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.