2018/12

December Newsletter

Community Public Access Defibrillator (CPAD)
There are CPADs at Holgate’s caravan park, at Silverdale Golf Club and outside the Gaskell Hall. We are still looking for 2 more suitable sites for CPADs with access to an electricity supply (the estimated electricity running costs are c£2 pa). Suggested sites from members of the public are welcome.

Emergency Plan
Councillor Sandiford has taken the lead on this and the equipment is in place at the Gaskell Hall. Councillors Bennett and Houghton have keys to access the emergency plan equipment and Councillor Bennett is speaking with Councillor Sandiford about the Emergency plan procedure.

Speed Indicator Devices (SpIDs)
We have borrowed 2 Speed Indicator Devices from Lancashire Constabulary, one of which records the time and speed of passing vehicles. Councillor Bennett may be able to make a temporary bracket for one with a view to evaluating its usefulness over a few days. Councillors Bennett and Houghton are researching a suitable location and we will discuss options regarding a more permanent location based on the usability of the SpID and data collected.

Area Information Boards
In February Mrs Barbara Henneberry of the AONB came to talk to us about the Area Information Boards that are being produced for the public in the area. A grant for £100 (from the Bittern Countryside Community Interest Company) is available towards the cost of erecting the information boards. The boards can include whatever information we think appropriate, together with a map, we would, however, prefer to delay finalising the information until the North West Coastal Access route and signage is known.

Annual Parish Meeting
At our Annual Parish Meeting in March Mr Dai Perry, Coastal Access Lead Adviser, and Ms Angela Harker, Coastal Access Adviser, Cumbria Area team, Natural England gave a presentation on the North West Coastal Path. They explained that the stretch of coastline along Morecambe Bay is challenging and complex in terms of coastal access as the stretch includes Sites of Special Scientific Interest, significant bird and wildlife habitats, salt marsh, the railway and areas with pre-existing rights such as those with regards to cockling and turf digging.
Ms Janet Thomas, Operational Library Manager (Lancashire County Council) also gave a report – Silverdale library re-opened in November last year and is open for 16 hours a week including Saturday mornings. In January the library had 809 visitors and in February it had 673 – this is on target (the total number of visitors in 2016 was 5,590). The library has more items in stock now than it had before its closure. Ms Thomas left some information about the short “Learn My Way” online modules whereby people can learn online skills to meet their requirements with 1:1 support from library staff, Lancashire Adult Learning and volunteers and suggested that anyone wishing to volunteer give their name and email address to the Silverdale Librarian.

Tenders
We accepted the one tender which was submitted for cleaning the public toilets and weekly replenishment of the supplies of dog waste bags (from 1st April 2018) – this was from Mr Paul Williams for £2,760.
We accepted Mr Tim Lambert’s tender for Parish Contractor work (£3,600 pa), Mr David Wain’s tender for grass cutting at St. John’s Avenue and Woodwell (£540 pa) and Envirocare’s tender for the playground grounds maintenance (£3,120 + VAT pa). All took effect from 18th May.
We also accepted Mr Steve Lamb’s tender for maintenance of the website (£150 pa) from 1st June 2018.

Annual Parish Council Meeting
Councillor Bennett resigned as Chairman at our Annual Parish Council Meeting in May. We elected Councillor Bond as Chairman and Councillor Houghton was elected as Vice-Chairman.

Direction Signs
We are in the process of replacing 5 historic directional signs in the village. Ms Janice McGloine has offered to display the old signs at the Wolf House Gallery.

Parish Council Notice Board
You may have noticed that we have a new notice board outside the Gaskell Hall – it is larger so will meet our needs better. The notice board is free standing and double-sided and we share it with the Gaskell Hall.

New Members
In July Mrs Shirley Mason resigned as a Parish Councillor due to ill health and in August Mr Paul Williams resigned. In both cases, following the display of vacancy notices for the required time there had not been enough public interest in holding an election so we proposed to co-opt a new Member. Four residents put themselves forward and we agreed to co-opt Mr Stephen Wales and Mrs June Greenwell.

Bins
Lancaster City Council have suggested supplying some bigger bins in locations where bins fill up quickly, such as the Shore and outside the Gaskell Hall, and replacing shabby bins in the village centre by swapping them with smarter bins from remoter areas of the village or providing new bins. Some bins have now been replaced, but we are waiting for more!

Delivery Waiting Restrictions outside the Co-operative store
The Co-operative store are asking for a waiting restriction from around 6am until 10am to be put in place in order that their delivery vehicles can park outside the store during that period and unload; we are pressing Lancashire County Council for a decision on this.

Playground
We take safety issues seriously and have a comprehensive safety regime – RoSPA are asked to carry out an inspection of the playground every 5 years, Lancaster City Council carry out a quarterly inspection and the parish contractor (Mr Lambert) carries out a weekly inspection – a written report is provided after every inspection.

