Minutes of the meeting of New Hutton Parish Council on Wednesday 2 nd December 2015

151202-1 Present
Pat Bell, Hazel Hodgson, Henry Robinson, Martyn Welch (chairman), Arthur Robinson (clerk), Stan Collins (CCC),
Peter Thornton (SLDC) and one parishioner
151202-2 Apology
Kath Twist
151202-3 Acceptance of the minutes of the previous meeting
The chairman signed the minutes of the parish council meeting held on 14-10-2015 as a true record.
151202-4 Chairmans announcements
a) The recommendation about the public footpath through Old Croft yard will go to the CCC committee on the 6 th
January
b) The A684 is being resurfaced between its junctions with Hawkrigg Lane and Millriggs Lane but the subsidence
over the gas pipe will not be repaired yet.
151202-5 Declaration of interests

none

151202-6 Open session

a) The PCC asked for New Hutton Lane road name signs to be placed at each end of the lane so that visitors
could find the church and Institute more easily. The council decided not to support this idea as there are finger
posts at each end which point clearly to New Hutton.
b) It was suggested that crash barriers should be placed at the corners of the A684 at Raw Head and the
Hawkrigg Lane junction where there are frequent crashes. However, it was felt that the effect of the new nonslip road surface should be assessed over the next few months. Stan Collins agreed to ask CCC whether
chevron warning signs for sharp corners would be appropriate.
151202-7 Planning applications
a) Applications submitted requiring council comments: SL/2015/1088 Millholme Farmhouse an extension to
join the house and garage and the creation of ancillary accommodation in the garage roof space
b) The progress of the following application was noted:
SL/2013/0159 conversion of a garage to an affordable dwelling at Birks permission granted subject to the
receipt of a section 106 agreement about affordability
151202-8 Payment of accounts

none

151202-9 Financial report

a) On 22-11-2015, the Community Account had a balance of 2085.30 and the Business Saver Account had
510.05. Income still to be received is about 25.40 for the electricity wayleave and 3 for VAT refund. The
charge for the hire of the Institute for Parish Council meetings and four meetings of Broadband for South
Westmorland, bank charges and the clerks expenses had still to be deducted (estimated total of 185 by the
end of the financial year). Election costs will be deducted from next years precept. No progress was made
with two items on the parish plan for which expenditure was included in the budget for 2015-16. These were to
repeat the survey of the need for affordable homes, and to repair the fence at the parish field (a total of 400).
There will be an estimated balance at the end of March 2016 of 1900.
b) The issue of affordable homes and repair of the parish field fence will be included in next years budget.
c) The budget and parish precept were set for 2016/17 [proposed by Pat Bell; seconded by Henry Robinson] The
precept will be 1300, the same as for 2015/16.
d) Smaller councils with a turnover of less than 25,000 will continue to complete and publish an annual return
on their websites but will be exempt from having to submit it to an external auditor. However, they will still
need to have an external auditor in case there are questions from electors to be resolved. The Sector Led
Body (SLB), which includes NALC, has been set up to procure auditors. All councils who wish to opt out of the
SLB procurement must make their own arrangements with auditors. The council decided not to opt out of the
SLB arrangements.
151202-10 Correspondence
The following items of correspondence received since the last meeting were noted:
15-10-2015 from Upper Kent LAP minutes of the meeting on 28-09-2015 [forward to councillors]
16-10-2015 from SLDC guidance on gifts and hospitality [forwarded to councillors]
27-10-2015 from SLDC - Electoral review of South Lakeland [see below]
31-10-2015 from CALC 2015 annual report
05-11-2015 from CALC November newsletter [forwarded to councillors]
24-11-2015 from CALC document about devolution for Cumbria [forwarded to councillors]
01-12-2015 from CALC a second document about devolution for Cumbria [forwarded to councillors]

151202-11 Extension of the B4RN broadband network to the parish

B4SW (Broadband for South Westmorland) reported that on 02-12-2015, 219 homes had expressed an interest in
connecting to the B4RN network when it has been extended throughout the three parishes. This is 43.4% of the total
but the figure for New Hutton is 57.2%. 243,000 had been pledged in shares and loans but had still to be converted
into firm commitments. The total cost is not known but 300,000 has been suggested. The first draft of the route of the
main line is awaited from B4RN. The next tasks are to talk to respondents about actually buying shares and making
loans, and, when the route is received, to talk to landowners.
151202-12 Applications for grants by the parish council for the broadband network
a) Applications for grants will be made to the Lambrigg Wind Farm Fund (New Hutton), the Greaves Solar Park
Fund (Old Hutton and Holmescales) and the Armistead Wind Farm Fund (each of the three parishes to apply).
An application might also be made to the SLDC Local Improvement Projects (LIP) fund. It was agreed that
applications should be from parish councils rather than B4SW because they have constitutions and bank
accounts, and the mechanisms for accountability are clearly defined. Each application will be approved by
parish councils before submission.
b) In reply to a query, NALCs legal department has confirmed that a parish council can invest in B4RN shares
and lend money to B4RN but the better option is to make loans because they are more secure than shares
but they might be limited by the section 137 annual maximum.
151202-13 Chairmanship of the Upper Kent LAP
From the February 2016 Upper Kent LAP meeting, it is the turn of someone from New Hutton Parish Council to be
deputy chairman. John Heap from Old Hutton and Holmescales PC will be the chairman. Martyn Welch agreed to fill
the role.
151202-14 Grit spreader
Martyn Welch agreed to store the grit spreader and mend it.
151202-15 Parish plan
The parish plan was reviewed. CCC has built a footbridge over St.Sundays Beck on the path between Raw Head and
Millriggs Lane. BT has refused to do anything about exposed telephone lines in hedges in various parts of the parish.
A welcome pack has been prepared which is given to newcomers to the parish when the clerk is informed about them.
There are also notices about this on the notice boards. Playground equipment is available at Bendrigg Lodge for
parish children to play on. The programme to destroy Japanese knotweed in the parish is continuing and litter is being
picked up from the roads each spring. In February/March, the first trees will be planted in hedges, a programme which
might take a few years. Enquiries will be made as to whether First Responders wish to have a grant this year. The
QES Duke of Edinburgh Scheme will be asked whether the parish can help in any way with the community section of
the scheme. It was agreed that in 2016 there should be an evening when parishioners can bring old photographs to be
scanned and oral history recordings made to be placed on the parish website. A map of old landscape features and
names will be compiled at the same time. The next council meeting will discuss the issue of affordable housing. It was
reported that in 2017/18 SLDC will introduce a revised policy for new housing in rural areas which will make it easier
to get permission for self-build and for homes for farming children.
151202-16 Electoral review of South Lakeland
The Boundary Commission wants to keep the number of SLDC councillors at 51 but to make the populations in wards
more even. The council agreed that it is happy with the current arrangement whereby the parish is part of Whinfell
ward. If the ward is to be expanded in area and to have two councillors, it prefers the expansion to include other rural
parishes such as Preston Patrick rather than areas of large villages such as Oxenholme and Burneside. These
comments will be sent to the Boundary Commission.
151202-17 Date of the next meeting
The next Parish Council meeting will be at 7.30pm on Wednesday 17th February at the Institute
Arthur Robinson, parish clerk, Over Bleaze, Old Hutton, Kendal, LA8 0LU
Telephone 01539-725955
e-mail [email protected] www.newhutton.org.uk