2004/02

Silverdale Level Crossing

There have been quite a few occasions when the barriers have failed and vehicles have eventually crossed the line, despite the barriers being down. There have also been several incidents where the barriers have been raised, but vehicles have accidentally driven off the crossing and onto the railway line (the recovery services have encountered considerable difficulties, and trains have been held-up for long periods).

Both types of incident have led to a great deal of concern, and much letter-writing. In desperation we have referred the problems to our MP – Geraldine Smith. She shares our concerns and has now referred the matter to the Minister of State at the Department of Transport. Maybe he will be able to get things sorted out, before Tony Blair has to express his condolences, and state that “lessons have been learned”.

Onwards from the Parish Plan

The “Village Centre Action Group” is beavering-away, and members have had useful discussions with the Chief Planning Officer. The next step is to develop a design guide, probably by working through a ‘planning for real’ project. More about this in due course.

The Action for Silverdale Children group is well on with the design phase for the new (replacement) playground area of the playing field, at Cove Road. Progress on seeking grant-aid is currently held up, because it has been discovered that the Deed of Trust, that should have been executed soon after the land was purchased, in 1962, has either been lost without trace, or was never executed at all. To rectify the matter, our Clerk has been negotiating with the Charity Commission for the formulation of a new Deed, and we have now received approval of the draft version. We just need to execute the document (probably early February), deposit it with the Charity Commission, and then the members of ASC can swing into action with their grant applications. There will be a lot of work involved, but we are sure it will be well worthwhile in the end.

Christmas Tree and Lights

Two years ago, we had a village Christmas Tree in the grounds of the Day School, at Bleasdale House School. Regrettably some vandals decided to smash quite a few bulbs, which gave rise to considerable concern about broken glass being lodged in the grass, and possible injuries, as a consequence. The next year we went for a much more modest affair at the front of the Gaskell Hall, but it wasn’t really up to the standard we would expect (and it was vandalised!). This last Christmas we secured agreement with the Acting Head Teacher and the Governors of Bleasdale House, to move back to the School grounds again, provided that we did our best to try to thwart the vandals. It was decided to purchase a large set of “vandal-resistant” lights, when we received a very welcome offer from the Horticultural and Gardening Society to pay up to £100 for the set. Arthur Graves donated a tree, and then erected it, and installed the lights. It seems as though the display was very successful and was so well appreciated that the Horticultural and Gardening Society insisted on paying the full cost of £125.60. We are extremely grateful to the Society for their generosity, and similarly to Arthur…. maybe he has access to another tree for this next Christmas? Our thanks also go to the staff at Bleasdale for kindly hosting what turned out to be a very successful seasonal feature.

Will it be all change?

The Government wants us to have ‘regional government’, here in the North-West. They don’t want this to be an additional tier, in areas where there are two levels of Principal Authorities (as in Lancashire), so one tier has to go. The Boundary Committee has studied the options and has published its provisional preferences. Although there are three options for Lancashire, in practice there are only two for the top end of the County. If the plans go ahead, we will either find ourselves controlled by a unitary authority for the whole of Lancashire, or a more localised one encompassing the current areas of Lancaster, South Lakeland and Barrow-in-Furness. Given that those are the only options, and that a single authority for the whole of Lancashire would be very large, this Council has registered a preference for the combination of North Lancashire and South Cumbria, which is already being referred to as the “Morecambe Bay Unitary Authority” (although the Boundary Commission prefers not to use this name).

What will it mean for this Parish Council? Well, we don’t know for sure, but there is a strong probability that parish councils will be invited to take on some additional duties, delegated from the new authority. If there is a chance to do a better job (no complaints inferred), then this Council will try to rise to the challenge.

Our Chairman

John hasn’t been very well for the past few months, and has had to hand-over leadership to our Vice-Chairman, Peter Roberts. Peter has done an excellent job, and we thank him for his efforts, but we would also like to see John return to good health, and re-join the team. He is now ‘bionic’, with his new pacemaker pushing up his pulse rate (or whatever), so it won’t be long before we see him around the village again.

Your Councillors

If you feel the need, or desire, to contact any of our Councillors, please feel free to telephone any of them. Their names and telephone numbers (all preceded by 01524) are:

Chairman John Eden 701678
Vice Chairman Peter Roberts 702315
John Burrow 702784
Bernard Fryer 701734
Arthur Graves 701284
June Greenwell 701610
Ralph Henderson 761594
Tony Houghton 701416

2003/11

Parish Lengthswoman

Emma has now been working with us for just over two months, and has been making her mark on the village (for the better, of course). If you see her around, please stop for a friendly word – we want her to know that her efforts are appreciated.

Children’s Playground (Cove Road)

The swing set, for the older children, has now been reinstated, the frame has been painted, and, at great expense, we have had a “Wetpour” impact-absorbing surface installed. Quite soon the new chains and seats will be fitted, so that this popular facility can be brought back into use. If you visit the site, you might think that the “Wetpour” is just tarmac…. try walking on it – it will put a bounce in your step!