Healthy Villages
We recently held some public meetings about the ‘Healthy Villages’ initiative which were very well attended. It has been decided to take forward 6 projects: communication, transport, the promotion of clubs and societies, digital literacy and combatting isolation. Councillor Bond and Dr Andy Knox will work with a representative from each group to follow up on the ideas and issues that have been raised. We also gave a s137 grant of £200 towards software and start-up costs for the re-introduction of the Silverdale e-newsletter (Silverdale Hotel have contributed £200 as well) – it is felt that having the newsletter will contribute to a ‘Healthy Village’ as it is a way of keeping villagers informed and in touch with community events etc. Those wishing to subscribe to the newsletter and receive emails listing upcoming events should register at silverdale.events/newsletter-subscription .

Police
PC 3573 Robert Barnsley is now the Police Constable for Silverdale – he and 2 PCSOs cover the Upper Lune Valley area.
The issue of vehicles being parked on the pavement has been raised – the police’s advice on this is for the public to take photographs of such incidences and send them to the police.

First World War Armistice Commemorations
We joined in the National Beacons Initiative on 11th November as a part of the WW1 Armistice commemoration – the National Trust gave permission for a beacon near the “Pepperpot”. We also bought a galvanised metal bench, designed and manufactured to commemorate the centenary of the First World War, for the War Memorial Gardens.

Budget and Precept for 2019/20
At our meeting this month we examined the draft budget. We refined the budget to take account of the cost of removing the existing paintwork, priming and repainting the clock pillar which is likely to be c.£1K and to increase the budget for works to benches to £1K and have set the precept at £33,961 (the precept for 2018/19 was £34,780).

Deputy Clerk
Mrs Sue Hayward resigned as Deputy Clerk this month. Mrs Gill Ribbons has been appointed as her replacement.

Advance Notice of Parish Council Election!
Please note that all the Parish Councillor positions will be up for re-selection in May 2019 – this is an opportunity for any resident on the electoral register to offer themselves for election if they wish (nominations must be submitted by March/ April 2019)!

2017/11

November Newsletter

Defibrillator

Unfortunately, we have had to change our plans regarding installing a Community Public Access Defibrillator outside the Bowling Club as it is not possible to arrange an electricity supply via the streetlight. We considered housing a defibrillator in the Elmslack/ Cove Road (disused) phone box, but it would be very costly to have a supply connected there. The Silverdale First Responders’ Group has disbanded and have donated their funds to the parish council for the purchase of defibrillators when we find a suitable location for them.

Lancaster City Councillor Margaret Pattison

Lancaster City Councillor, Margaret Pattison, came to speak to us at our July meeting. Councillor Pattison explained that she is the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Markets, Voluntary Sector, Older People and Rural Affairs, she is also a Morecambe Town Councillor and a Lancashire County Councillor where she is a member of the Health Scrutiny Committee. Councillor Pattison gave an account of her work and spoke about her cabinet portfolios – she explained that, whilst she is not on Lancaster CC’s Planning Committee, she is involved in planning matters through her role as Cabinet Member with responsibility for Rural Affairs.

Bus Service

Councillor Bennett monitored the bus service for a period recently and found that, during that time the bus kept to the timetable quite accurately and consistently. He advised that the usage of the bus is very low – an average of 1.7 people per trip – and the viability of the service continuing is compromised. The service is funded until April 2018, but to help ensure continuation of the service, residents are encouraged to use it as much as possible.

Six residents have expressed an interest in joining a Bus-User Working Group to start monitoring performance and look at ways of improving and promoting awareness of the bus service.

Emergency Plan

Councillor Sandiford has been keeping us informed about progress with the Emergency Plan. A test of community emergency plans took place in Halton recently. Representatives from Lancaster CC, Lancashire County Council, the police and fire services attended and Councillor Sandiford will incorporate some ideas from the session into the Emergency Plan Procedure for Silverdale. He is looking at ways of publicising the Emergency Plan to residents and asking for volunteers who will be needed to carry out the roles in the Emergency Plan.

Ash Trees Surgery will contact everyone on their register of people in Silverdale whose circumstances may make them vulnerable and ask them if they would elect to be kept on a list to be contacted in the event of an emergency. The Clerk will keep the list which will comply with Data Protection legislation.

Development Plan Document

The DPD has been ‘published’ for a 6-week period – representation can be made, but it is not a consultation period. The next stage is to submit it to the Government Inspector in January/ February 2018.

Speed Indicator Devices (SpIDs)

There is no longer funding in place for SpIDs and any purchase and site survey/fixing would have to be paid for through parish council funds. We have asked PC Massingham to carry out community speed monitoring with a laser device at peak times, such as around 8am when many drivers are leaving the village for work, and to report back when such checks have been carried out. We are also querying why Silverdale does not have a SpID when other villages have them. Councillor Bond, in his capacity as School Governor, has asked Silverdale School to become involved with this issue.

