSI's, ESA's, establishing the minimum period of letting in the case of second homes to say, six months, and at the same time double or treble Council Tax on them. Have I said too much?

1.b. LETTER from P & Mrs M Hearty: We have the following comments to make on the above planning application.The height of the proposed development represents an un-neighbourly development: Whilst recognising that the plans have made an attempt to reduce the adverse impact of the development and the need for the development to be protected from possible flood risk, we still believe it is proposed to build the properties at an unreasonable height. The height should be restricted to the minimum level consistent with flood protection.On a technical note the plans show a site elevation profile A-A of our house, Birkwray and neighbouring houses as being at the same level as Old Hawkshead Road. This is incorrect, they are at a lower level. This exacerbates the problem. The bungalow 1 shows a kitchen window which given the proposed level would be viewing directly into our bedroom window. We would request this be moved to the east elevation to correspond to the layout of bungalow 2. We are sure the new tenants would prefer a view of Coniston Old Man.The impact on flooding and drainage: The concreting and tarmacing of what is currently land acting as a soak away will increase the risk of flooding to adjacent properties. The Flood Risk Assessment Report suggests that the run off from the new development will be diverted down Old Hawkshead Road in a more controlled manner. Old Hawkshead Road is a lane with no kerbs or gutters, it is difficult to see how a more controlled manner could be achieved. Also the existing surface drains are almost permanently blocked and it is suggested, broken. A full survey needs to be undertaken to ensure the increase in drainage is capable of being handled.The impact on Old Hawkshead Road and Resident's parking: Old Hawkshead Road is a congested and narrow lane. As mentioned previously it has no pavements or gutters. It contains an entrance to the Primary School and also has a 30 mph speed limit and is favoured by very many visitors as one of the few no cost parking facilities in Coniston. It is also used by the residents of Old Hawkshead Road for car parking.With the new junction serving the proposed new development this will have a significant adverse affect on the space available for existing residents parking. Whilst the new development should provide adequate parking places for its new residents, serious consideration should be given to the establishment of a residents only parking scheme for the existing residents. It is a pity that the land proposed for this development, one of the few remaining green fields in the village, which had been reserved for the future burial needs of the village is to be lost.We hope the above comments will be given serious consideration.