Our action group of local mums (and probably dads and other keen adults) is now officially constituted as “Action for Silverdale Children” (ASC). They have done a great deal of research and have come up with an excellent design for a scheme, for total renewal of the playground area. They had already advised us that they wanted to keep the existing swing-set for the older children, which is why the Parish Council have ‘invested’ so much money in bringing the unit right up to European Standards. Unfortunately, the Council cannot pay for the rest of the scheme, so the members of ASC are exploring various sources of funding, and possible money-raising activities.

Bank Well and Woodwell

By the time this Newsletter appears on the web site, we expect that a team of volunteers, led by Tony Riden, from the AONB Unit, will have done an annual clean-up and management operation of both of these “ancient watering places”. The Parish Council pays a nominal charge for this work, but this could not be kept anything like as low, as it is, without the involvement of the volunteers. If you are one of them… thank you very much!

Annual Audit for 2002-2003

This year, Silverdale Parish Council was selected as being one of the 5% of parish councils in the Country to be subjected to an ‘in-depth’ audit. We are pleased to be able to report that the auditors, HLB AV Audit, did not have to raise any queries, and that they completed the audit without making any comments, ie they were completely satisfied. If the system continues, it should be another 20 years before we have to submit to a further ‘in-depth’ audit…. our Clerk has now announced that he will be resigning sometime during the next 19 years!

Community Police Officer

A few months ago, our Community Police Officer, Ged Daley, departed for pastures new, and it was stated that he would not be replaced. However, your Council made very strong representations, and the decision was reversed. Whilst we were very sorry to lose Ged, we have actually been very pleased to welcome his replacement. PC Roger Brooksbank is now a familiar (and friendly) face in our community. We are already very impressed at the efforts he has made to bring a sense of security to our Parish. We cannot relax our personal guards for the security of our properties and persons, but Roger’s activities might make burglars think that Silverdale is a risky place to operate. If you want to talk to Roger you can contact him on his mobile phone: 07775-977887, but remember, if it is an emergency call, dial 999 instead.

Your Councillors

If you feel the need, or desire, to contact any of our Councillors, please feel free to telephone any of them. Their names and telephone numbers (all preceded by 01524) are:

Chairman John Eden 701678
Vice Chairman Peter Roberts 702315
John Burrow 702784
Bernard Fryer 701734
Arthur Graves 701284
June Greenwell 701610
Ralph Henderson 761594
Tony Houghton 701416

2003/02

Following the retirement of Cyril Beckford, we are very pleased to welcome Peter Roberts, who was co-opted to serve as a Parish Councillor, until the elections in May (please see the important message at the end of this Newsletter).

Over the Christmas period things went a little quiet, as usual, but early January saw our “Parish Plan Steering Group” move into ‘top gear’. On January 16th there was a major meeting, in the Gaskell Hall, of representatives of ten organisations and ‘interest groups’, but the theme this time was ACTION. Small groups tackled their chosen subjects and gave a brief presentation at the end of the evening on how their action group would like to progress. The Silverdale Sport and Recreation Development Committee was, perhaps, ahead of the game, having already established themselves as an action group, under the Parish Plan scheme.

Although not quite as advanced, it was particularly striking that a significant number of parents of young(ish) children attended ‘in force’ and formed an excellent action group. Amongst other things, this group would like to see a dramatic improvement in the play equipment provided in the top corner of the Playing Field. This news is music to the ears of the Parish Council, because our members are acutely aware of the need to make improvements. Currently we have £5000 set aside towards the cost of the improvements, but we will welcome the very valuable input (and leadership?) of this new action group.

Other action groups have some very valuable contributions to make to the future of our village, but it is too early for us to be able to give you a foretaste of what will evolve.
As to the other work of the Parish Council, you might like to know that we have been involved in preliminary discussions about the possibility of entering into a “Parish Lengthsman” scheme, in conjunction with the parish councils for Warton, Yealand Conyers and Yealand Redmayne. Whilst there are distinct attractions in this scheme there also some misgivings to resolve first.

The Government keeps making pronouncements about new schemes and rules to be introduced at the beginning of April, but the final details are still awaited. It certainly looks as though it will be another year of being bombarded with new challenges.

On May 1st, all existing members stand-down from office, as we go into the four-yearly elections. Most members are expected to stand for re-election, because they wish to continue to serve the community, which they cherish so much. However, not all members will stand again and so there is a need to find some ‘new blood’. We cannot over-emphasise the fact that….

IT IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL THAT ALL SEATS ON THE PARISH COUNCIL ARE FILLED AT THE ELECTION.

There are 8 seats on the Council but….. if only 7 people stand for election, we are very likely to have our application for Quality Parish status declined. The importance of this status was explained in the previous newsletter – lack of the status could prejudice the standing of the Parish Plan.

If you feel that you would like to know more about the work of the Council, please have a word with one of our existing Members, or the Clerk. If you are inclined to join us, PLEASE STAND FOR ELECTION!

 

2002/11

This second Newsletter for 2002 is being written shortly after the very successful Village Conference, organised as part of the procedure for developing the “Parish Plan”.