Playground

At the September meeting of the Playground Trustees accepted the Parish Council’s proposal to take over responsibility for all ongoing playground inspections, maintenance/ repair and the costs thereof.

Gait Barrow

Mr Glen Swainson, Senior Reserve Manager for Gait Barrows, Roudsea Wood and Mosses National Nature Reserves and Ms Maggie Robinson, Team Leader for South Cumbria came to our meeting this month to talk about Natural England’s (NE) proposal for Hawes Water. The meeting was well attended by members of the public who were able to ask questions and raise their concerns about the proposals.

We felt that a significant issue with regards to the proposals has been the lack of effective advance information to allow the public to understand the plans and to allow comment and interaction to be made in a timely manner. We appreciate that NE are responsible for managing the site in accordance with both the site designations and the applicable legislation and, should the work go ahead we appreciate NE’s commitment to minimise path closures and to try, wherever possible, to reopen paths outside working hours, or provide, where possible, alternative routes within the site. Councillor Williams has been involved in the detail of this matter since the Council became aware of it.

2017/06

June Newsletter

Annual Parish meeting (Annual Assembly)
At our Annual Parish meeting in March Mr Andrew Frankish, Environment Officer (Environment Agency), gave a presentation an account of which can be found in the minutes of the Annual Parish meeting on our website.

Annual Parish Council Meeting
Councillor Bond resigned as Chairman at our Annual Parish Council Meeting in May after 10 years of being in office. We thanked Councillor Bond for his achievements during his term of office and we appreciate all his hard work and dedication. We elected Councillor Bennett as our new Chairman and Councillor Houghton was elected as Vice-Chairman. We wish them both well!

Bus Service
We might lose our bus service when the current contract expires. We are inviting residents to form a working group to review the bus service and find ways to promote its use to help justify its continuation; we also ask that you record any alleged instances of the bus not keeping to the timetable and report them to the Parish Clerk giving as much detail as possible – the information will be passed on to the operator so that they can check against the records from their satellite based tracking system and advise of any reason for the discrepancy. We are putting up maps showing the bus route at the bus stops, on the notice boards and at various tourist spots by way of publicising the service.

Defibrillator
We have decided to install another Community Public Access Defibrillator in the village and approached the Bowling Club about the possibility of one being stored at the roadside there – the Bowling Club agreed and they are looking at providing an electricity supply to the site.

Tenders
Public toilets – we received one tender for the cleaning of the public toilets and that this was from Mr Paul Williams for £2,760. We accepted Mr Williams tender with effect from 1st April.
Website – Mr Steve Lamb will continue to maintain our website until 1st June 2018 on the same terms as his current contract.
Grass cutting – 4 contractors supplied tenders for grass cutting (St. John’s Avenue and Woodwell). We accepted Mr Hull’s tender (£512 pa) with effect for 18th May for 12 months.
Parish Contractor – 3 contractors submitted tenders – we accepted Mr Tim Lambert’s tender (£3,600 pa) with effect from 18th May for 12 months.
County Councillor Philippa Williamson
Philippa Williamson is the newly elected County Councillor for our area. Councillors Bennett and Houghton met with her in May and raised various issues namely: the library; the road junction of the A6 and Nineteen Acre Lane; delivery time waiting restrictions outside the Co-operative store; the Co-Responders scheme; highways/gulley clearing/verge maintenance; the bus service and County Councillor attendance at parish council meetings. Councillor Williamson gave her apologies as she was unable to attend our June meeting (she was on holiday), but intends to attend the July one.

Library and Information Hub
The Library Working Group has been working extremely hard and their application for an Independent Community Library was approved by Lancashire County Council in March, however, things changed when the Conservatives became the controlling group in May as one of their election pledges was either to re-open all the libraries that had been closed or to provide extra support to help community operated libraries flourish. The Library Working Group met with County Councillor Williamson and with County Councillor Peter Buckley (Cabinet member for Community and Cultural Services) this month to discuss options. The County Council is unable to commit to anything until after their cabinet meeting in July, but we have asked for the interim re-opening of the library as soon as possible whilst the Library Working Group considers its preferred long-term option.

Playground
The metal gate at the entrance to the playground has been reworked to include new posts, hinges and an automatic closing mechanism.; this will be installed soon.
In addition to routine repairs etc we have changed the surface for the aerial runway – the woodchip has been taken out and replaced with top soil, matting and grass. The area has temporarily been taped off whilst the new grass is established.

Benches
Three benches have been reconstructed recently and Councillor Bennett has carried out a survey of all the benches with Mr Tim Lambert – 9 more have been identified as needing some re-work. We will decide on what action to take at our next meeting.

Leeds Children’s Holiday Home
A planning application for the demolition of camp buildings and siting of 25 static caravans’ pitches and manager’s dwelling and site reception at Leeds Children’s Holiday Home has been refused by South Lakeland District Council. We made representations by letter to the SLDC planning committee objecting to the planning application.

