PRESTON PATRICK PARISH COUNCIL

Transcription

1 PRESTON PATRICK PARISH COUNCIL To Members of the Council 13 July 2015 You are summoned to attend a Meeting of Preston Patrick Parish Council in Preston Patrick Memorial Hall on Monday, 20 July 2015, commencing at 7.30 pm to deal with the items of business set out in the agenda below. Mrs LS Winter Clerk A G E N D A 1. Apologies - to receive apologies and accept reasons for absence 2. Minutes - to authorise the Chairman to sign the Minutes of the Annual Council Meeting held 18 May 2015 as a true record (previously circulated) 3. Requests for Dispensations the Clerk to report any requests received since the previous meeting for dispensations to speak and/or vote on any matter where a Member has a disclosable pecuniary interest 4. Declarations of Interest - to receive declarations by elected and co-opted Members in respect of items on this agenda Members are reminded that, in accordance with the revised Code of Conduct, they are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests or other registrable interests that have not already been declared in the Council s Register of Interests. Members may also decide, in the interests of clarity and transparency, to declare at this point in the meeting, any such disclosable pecuniary interests that they have already declared in the Register, as well as any other registrable or other interests. 5. Public Participation a) To receive report from Kendal Rural Policing Team b) To receive report on relevant matters from local County and District Council Member c) Any member of the public may make representations on matters relating to the parish 6. Highways Presentation to receive presentation by Nick Raymond, SL Area Highways Manager on communications with Cumbria Highways, how to get priorities delivered and speed monitoring feedback; and to consider any action required 7. Superfast Broadband Presentation - to receive presentation by New Hutton and Old Hutton & Holmescales Parish Councils Working Group on project to investigate the feasibility of extending B4RN network from J36 through Preston Patrick and beyond; followed by Q&A; and to consider request to join the Group (briefing paper attached) 8. Councillor Vacancy to receive update on co-option to fill current vacancy and to agree any further action 9. Change of Clerk/RFO - to confirm Clerk s retirement 31 Jul, and appointment of successor wef 1 Aug; to consider appointment of a Working Group to draft Contract of Service; and to authorise change of contact for Bank and NS&I A/cs, etc. 10. Planning a) Consultations from SLDC - to note the delegated responses made in respect of the following to meet deadlines between meetings, and SLDC s decisions: SL/2015/0499 Valley View for Mr S Redmayne: porch and single storey side extension [garden room] No objection. SLDC decision: Granted SL/2015/0511 Waters Edge Caravan Park Ltd, Crooklands for Mr Atkinson: repositioning of existing static Warden s caravan and replacement with a static caravan for letting purposes- No objection. SLDC decision: Granted 3 Goose Green Cottages, Preston Patrick, Milnthorpe, Cumbria, LA7 7PA prestonpatrickpc@hotmail.co.uk

2 SL/2015/0515 Springfield Barn, Preston Patrick for Mr G Bywater: extension to form new garage, bedroom & bathroom No objection (no objection raised to identical application previously approved, now expired - SL/2011/0118). SLDC decision: Granted b) Consultation from SLDC - to consider the following: SL/2015/0527 Land at Otterburn, Crooklands for Mr B Nellist: erection of a detached dwelling and associated access c) Withdrawn Application to note withdrawal of SL/2015/0331 Land adj. Gatebeck Cottages for Mr D Matthews- Replacement stable building to replace existing stable block and storage containers and formation of car parking area for 15 Gatebeck Cotts d) Appeal against SLDC s refusal of proposed Crematorium at Beetham to note Inspector will deal with the Appeal by Public Hearing, 11 Aug; and to authorise Cllr Winter to put the Council s case against J36 as an alternative site for a crematorium 11. Finance a) 1 st Quarter Budget Monitoring to consider report and to note balances (attached) b) Schedule of Payments - to approve the following schedule and a transfer from NS&I to Barclays A/c before next meeting: Payee Paid between mtgs: Chq No Folio Amount c) Budget to consider any projects for inclusion in the draft budget 12. SLDC Consultations to consider the Council s response to the following: a) Draft Housing Strategy and related Action Plan (summary attached) b) Draft Empty Houses Strategy and Action Plan (summary attached) c) Revised Statement of Licensing Policy d) Parish Charter - to note publication of the Charter 13. Meetings/Events Attended to receive reports on the following and agree any action: a) Lancaster Canal Trust: National Trailboat Festival VIP Flotilla 1 Jun Chairman b) CALC District Association 4 Jun - Cllr Winter c) S Westmorland LAP 9 Jun - Cllr Winter d) South Cumbria Rivers Trust 23 Jun Himalayan Balsam clearance Peasey Beck 14. Gatebeck Noticeboard to note provision of metal support by Barnes Engineering of Gatebeck Business Park as a goodwill gesture to the community 15. Next Meeting date: - to note Mon 28 Sept at 7.30 pm Budget Head and detail LS Winter Staff Costs 1 st quarter salary HMRC Staff Costs 1 st quarter PAYE SLDC Street Lighting Information Commissioner To be paid: Data Protection fee Envirocare MS Ltd Gatebeck xroads grasscutting LS Winter Staff Costs 2 nd quarter final sal. Total