1.c. LETTER from Mrs L Inman: Morally I have to speak out against the application for planning which was submitted on Wed 25th July prior to the presentation to the village on Friday 27th July, of plans for the Old Hawkshead Road site.The Church, by offering its future burial land, is responding to the needs of the Parish Plan survey for affordable housing, but is this naive when there are approximately 50% of houses in the village that are not permanent dwellings?Some local feeling is that the project is 'all sewn up' and there is no point in objecting; 'there's nothing we can do to stop it'. It has been announced in the papers "Coniston to get Affordable Housing".Personally I am passionate about the scheme -it's in my back yard. It is my church's land and my village's burial ground. The land has been offered out of concern for a dying village - e.g. school numbers down, keeping our youth in the village etc. A second-home/letting village where previous housing schemes (e.g. local occupancy) have been abused by locals buying and subletting or using as staffing accommodation; is all understandable.The real issues behind all this are the reality of low-paid work in the area. That can only be improved by 'new' (out of tourism) businesses, — e.g. Broughton Book business — being encouraged into the area. I am not criticising individuals - we all have a heart for Coniston, and our numbers are being brought to a natural maturity (where the fight goes out). Especially "when things have already been decided" and "there's no point in making waves"! In worldly terms, each is out for himself. Society is built on the acquisition of wealth and properties in this area are a reasonably secure investment of others' wealth - to our village's detriment.I understand that there are government grants of £60,000 per house being given to New-build Housing Schemes.Is this the base line to work to? Will this unimaginative dated design of dwellings be a future folly of village naivety seen in all our Cumbrian villages? Cheap housing done to Prescott's £60,000 limit for the Architects Competition to design to.How short-sighted of our community to lower ourselves to accepting this type of manipulation. We all have a responsibility to the future of our community. These buildings are of minimal quality to satisfy Building Regulations. There have been no ecologically encompassing features – their life expectancy questionable.Why not offer the plot to budding architects to design more in keeping with the area and consider community self-builds or/and building using local expertise, and firms that can still build 'cheap' . . . we've got the stone!This would give work locally, and nationally put Coniston to the fore in Architectural - Ecological terms, using the whole scheme more positively and enthusiastically where we all have more satisfaction as to the outcome.We are a unique community that needs to be working together towards a better future.The negativity generated because it's all been sealed and sewn up before anyone gets a chance to have a say:-The Government directives that put us on this course:- cheap affordable local housing.Cheap it certainly is - Affordable - questionable, especially as the majority (if not all) are for rent, so no hope for those wanting to get on the housing ladder with a part mortgage (as I originally understood, with Affordable Housing Projects, everyone would have the opportunity of a mortgage).Local — who is local, — born and bred? or as with local occupancy, resident 3 years and living in the area? Housing - A development designed with a cost agenda, visually an uninspiring, town type, dated, ill thought out build.I never thought I would end up living in the village where I grew up. This is a precious community of people who live in a beautiful place. God not only brought me back but gave my London-born son of 14 the last years of his schooling in my old school, gave him good mates, an electrical training and a love of this place. Just as with all of us, I want my son to live here, marry and add to school numbers and keep this community alive into the future.We need to work together as a community - using what the world has to offer in a more positive way. We all have a duty to look beyond ourselves; not to be overwhelmed by the powers that be, but with the convictions of our hearts make a stand.There is a danger that the decision makers jumped at the chance of housing grants of around £60,000 while they are on offer. Build and run, while land can be bought at less than market value. Push, push the project before the whole world's housing market collapses, or the opportunity is missed. If and when it does, will here be a glut of second homes flooding the market?FLOOD - talking of which, my house is at the lower end of the village and is 100 years old this year! Part of the flood report says 'possible flooding every 100 years'. Well, my time is up!Above all God's hand is in this situation. No offence meant to any persons; if I've tweaked a nerve, it's a positive tweak. We all care. As for me, I'm thinking of building an ARK!

2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Cllrs Coxon, Hall & Kelly (vacations) and Cllr Lakin (family commitment).

3. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: None.

4. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING: The Chairman was authorised to sign, as a correct record, the minutes of the Meeting of 20th August 2007.

5. MATTERS ARISING from that Meeting:

5.a. PLAYGROUND: Still waiting for the clerk to pursue the amalgamation of of the Defibrilator and Amenity Funds with a view to creating one charitable fund (Coniston Village 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.

5.b. HOUSING: (i) The clerk accompanied Alastair Cameron to the Lakeside Hotel on 10 Sept for presentations to Housing Corporation's Rural Housing Advisory Group North West.

(ii) The Housing Corporation's Rural Housing Advisory Group North West visited the village on 11 Sept.

5.c. ‘BLUEBIRD’: On-going.

5.d. HIGHWAYS: (i) Cllr Kelly submitted a written report: I met John Bell on the morning of 12 Sept. He is going to organise the disabled parking place near The Garth asap, He classed it as a special case and measured the area while he was here. He gave the applicant a form to fill in and she has to write a letter to cover all the details regarding her health. He has asked the Parish Council to write a letter of support of what is being done. These letters need to be in quickly so that he can get the ball rolling. Another thing he asked Parish Council to do was to get the sign ready that will be displayed near the disabled parking bay so that as soon as the work is done the sign is ready.John Bell was going to another site after Coniston so he hadn’t time to discuss all the other issues, so he quickly looked at the list and said he would pass them onto the relevant departments.List: 1. Shepherds Bridge /Hawshead Road junction: yellow lining2. Pier Cottage crossing over Hawkshead Road from bridleway to path to lake: hedge cutting3. Lake Road signpost (to the Old Man): repair/replacement of post and fingers4. Brow steps: repair and painting5. Brow wall: rebuild where down6. A593 lay-by Cragg Cottage memorial bench: base needed7. Lane to Low Hall Garth: repairs8. Access across Village Green from Hawkshead Road: disabled parking space on Tilberthwaite Avenue9. Hawskshead Road / East of Lake Road junction: hedge cutting10. A593 Sunday parking Adam Bridge to Piper Croft (extra demand from Sacred Heart congregation)11. A593 Peak parking during surgery hours from Low Houses to Gateside (extra demand from Banks visitors).I brought up the matter about the road in front of the fire station where the road keeps sinking. I said that the road had been patched up numerous times, the worry was that one day it will collapse!! He was going to have a look at it on his way out of the village. He thought it might be a drains problem so he would pass it onto the Water Board.