Emergency Plan
Following the severe weather and flooding in our region in 2015/16, we invited to apply and subsequently gained approval, for a grant to improve our resilience to such events in the future. The Gaskell Hall has been agreed as our Emergency Centre. A diesel-powered generator is being installed to allow the lighting and the heating systems to be operated in the event of a mains power failure. Low energy LED lighting has been installed at the Hall, which will also reduce the everyday bills and the carbon footprint. Modifications are being carried out on the wiring to allow for the connection of the generator. It is planned that the system will be ready before the beginning of September.

Police
PC Massingham attended our June meeting and advised that reports of anti-social behaviour on the playing field have reduced; he believes that the increase in police patrols of the area has had an impact. He urged us to report all incidents, no matter how ‘minor’ to the police. Non-emergency incidents can be reported by phoning 101 or via the Lancashire Constabulary website using the general enquiry contact form or ‘contact an officer’ link or by emailing Morecambe.NPT@lancashire.pnn.police.uk.

2017/02

February Newsletter

Library
When Lancashire County Council (Lancs. CC) announced that they were closing our library last year we formed a sub group to evaluate the feasibility of reopening the library as an Independent Community Library and Village Information Hub. The sub-group (made up of representatives from the parish council and the community) have been, and still are, working hard on putting together proposals for the library and liaising with Lancs. CC who have made an offer for the library to be run as an Independent Community Library (ICL).
The estimated costs of running the ICL are £6K pa and we agreed to include this figure in our 2017/18 budget and precept request. The increase in the precept equates to approximately £10 per household pa (depending on the council tax band for each property). Estimated costs include routine repairs, electricity supply, water/ waste water bills, maintenance of burglar and fire alarms, testing of electrical appliances, insurance etc.
Lancs. CC will hand over the current stock of books to the community library, give a start-up grant of £5K and a grant of £1K per annum for Information Technology. A free service is also offered for delivering books ordered from the Lancs. CC stock to the Silverdale library building, supplying books for home deliveries, scripts for plays and scores for choirs and the help of a Community Support Manager for a minimum of two years.
When available, Lancs. CC’s lease will be scrutinised and a thorough survey of the library building carried out before a final commitment is made.
We are very grateful to the sub group for all their hard work.

Precept
The precept request for 2017/18 is £30,942.

Emergency Plan
Following a talk by Mr Mark Bartlett, Civil Contingencies Officer, from Lancaster City Council (Lancaster CC) in June last year about the Community Emergency Plans and local resilience measures we are forming an emergency plan and have made a successful bid for funding for equipment to the Community Foundation. The equipment includes a generator at the Gaskell Hall. The wiring to the Gaskell Hall has been completed ready for the generator (and enclosure) to be fitted and checked and low power lighting has been ordered – this will be funded jointly by the Gaskell Hall and the Emergency Plan grant. It is hoped that the works will be completed by the end of March.

Public Toilets
We are currently locking the ladies’ toilets at night following recent incidents of vandalism. The incidents were reported to the police and we have asked them to patrol the area and look into who the perpetrators might be (the Co-operative store has some footage of materials being purchased in connection with the vandalism). In view of the running costs, and time spent managing the toilets, we reviewed whether or not we should continue with the toilets. We decided to carry on, but will ascertain how much they are used by installing people-counter sensors – one for each external door.
We are inviting tenders for the cleaning of the toilets and the weekly replenishment of the dog waste disposal bags for the year 2017/18. The tender document can be found on our website and is displayed on the notice board outside the Gaskell Hall.

Sports and Recreation Committee
Last year we resolved to resurrect the Sports and Recreation Committee to look at what opportunities there are for different sports in the village. Councillors Bond, Houghton and Sandiford will represent this Council on the Committee and the Silverdale Institute and Gaskell Hall Committees have put forward a representative each. Our focus has been on the library of late, but we will be arranging a meeting soon.

Roadside Verge Maintenance
As there were safety issues on the roads last year, when the roadside hedges and verges became very overgrown and our reports to Highways were not acted on quickly, we have agreed to report any critical areas to Highways when they arise and look at prices for a contractor to be on call to cut back the vegetation on or behalf (at our expense) if, and when, necessary.

Bus Service
We are delighted that the service will continue into 2017/18. We are, however, aware of several issues with the service and Councillor Bennett will be arranging a meeting with the bus service operator to discuss these. Please remember that the service is heavily subsidised and may be untenable in future years so it is important that we all promote and use the bus service.

BT Broadband cabinets
Last year we were given details of the proposed sites for BDUK High Speed Broadband Cabinets at The Chase and Stankelt Road and contacted BT with suggestions for more suitable sites. Morrison Utility Services (acting on behalf of BT Openreach) have said that, for various reasons, they cannot put the cabinets on Stankelt Road and The Chase in the locations we suggested so we are asking for a site meeting with them.