3 PPPC 20 July 2015 Agenda Item: 7 Briefing about superfast broadband for the meeting of Preston Patrick Parish Council on the 20 th July, 2015 By New Hutton and Old Hutton & Holmescales Parish Councils Working Group Background New Hutton and Old Hutton and Holmescales parishes are part of the 5% of Cumbria which will have only 2Mb/sec speed of broadband under the Connecting Cumbria/BT programme. It is possible that even this speed will not be provided. 2Mb/sec is inadequate for any but the most basic uses of broadband and is having a harmful effect on residents abilities to sell their houses, on businesses including farmers and on everyday functions such as school homework, shopping etc. It is believed that the same situation applies for much of Preston Patrick parish. The B4RN hyperfast network is predicted to reach the junction 36 auction mart at the end of summer It provides an opportunity to extend the facility to the large rural area east of Kendal. New Hutton and Old Hutton and Holmescales Parish Councils have agreed to form a group to extend the network and wish to invite Preston Patrick to join it. The working party has three representatives from each of the parishes as well as a former resident of Old Hutton who works for B4RN. Why use B4RN rather than other providers? The options for superfast broadband in our area are: Speednet Scotland established a trial wireless broadband network from the Armistead wind farm as part of Banks Renewable s application for a wind farm at Killington. As it has no fibre connection it is limited to the 20 users in the trial and download speeds of 10Mb/sec. Speednet Scotland have told the PCs that it intends to install a fibre link in order to extend its service to the whole area but does not have the money to do so and has no definite plans. Kencomp provides a wireless service from the Crosslands mast. Many parishioners cannot get it because they do not have a line of sight to the mast. Some occasional users are happy with the service but a number have ended their use of it because it is unreliable. Its speed varies enormously and frequently and is particularly bad during rain and fog. When the link goes down at weekends it might not be repaired until Monday. The installation charge is very high ( 350) as is the monthly cost (see the table). If the amount of data downloaded (eg photos) is above the limit for the month, Kencomp charges extra. The upload speed is low (0.5Mb/sec) which means that services such as Skype may not work and the sending of photos and large documents can take a long time. The monthly charges in January 2013 were: Services & Features Light Standard Premium Microwave Broadband up to 10 Mb/s Microwave Broadband up to 20 Mb/s Microwave Broadband up to 30Mb/s Microwave Broadband up to 50 Mb/s Data Allowance (Giga Bytes - GB) Upload Speed Mb/s Contention 50:1 50:1 50:1 Excess Data Usage Charge /GB BT/Connecting Cumbria This project installs fibre to BT cabinets and then the signal goes down the present copper cables into houses. Within 0.6 to 1Km of the cabinet the speed is superfast (more than about 23Mb/sec) but this is measured along the cable, not as the crow flies. From 1Km to 5Km the speed rapidly slows to 1Mb/sec or less. Therefore, only houses near Endmoor are likely to benefit from the BT cabinet in the village. The speed quoted by BT is only for downloads; the upload speeds for sending information are much slower. If it is available in an area, the charges for BT Infinity are:

4 Speed Usage Phone use Monthly cost Activation fee Included + line rental up to 38Mb/sec 20GB None up to 38Mb/sec unlimited weekends up to 76Mb/sec unlimited weekends none B4RN Because the B4RN network is fibre into the home, it provides speeds of up to 1000Mb/sec which is more than 30 times faster than BT s. This means that it will need no further upgrade for many years to come as use of the internet increases further. Upload speeds are as fast as downloads and there is unlimited usage for no extra payment. The installation cost ( 150) is much cheaper than for wireless providers and monthly payments are the same or cheaper than for BT/Connecting Cumbria. The cost is 30/month for unlimited usage and if an unlimited telephone service is wanted, the total cost is about 37/month. More information can be obtained from the B4RN website (b4rn.org.uk). What will the local group need to do? The B4RN network is very cheap for a world-class service because much of the work is done by volunteers. It is a not-for-profit company registered with the Financial Conduct Authority under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 using the community benefit option. Its network already serves 18 parishes in Lancashire and an associated group (B4YS Broadband for Yealand, Silverdale and Storth) is currently laying cable. Within each parish, volunteers will need to do four tasks: 1. Establish who is interested in using the service. The aim is to offer it to even the most remote parts of the parishes. Users have to pay an initial connection fee of 150 for fibre to be installed from their home to the network; the fee is the same whatever the distance. Once the users have been identified, the route of the network can be planned. 2. Plan the route. The network goes across farmland to keep costs low. In return for granting free wayleave, landowners get an investment in the organisation if they dig the trenches across their land. Volunteers negotiate the route with the landowners. They also talk to users to plan the exact routes of the cables from the network into their homes. 3. Raise the money to install the network. A rough guide to costs is that it costs 5 a metre to lay the ducting and cable across fields (For comparison, BT charges 1000/metre to lay it under roads). Local individuals and companies can invest in the scheme and can claim 30% tax relief as EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme); there is no minimum subscription to qualify for this scheme. They cannot withdraw their investment for three years but will then receive 5% interest. Users do not have to invest to get a connection, but the more people who invest in the network the faster it is built with the available funds. It might also be possible to apply for grants from the two wind farm community funds in the parishes and a preliminary enquiry has revealed that a grant can probably be obtained from SLDC. 4. Install the network. Volunteers might need to do some of the trench digging but most of it is done with a mechanical digger and a mole plough. They are mainly involved in laying cable in the trenches and connecting it at junctions and to homes. Other parishes have found that it takes about two years from formation of a working party to installation of the network. What are the next steps? We hope that Preston Patrick PC will agree to join our group and find three volunteers to co-ordinate the work in the parish. The whole group will then need to meet B4RN officially to clarify points before public meetings are held. After that the actual work described above can start. Who are the current members of the group? New Hutton Mike Burke, James Hodgson and Martyn Welch Old Hutton and Holmescales Simon Gray, John Heap, Hazel Parsons and Arthur Robinson From B4RN Paul Parsons

5 PRESTON PATRICK PARISH COUNCIL PPPC 20/7/15 Agenda Item: 11a) Budget Monitoring - 1st Quarter 1 Apr - 30 Jun 2015 Actual to end June Budget Head Balance Comments Budget PAYMENTS Admin Staff Costs - Clerk's salary (incl. PAYE) Paid quarterly Staff Costs - mileage Staff Costs - Payroll Service Fee Paid annually at start of year Expenses, eg Office consumables, postage etc Audit Fee Insurance surplus - budgetted 5% rise but no increase Data Protection Registration Fee Renewal July Election Fees costs payable 2016/17 Training/Conference fees CALC courses usually 30/Clerk forums 5 IT equipment/maintenance earmarked funds c/f for IT equipment needs Hire of Hall for Meetings Hall costs, 20 per meeting, paid in March Other Fixed Items Parish Footway Lighting surplus Miscellaneous Activities & Projects Assets maintenance & replacement - bus shelters, seats, noticeboards Metal support for noticeboard provided free of charge by Barnes Engineering, Gatebeck Highway verge maintenance Gatebeck x-roads cuts to date - invoice to be paid Quarter 2 Membership: Lancaster Canal Trust Membership: CALC Grants Grants are considered in January CLP - Preston Patrick Community Led Plan earmarked funds c/f for costs of completion of Plan and actions eg community website SLDC Local Member's Grant for WW1 commemorative project earmarked funds c/f - project to be completed later in year S Defibrillator cabinet purchased from balances including donation; 25 is for poppy wreath Contingency sum Earmarked Broadband funds held for LAP Held in balances since 2012 ; repaid to SLDC VAT Taken from balances, claim at year end Total Payments Receipts Precept Parish Purposes Parish Support Grant Nat Savings Interest (0.75%) Interest is credited in January SLDC Local Member's grant Not yet known if any contribution available ACT grant - CLP % of expenditure will be reimbursed Donation from Endmoor & Dist. First Responders Towards provision of defib cabinet VAT reclaim Reimbursement Total Receipts Cashbook Reconciliation Receipts less Payments 2,088 Plus balance b/f 1/4/14 4,964 TOTAL 7,052 Bank Reconciliation as at 30/6/14 Barclays Bank Community A/c 1,544 Less cheques unpresented -516 NS&I Investment A/c 6,024 TOTAL 7,052