(ii) The clerk had emailed to Highways on 7 Sept: I draw your attention to a phenomenon that has arisen, essentially, in the last month. The flow of traffic on the stretch of the A593 through Coniston from the Methodist Church to Gateside has been, at times during the day, severely hampered by parked vehicles on both sides of the road. The factors that seem to be evident are: 1. cars parked outside the doctor's at surgery times, and, 2. a preference for dwellers in the properties off the main road to leave their vehicles on the A593 rather than take them up the Banks. There are no parking restrictions on this stretch of the A593 but as it is the main route to and from the south and west there may well be a need to introduce a seasonal control.Coniston Parish Council meets next on the 17th September and representation from locals is to be made to the council about this concern. Your opinion would be much valued as part of the debate that evening.John Bell replied by email on 17 Sept: I have been asked to reply to your e-mail. We will treat this as a new request for yellow lines to be added to the traffic regulation order request list for Coniston. It is for the County Council to decide the priority, budget and programme of the next traffic order. At this stage I cannot give you an indication of when this might be. In the meantime, if you can keep an eye on the location and perhaps provide some photographic evidence of the problem, that would be helpful. Elaine Kelly passed me a list of ongoing Coniston items when I met her on 12/09/07. I have noted the reminder about Shepherd's Bridge to Hawkshead Road for yellow lines and the A593 parking near Adam Bridge; this latter will be treated as a new request. The other items will be dealt with by my colleague David Huck. I hope this information is helpful.

5.e. COPPERMINES VALLEY RD: Matters seem to have been resolved to the satisfaction of all parties involved.

5.f. LAND REGISTRY: The clerk has indicated that the parish council has no direct interest in this matter and having contacted the Rawdon-Smith Trust, the Environment Agency and the LDNPA further developments are up to those organisations.

5.g. ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR: The council has been advised to use “allegedly” where reports of incidents cannot be substantiated.

5.h. HALF-YEAR REVIEW: RESOLVED: clerk to prepare and present a half-year review at October meeting.

5.i. VILLAGE WALK: Annual inspection of section of the village still to be determined.

6. MATTERS ARISING Since that Meeting:

7. FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS: RESOLVED:

7.a. To issue cheques:

101360 to Royal British Legion for poppy wreath £25.00

101361 to R J Airey for bus shelter maintenance and repairs £51.40

101362 to E.ON Energy for street lighting (August) £80.00

101363 to LDNPA for wayleave £1.00

101364 to Playsafety Ltd for RoSPA inspection £84.60

101365 to C Sargeant for clerk’s expenses (Solto Collina twinning) £21.58

101366 to SLCC for subscription renewal £75.00

101367 to SLDC for 2nd quarter conveniences rent £664.72

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

8. PLANNING ISSUES:

8.a. PLANNING APPLICATIONS:

i. 7/2007/5396 RESOLVED:to support:Location: Hill Top, Bank Terrace LA21 8HFObservations: CPC is mindful of recent approval of alterations on neighbouring house, notes this is a resubmission and considers, as a rear-of-property development, this will have no visual impact on the landscape.