Annual Parish Meeting
We have booked the Gaskell Hall for Wednesday, 15th March for the Annual Parish Meeting. Mr Andrew Frankish from the Environment Agency (Waste water/sewage disposal) will be our speaker. More details will be announced nearer the time.

Benches
A new bench has been installed at Burton Well made with wood (from Eaves Wood) donated by the National Trust. The person who made the bench wishes to be anonymous.
Three benches have been identified as in need of urgent repair – at Hazelwood, the War Memorial and opposite the Royal Hotel. The bench frames/ ends will be shot blasted and repainted and we have has some oak replacement slats ready for the benches to be repaired.

Local Plan
A series of consultation meetings about the new Local Plan are being held on various dates across the district including one at Carnforth Civic Hall, North Road on 21st February (3-6pm). The closing date for comments is 24th March.

Defibrillators
Mr Tony Orrell, Chairman of Silverdale/ Community First Responders (CFRs), came to speak to us at our meeting this month as we were considering the possibility of installing another defibrillator in the Elmslack/ Cove Road phone box (which is no longer in use as a phone box). Mr Orrell described how the ‘Community Public Access Defibrillator’ (CPAD) works and explained that in instances of cardiac arrest the chances of a successful recovery are reduced by 10% a minute until a CPAD is used and so it is essential that, if one is needed, that it is near at hand. Mr Orrell offered to use Silverdale CFR’s funds to pay for a CPAD should the Council decide to have one. We discussed whether or not Elmslack Lane was the best place to house a CPAD and agreed to consider other sites for one (or 2) more CPAD(s). Once a site(s) has been identified the CFRs will be contacted regarding their offer to fund a CPAD. Meanwhile we will approach the North-West Ambulance Service about the possibility of a Co-Responders scheme in Silverdale (where the Fire & Rescue Service and the Ambulance Service work in partnership).

2016/09

September newsletter

United Utilities Project/ Road Closure at Millhead
Representatives from United Utilities came to our July meeting and spoke about their project to install new pipework and a storm water tank on Warton Road (opposite Midland Terrace, Millhead) – this is to help the sewerage system handle extreme weather conditions. The ground conditions have determined that the new pipework has to be laid in the carriageway along Warton Road and so a section of the road is closed and a traffic diversion route is in place. We are concerned about the route as larger vehicles will have difficulty passing each other on the narrow country roads and we have asked that a one-way system be implemented (as had originally been described by United Utilities).

Bus Service
A revised timetable has been issued which includes an additional stop at The Green. There is a link to the new timetable on our website. This service is heavily subsidised and may be untenable in future years so it is important that we all promote and use the bus service.

Neighbourhood/ Parish Plan
We are thinking of revising this and invite your feedback which will be taken into consideration at our October meeting. A copy of the current Parish Plan is available on our website.

Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN)
There is only one word to describe the achievement made by B4RN in bringing high speed fibre optic to Silverdale – phenomenal! It is expected that St. John’s church will be connected by the end of the month.

Silverdale Library
We are very disappointed with Lancashire County Council’s decision to close our library. We have expressed an interest in taking on the running of the library as a library/ community hub, but need more details on the costs involved and to see templates of volunteer-run libraries from other areas before we can consider this further.

Dogs
Lancaster City Council has two Dog Control Orders in place – one states that all dog waste must be collected immediately from any land (unless it is privately owned ) and one covers dogs on leads – this Order is ambiguous but, basically, requires that dogs be kept on a lead when on the road in most areas.

2016/06

June newsletter

War Memorial
Mr Rod Ireland put forward a case for including Mr Tyson Edmondson’s name on the War Memorial (he is already listed on the memorial in St. John’s church) and we have now planted a tree in Mr Edmondson’s memory.

Dog Waste Bags
We have fitted some new dispensers for dog waste bags and filled them with supplies of corn starch bags which are biodegradable

Playground
We have had the roof panels to the tower structure in the playground replaced as the original panels were rotten and unsafe.

Public Toilets
Unfortunately, as a part of their cutbacks, Lancaster City Council made a last minute announcement that they would be reducing their contribution to the running costs of the public toilets. We obtained two quotations to carry out an electrical inspection of the toilets and have instructed Mr Mulholland to carry out the work.

Annual Meeting
At our annual meeting last month Councillor Bond was re-elected as Chairman and Councillor Bennett was elected as Vice-Chairman.

Community Emergency Plans
Mr Mark Bartlett, Civil Contingencies Officer, from Lancaster City Council attended our meeting this month and spoke about the Community Emergency Plans and local resilience measures. We will form a plan and may put in a bid for funding for equipment to the Community Foundation.

Speed Indicator Device (SpID)
We have asked PC Barr to reapply for funding for a SpID on our behalf.

Heritage Asset Register
Not all of the nominations that we put forward to Lancaster City Council have been included on their register. We have made the following nominations: Burton Well Scroggs, County Wall (a medieval wall between Silverdale and Arnside), the Royal Hotel, Challan Hall, the Railway Station and Waiting Room, Silverdale Institute and the Spite Wall, separating 21 and 23 Stankelt Road.