6 PPPC 20/7/15 Agenda Item: 12a) South Lakeland District Council s draft Housing Strategy and Action Plan Clerk s Note and Executive Summary South Lakeland District Council is seeking the Council s views on its draft Housing Strategy and its related Action Plan, in particular: 1. The proposed five housing priorities; whether they are supported 2. The proposed key measures; proposed amendments and whether any significant issues are not being addressed 3. The proposed key targets; are they the most important measures? 4. The Actions; proposed amendments and ideas for new actions. The Action Plan is due to be published by the end of It will be reviewed and updated after the end of each financial year. The next update is due in May Members have had an opportunity to look at the full documents, and the Executive Summary is reproduced below. I have also added the key measures after the Summary. LS Winter Clerk Executive Summary Housing is a critical issue for SLDC. The District needs new affordable, market and specialised housing. New and existing housing needs to have a positive effect on health and be energy efficient. This is why our Council Plan seeks to provide homes to meet need and it has a vision of providing quality new homes and raising the standard of existing homes to meet housing needs, improve health and support economic growth. The Strategy sets out a framework for specific measures that will deliver this vision. The Council s five housing priorities, in no particular order, are: A - Developing new affordable and open market homes to meet need and support economic growth. B - Providing supported housing and services to improve the health and well-being of older, young and vulnerable people. C - Improving housing standards, particularly environmental, to improve the health and well-being of all residents. D - Making best use of the existing housing stock to create sustainable communities. E - Preventing and reducing homelessness. The targets we will use to measure success are the following: Key targets: 1: To complete 1000 new affordable homes for rent in the period 2014 to : To complete 500 new affordable homes for sale in the period 2014 to : To enable up to 5000 new homes (market and affordable) by 2025

7 4: To assist up to 800 households with Disabled Facilities Grants by To reduce the % of homes with category 1 hazards to less than 15% by : To reduce the percentage of homes in the lowest energy performance certificate (EPC) bands (F and G) to less than 5%. 7: To reduce the number of long-term empty homes by 10% by : To ensure the number of homeless households living in temporary accommodation will be no more than 20 at any one time. The key measures to be used are the following: Key measures: A1 Work with private housing developers to encourage the delivery of new market and affordable homes on allocated housing sites; providing a range of new housing which will allow our young people to stay and attract new young people to our area. A2 Work with and support housing associations and community land trusts using the Council s resources (land, grants and loans) to maximise the delivery of new affordable homes, particularly affordable homes to rent. A3 - Provide grants to private landlords to convert unused non-residential properties in town centres into new affordable homes to rent. A4 Provide advice and, where appropriate, promote initiatives to help younger and other first-time buyers to buy their own home. A5 Enable the development of self-build/custom-build homes. A6 Enable the development of new infrastructure required to deliver additional housing through a variety of means including the Community Infrastructure Levy and other external sources of funding.

8 PPPC 20/7/15 Agenda Item: 12b) South Lakeland District Council s Draft Empty Homes Strategy and Action Plan Clerk s Note and Executive Summary This is the first stand-alone Empty Homes Strategy produced by South Lakeland District Council, and Parish and Town Councils are being consulted. Members have been able to look at the full Strategy and Action Plan, and below is the short Executive Summary extracted from the Draft Strategy. LS Winter Clerk Executive Summary The Council s five year Plan recognises the importance to tackle the issue of empty homes in South Lakeland, bringing them back into use to provide homes that meet need. The Strategy sets out our vision and priorities to deal with empty homes in South Lakeland, together with measures of success. Our vision is: Bringing empty properties back into use as homes to meet needs and to help sustain communities making better use of existing housing. Our approach is to: 1 Make best use of existing housing stock to provide homes to meet need 2 Target resources primarily at areas of highest housing need where the number of empty homes is higher 3 Ensure the accurate monitoring and reporting of empty homes Our Key Measures of success are to: 1 To reduce the number of long-term empty homes by 10% by Bring a minimum of 70 empty homes back into use each year through targeted interventions 3 Bring at least 3 empty homes back into use annually using the Empty Homes Grant Management Scheme in partnership with South Lakes Housing 4 Re-launch the Matchmaker scheme and match up to 2 empty homes per annum through the scheme 5 Refer up to 5 properties per annum to the Council s Social Lettings Scheme or Affordable Housing Renovation Grants Scheme 6 Identify and report second homes that are currently recorded as empty homes as this is classed as an intervention generating New Homes Bonus at least 10% of interventions to be through this means