The Conference took place on Thursday 17th October and was attended by many more people than we would care to acknowledge with a specific number (in case of conflict with the maximum occupancy figure for the Gaskell Hall). It was certainly a tribute to the people of Silverdale, that there was so much interest – the enthusiasm for having a say in the future of our community was quite inspiring. The members of the ‘steering group’, who worked so hard in setting-up the Conference, are now working just as hard in evaluating the comments and suggestions posted on the boards by those who attended. More news about this in due course.

In our last Newsletter, mention was made of the “…frustration (exasperation, even), as a consequence of the Government’s new Model Code of Conduct and all the bureaucracy that goes with it.” Just a few weeks ago, the chief officer of one of the county associations of local councils wrote “Just when you thought it might be safe to get back in the water after the Code of Conduct and the Lighter Touch Audit, there is another shark out there waiting to snap at your heels!” This time he was referring to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the duty imposed on Parish Councils to register a Declaration of an adopted Publication Scheme. Whilst this has obviously caused quite a lot of panic and doom in many councils, for Silverdale it has almost been a case of “so what”. The reason for this laid-back response lies in this web site, which you have just accessed. Our Council has simply registered the “Model Publication Scheme for Local Councils (Core Classes only)”, knowing that almost all of the requirements are met by the information contained on this web site. Just for once we feel slightly smug!

Our Clerk is, however, not feeling too smug as he contemplates the new training regime, introduced to enable all clerks to attain an AQA Qualification. Peter could take a chance, by submitting a portfolio without doing the new training modules and, if the ‘verifier’ just could not find even the slightest weakness, he would be awarded the qualification. However, it is clear that clerks are to be deterred from trying to take this route, so it will probably be back to school in 2003. Fortunately Peter is also Clerk at Arnside, so the cost of the training can be shared with our neighbouring Council (and the precept for Silverdale kept slightly lower than would otherwise be the case).

Of course, the Council could decide to opt out of this latest Government scheme, but… if our Clerk does not attain the AQA qualification, then Silverdale Parish Council cannot be awarded “Quality Parish” status. If QP status is not attained, our Parish Plan will carry less weight in future Planning considerations (maybe no weight at all). This could leave some of you who are working so hard on the Parish Plan, wondering whether there would be any point in continuing!

We already have a foretaste of some of the challenges of 2003 and there are bound to be others appearing from nowhere, but when we have such a superb area in which to live and work it is surely worthwhile. Clearly we must all pull together… we being: residents and traders of Silverdale, Parish Councillors and the Clerk.

At the beginning of November it might seem a little early to be exchanging seasonal greetings, but the next newsletter will probably be in February. So from your Parish Council, may we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

2002/08

This is the first Newsletter for 2002 and is being compiled to coincide with the introduction of our new Web Site (for anyone who is not reading this on the Internet, the site is www.silverdale-pc-lancs.gov.uk).

Earlier this year our Clerk, Malcolm Westwood, had to resign from his post as he was moving to Scotland. We understand that he is now settled into his new home and enjoying life, although he must (of course) miss Silverdale! He has been succeeded by Peter Challenor, from Arnside. Peter has been a Parish Councillor and he is now also the Clerk to Arnside Parish Council, in addition to Silverdale.

Quite a lot of Council time has been spent in revising the accounting system in order to meet the changing demands of the Audit Commission. The idea is to make things easier and cheaper for Parish Councils, so that your representatives can spend more time attending to those things that matter to you (the electorate), without having to spend too much of your money on the audit fee. It is too early to make a bold statement, but it does seem as though this one might actually work!

Your councillors, at Silverdale, have experienced some frustration (exasperation, even), as a consequence of the Government’s new Model Code of Conduct and all the bureaucracy that goes with it. However, all members decided to sign the relevant undertakings. One of our long-serving and devoted councillors, Cyril Beckford, had already decided that it was time to retire from his Council work, before he was faced with the latest phase (registration of interests), so, knowing that he will have retired by the time the Standards Board get round to doing anything about it, he has registered his “protest” instead. The rest of the councillors have registered their “interests”, so that they can carry on – copies of the register entries are held by the Clerk and are available for inspection at meetings of the Council, or by prior arrangement. We shall certainly miss Cyril’s input to the work of the Council, but we thank him for all he has done.
Moving on to a matter which is enthusiastically supported – “Vital Villages”. This is a scheme which is partly funded by the Countryside Agency and which will eventually assist us in getting grants for improving community services and community transport (possibly other things too). The initial stage is to produce a Parish Plan, so that we know where we are trying to go, in Silverdale. We have done some preliminary consultation work with various sectors of the community and have been very impressed with the level of support and encouragement, particularly (but not only) from our Neighbourhood Watch group. Perhaps we should also mention that the production of a Parish Plan might enhance our say in the future ‘Planning Regime’, which has been heralded in the Government’s Green Paper and further publicised with John Prescott’s reported determination to have the recommendations implemented as soon as possible.

Future newsletters will be produced as and when we have something to say and will probably incorporate the specific new items which will appear at the head of this page. The hope is, however, that we will produce at least four newsletters per year, for promulgation on this Web Site.

In closing this newsletter, we would just like to thank our Parish Church for including the Minutes of our meetings in each of the monthly Parish Newsletters (even ‘holding the presses’, when we have had to re-schedule a meeting).