Bus Service
There have been communication problems with some old timetables displayed still at the bus stops – we will ask for these to be removed and replaced with the new timetable. The Silverdale trains timetable has been revised and has created some anomalies, e.g. the 9.32 has been moved to 10.02 from July and the 15.17 train will no longer be stopping at Silverdale, therefore making the bus connection useless. We will write to FLAG about this. We are about to carry out a survey of the use of the bus and fares collected and hope to have the information ready to report to our July meeting.

Silverdale Library
Lancashire County Council propose to close Silverdale, Carnforth and Bolton-le-Sands libraries as part of their budget cuts; this means that Morecambe, Lancaster, Milnthorpe or Kendal library will be the nearest; their consultation period regarding the proposed cuts ends on 7th August (the consultation document is available online). We will discuss the proposed closure of the library further at our July meeting. The County Council will make their final decisions on 8th September.

2016/03

March newsletter

AONB (Arnside and Silverdale) Development Plan Document (DPD)
We responded to the AONB Development Plan Document and list of proposed sites – a copy of our response is on our website (listed under ‘contents’).

Funding
We continue to consider applications from village organisations for funding under section 137 (Local Government Act 1972) on an ad hoc basis. In the last few months we have donated £411 to St. John’s Parochial Church Council to cover the cost of an oven, hob, sink, tap and microwave; £200 for set up funding for the Friends of Silverdale Station; £100 to the Silverdale Contact Group towards the printing of a village directory; £90 to the Silverdale Field Day Committee to cover the hire of the hall for the children’s Christmas party and £700 to support the work of the AONB.

Toilets
One tender for the cleaning of the public toilets was submitted and considered at our meeting this month, this was from Mr Paul Williams for £2,710. We accepted Mr Williams’ tender with effect from 1st April.
We have replaced the taps to the basins with non-concussive taps (in order to reduce water usage and avoid taps being left on) and we have repaired the fascia board.

Dog Waste
We have bought some new dispensers for dog waste bags and a supply of corn starch bags which are biodegradable.

Budget
Our budget for 2016/17 is £25,051, we have requested a precept of £19,901 (our anticipated income is £5,150).

War Memorial
Mr Rod Ireland put forward a case for including Mr Tyson Edmondson’s name on the War Memorial and so we are adding his name and planting a tree (with a plaque) in his memory.
The Lambert family kindly made a metal frame to help keep the wreaths in place when they are laid on Remembrance Sunday.
Woodland
In November the Woodland Management Committee reported on the schedule of tree surveys to be carried out at Bankwell, Burton Well Scroggs and Burton Well Lane and noted that a full survey will be carried out every 3 years in all areas. Several trees require attention or felling – we invited tenders and instructed Westmorland Tree Care to carry out the work before the nesting season.

Whinney Fold
Approximately 60 residents attended our meeting this month, mainly to raise the matter of Whinney Fold and the possibility of a residential development for an 18-unit scheme. We have objected to the planning application on the grounds that the proposal constitutes a major development; we have asked for the application to be considered at Planning Committee and have pointed out that Shore Road provides the only means of access to the shore for emergency vehicles.

Speed Indicator Display Sign (SpID)
We were unable to obtain funding for a SpID when we applied last year and have asked PC Barr if he can re-apply this month.

Bus Service
We’ve worked hard to maintain a bus service following a late announcement by Lancashire County Council (Lancs. CC) that funding would be withdrawn to bus services (affecting the Silverdale Shuttle and route 51) from 3rd April. We surveyed villagers and held an extraordinary meeting to discuss this issue. Thanks must go to Councillor Bennett who worked out a revised timetable for one service incorporating the school run, stops to meet the trains at Silverdale Station, around the village and along the route to and from Carnforth. This formed the basis of a joint application with other parish councils to Lancs. CC’s £2m fund which had been set aside for bus services to rural and disadvantaged areas in 2016/17. The new service will operate from 6am to 7pm six days a week with effect from 4th April. Needless to say unless the service is well used we will not be in a strong position to make a case for funding again in 2017/18.

Overgrowth
Lancs. CC have cut back the overgrowth along the roadside in some of the worst affected areas – areas still in need of attention include Warton Crag and Waterslack.

Annual Parish Meeting
Mrs Julie Bell, Head of Lancashire Libraries, Museums, Culture and Registrars gave a report at our Annual Parish Meeting. She explained that there will be a reduction in the number of libraries from 74 to 34. The County Council is looking at every building owned by them in order to assess which they would prefer to keep. A list of options will be made available on 16th May when a 12-week consultation period will begin. We will discuss how we should deal with the possibility of Silverdale library closing at our meeting in April.
Mr Bob Cartwright, Secretary of the Westmorland Red Squirrel Group, gave a presentation on the work of the Group. The number of native red squirrels has declined since the 1870s mainly due to the introduction of the grey squirrel, however, it appears that the red squirrel is moving into areas where the grey squirrel has been culled. The public is asked to report sightings of red and grey squirrels online at www.westmorlandredsquirrels.org.uk or by phone: 07836 584201/ 01539 821714.