i. 7/2007/5444 RESOLVED:to support:Location: Old Hawkshead Road LA21 8ETObservations: CPC acknowledges its closeness to this project and the time and effort that has been spent on producing the application. In such circumstances it may need to declare an interest and not record a response. CPC leaves that to the discretion of the PA. However, at the meeting this evening there were 17 members of the public who, although not formally objecting to the planning application, commented and raised concerns. and to provide a balanced set of observations, CPC submits a summary of the opinions expressed by those present: At best this is a compromise solution to Coniston’s housing needs and is driven by the restrictions harshly imposed by the PA. The problem of a 50.2% presence of second/holiday homes remains a major concern that can best be tackled by government legislation aimed at restoring a sustainable community here and in other rural areas throughout the nation. Approval of this application by the PA should be made only after it has addressed these issues:1. the height of the development should be kept to an absolute minimum consistent with the level of the road and surrounding properties;2. upper room windows of new dwellings should not be on a level with those of present properties to invade the privacy of residents;3. greater attention should be devoted to making the appearance of the dwellings more compatible with surrounding properties;4. an overhaul of the drainage system serving Old Hawkshead Road needs to be made to ensure that present dwellings are not adversely affected by the extra load put on it by the new dwellings;5. to compensate for the loss of parking for present residents extra parking provision (at least 4 spaces) should be include in the development scheme; and,6. the extra vehicular use of what is a back road of narrow dimensions should be tackled with the introduction of a 20 m.p.h. speed restriction.CPC advised the members of the public who attended the meeting to voice these concerns that letters should be sent directly to the PA.

ii. 7/2007/5475 RESOLVED: to support with reservations:Location: The Village Pantry, 16 Yewdale Road LA21 8DUObservations: CPC support the change of use for the café in respect of internal alterations as a sensible business move but it has reservations about the appropriateness of the conversion of the parking area as a seating area because of the detrimental impact (i) on nearby residents and (ii) on the rear access to other properties.

iii. 7/20075550 RESOLVED: to support with reservations:Location: How Farm, Days Bank LA21 8HAObservations: CPC are of the opinion that in the current climate (of affordable housing and permanent occupancy) this development needs to be more clearly guaranteed as an extension to the present dwelling and not an add-on for separate or business purposes (i.e., $1 Context & Use is ambiguous: “to provide additional bedroom and toilet facilities for their visitors” because if paying visitors it would be a clear case of “change of use”). In all other respects (design, access, etc.) CPC are happy to support this application.

8.b. PLANNING NOTICES:

i. 7/2007/5226 Notice of Grant of Planning Permission:Location: Tarn Hows Car Park – new septic tank

ii. 7/2007/5261 Notice of Grant of Planning Permission:Location: The Old Post Office & Bridge House – slated roof and extension

iii. 7/20075393 Notice of Refusal of Consent to Application:Location: Public telephone kiosk, Yewdale Road – combined public payphone and ATM

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

Society of Local Council Clerks Various information and CD

Voluntary Action Cumbria Local Services Under Threat – letter and publicity

South Lakeland District Council Letter: Licensing Act 2003 – Review of Statement of Licensing Policy

South Lakeland District Council For information only: Agenda for Meeting 11 Sept

South Lakeland District Council Letter and documents: Parish Council Precepts 2008/09

South Lakeland District Council Letter: Publicity for the Annual Electoral Registration Canvass

South Lakeland District Council Letter: Notice of Review of Polling Districts and Polling Places

South Lakeland District Council Letter: Cumbria Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment

Cumbria County Council Letter and publicity: Community Minibus Brokerage

Cumbria Police Authority Letter and poster: Independent Custody Visiting scheme

Cumbria CVS Newsletter and training programme

CALC Training & Development Events Programme Autumn 2007

CALC Circular September 2007

CALC SLD Committee Letter and form: Parish Representatives

High Furness Neighbrhd Forum Notice & Agenda of meeting 19 Sept Grizebeck Village Hall

Clerks and Councils Direct Magazine September 2007

The Clerk Magazine September 2007

10. PUBLIC QUESTIONS: None that had not been addressed earlier in the Meeting.

11. REPORTS:

11.a. POLICE REPORT: None.

11.b. CLLR STODDART: Raised questions about the money collected from the weighing machine in the Bridge conveniences and the strangely-placed “no smoking” sign that is behind a door that when opened hides the sign.

12. DATE OF NEXT MEETING: RESOLVED: to confirm that the next Meeting will be held on Monday 15th October 2007 at 7pm in the Library.

Meeting closed at 9.40pm.

SIGNED: Chas Sargeant, Clerk DATE: 19th September 2007