2015/09

September newsletter

Seats
Councillors Bennett and Houghton have carried out a survey of all seats which are the responsibility of the parish council. Thirty seats do not require immediate attention, a refurbishment/ replacement plan will be considered for nine seats and three seats were found to be unsafe – two have been taken out of use and one (on the shore) has now been fitted with recycled plastic slats by Councillor Houghton and there has been positive feedback as to how this looks.

Playground Management Committee
Mrs June Greenwell and Mrs Carol Hansbury have both agreed to join this – the terms of reference need to be agreed before a meeting is held.

AONB (Arnside and Silverdale) Development Plan Document (DPD)
Parish Councils have been invited to put forward sites for protection from development and we suggested the following: the watering places, the playground, the Institute field, Silverdale School’s playing field, the War Memorial Gardens and the bowling green (the cricket field is covered by the National Trust).
The envisaged timetable for the DPD is as follows: issues/ options report – October 2015, the first draft DPD available for consultation in the first quarter of 2016 and the adoption of the plan in mid-2016.

Building Waste
Residents can apply for an ‘inert (building) waste’ permit (online or by phone, tel: 0300 1236781) to deposit up to 10 bags of inert waste a year free of charge at a Waste Disposal Centre, otherwise Lancaster City Council now charge for depositing such waste.

Institute Field
On 20th July we held an extraordinary meeting in connection with the Silverdale Village Institute planning application for the construction of a skate park, multi-use games area and running track. More than 50 members of the public were present and there was a lot of discussion about the planning application. We decided to support the general thrust of this application to improve recreational facilities, but were unable to come to a full decision, because of the lack of information on certain points. However, we have recently been informed by Mr Tim Stothert (of Silverdale Institute) that the planning application for a MUGA and scooter bowl on the Institute field has been withdrawn.

Whinney Fold
More than 30 residents attended our August meeting mainly to raise the matter of Whinney Fold and the possibility of a residential development for a 19 unit scheme (8 affordable homes and 11 private dwellings). Members reminded those present that comments should be made direct to Lancaster CC, to the developers (Applethwaite) and to City Councillor N. (Nigel) Goodrich (117 Main Road, Bolton-le-Sands, LA5 8DX. Tel: 07425160906 ngoodrich@lancaster.gov.uk) and that the DPD is reported on monthly at parish council meetings.
We agreed to oppose the proposed development at Whinney Fold and noted that the proportion of affordable homes should be higher than that of private homes.

Bus Shelter
We repaired the bus shelter on Park Road recently, but will consider removing the bus shelter should it need major repairs in future as it is felt that it is not often used.

Burning of Waste
We are aware that bonfires can be a nuisance and cause air pollution and note that advice on smoke control along with a ‘Burning of Waste’ factsheet can be found on the Lancaster City Council website: http://www.lancaster.gov.uk/environmental-health/environmental-protection/smoke.

Speed Indicator Display Sign (SpID)
PC Barr came to our September meeting and suggested the use of a SpID as a way of encouraging motorists to reduce their speed. Lancashire Police would fund the SpID and any training involved in how to use the device, however, the parish council would need to recharge the SpID, fund the cost of the poles and mounting plates, arrange for public liability insurance and insure the SpID against theft. We will consider whether or not go ahead with this at our October meeting.

2015/06

June Newsletter

Superfast Broadband

The first properties in the Broadband for Yealand and Silverdale scheme have gone ‘live’ (including Yealand village hall) and the routes to Silverdale and Storth are being considered. Apparently superfast broadband is now available in Silverdale via British Telecom.

Station Waiting Room

The Chairman, Ms Margaret Mackintosh and a representative from the Furness Line Action Group attended a meeting with Mr Chris Cutts, the Station Manager for Northern Rail, to discuss the waiting room which is considered to be in relatively good condition structurally. The building is owned by Network Rail, but Northern Rail has responsibility for it over the next 12 months (during their franchise); it is hoped that it could be used by a community project with funding from lottery grants, for example, with income generated by the project used to maintain the building. We see our role as being one of helping to promote the project and we have written to Mr Cutts to confirm this.

Website

Mr Steve Lamb will continue to maintain our website until 1st June 2016 on the same terms as his current contract.

Annual Meeting

At our annual meeting in May Councillor Bond was re-elected as Chairman and Councillor Houghton as Vice-Chairman.

Ms Harriet Bradfield and Ms Angela Woods did not stand for re-election at the local elections in May. Mr David Sandiford stood as a new Member, as there were eight vacancies, and only seven candidates standing for election, all seven were elected unopposed and we had one vacancy. Mr John Bennett, Mrs June Greenwell and Mrs Carol Hansbury subsequently put themselves forward for co-option onto the Parish Council. We interviewed them and agreed to co-opt Mr John Bennett. Mrs Greenwell and Mrs Hansbury have since been asked if they would like to join the Playground Management Committee as members of the public.

Mr Nigel Goodrich was elected as City Councillor in the local elections and we look forward to working with him.

Post Office

The Post Office will be moving to Silverdale News, 17 Emesgate Lane on 17th August.

Public Rights of Way Improvement Plan

We have responded to the consultation document to request that footpath 22 be removed (it goes through some residential properties) and to raise the issue of the Trowbarrow – Moss Lane footpath again.

Donations

Recently, we donated £134 towards advertising the Open Gardens’ scheme and gave a grant to Ms Sue Heise for the hire of Silverdale Village Institute for ‘brush up’ language sessions. Both grants were given under section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972.

Seats

Councillor Houghton has inspected the seats owned by the Council and identified many in need of attention. We have now formed a sub-committee to look after the seats and other street furniture in the village, with Councillor Houghton as Chairman and Councillors Bennett and Williams as Members; Mr Laws has been invited to attend for information.

2015/03

March Newsletter

Christmas Lights
We had a lot of positive comments about the Christmas trees and lights along Emesgate Lane in December and will arrange for trees and lights again this year – we will ask that the trees be taken down before the end of January in future.

Toposcope
The toposcope (in memory of the Queen’s Jubilee) is now in situ by the Pepperpot – this was funded by the Parish Council and installed by National Trust volunteers.

Woodland
The Woodland Management Committee has received a full report on the trees on parish land. Approximately 29 are in need of felling and work is required to raise the crown height to some trees, particularly along the side of Bottoms Lane (in order to avoid damage to high-sided vehicles). Some of the trees will be felled, free of charge, in return for the timber, some (in the Woodwell area) could be removed by United Utilities as a part of their work. We will be preparing a tender for the felling of the remainder and the raising of the crowns.
Bat boxes will be fitted in various places and the Red Squirrel Conservation Group would like to set traps to catch grey squirrels (in order to encourage the red squirrel to return to the area).

Village Website
We are looking into adding more links to, or pages for, the various organizations/ businesses in the village on our website.

Budget
We have set our budget for 2015/16 at £22,298.

Cove House and Leeds Holiday Centre
The Chairman and Councillor Houghton have met with representatives from Cove House, Leeds Holiday Centre and the National Trust regarding trespassing in the grounds of Cove House and Leeds Holiday Centre. Holgates have been contacted and will include information in their brochure about the difficulties of walking on the shore close to the caravan park. We are looking at signage in the area and how danger might be conveyed.

Benches
Councillor Houghton has reported on the condition of the benches and asked that if anyone sees a recycled plastic bench that looks a suitable style for Silverdale please would they make a note of the manufacturer’s details and notify us.
Moss Lane/ Trowbarrow footpath
The AONB has been working with the landowners, but the matter is now with the Lancaster CC to resolve.

Broadband for the Rural North
We have signed a Wayleaves agreement to install Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN) network entering Parish Council property near Burton Well Cottage and exiting Burton Well Scroggs to cross Bottoms Lane adjacent to no 1.
It is hoped that the network will reach Yealand village hall by Easter. All of the work is done by volunteers and once communities start to make a profit everyone benefits.

War Memorial
We have put in place memorial plaques, mounted on stone, at the War Memorial Gardens – the plaques give information on the soldiers who are commemorated there. We are currently looking at ways of holding the wreaths in place (to reduce the chances of them being blown about).

Public Toilets
Two tenders for the cleaning of the public toilets were submitted and considered at our meeting this month: ATEM – £11,600 and Mr Paul Williams – £2,560. We accepted Mr Williams’ tender with effect from 1st April 2015.
We also considered the tenders for the refurbishment of the toilets and have accepted Mr Mike Murphy’s tender to replace the fascia board with uPVC and Mr Stefan Laws’ tender for preparation and painting.

Annual Parish Meeting
We held our annual meeting this month and Mr John Rogan, Library Officer (Morecambe) showed a selection from Mr Owen Graystone Bird’s 205 colour-washed glass slides which have been scanned and he compared them with present day images (from Google street view). Lancashire County Council bought the slides at auction in 2004, they were taken during the period 1900 – 1910 and can be viewed on line at lanternimages.lancashire.gov.uk. Residents are invited to look at the images, pass on any information and anecdotes regarding any of the locations or people they recognize and to take photographs of the locations to build up a set of ‘now and then’ images. Mr Rogan can be contacted by email with any information john.rogan@lancashire.gov.uk

Royal Hotel
Planning permission has been granted, but a number of conditions must be met before works (other than repairs to the roof) can be carried out – it is unlikely that works will start before the autumn.

Post Office
You may have heard about the proposed closure of the post office and transfer of post office business to the newsagents – we have been told that there is no alternative if the post office is to remain in the village.