Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chair for the forthcoming year.

Mr A Barry was elected Chair for the forthcoming year.

To elect a Vice Chair for the forthcoming year.

Mr A Markley was elected Vice-Chair for the forthcoming year.

Apologies were received from Mr J Lister, Mr K Little and Mr T Lywood.

Members are invited to disclose any disclosable pecuniary interest they have in any item on the agenda which comprises:-

1          Details of any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for       profit or gain.

2          Details of any payment or provision of any other financial benefit (other than from the authority) made or provided within the relevant period in respect of any expenses incurred by you in carrying out duties as a member, or towards your election expenses.  (This includes any payment or financial benefit from a trade union within the meaning of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

3          Details of any contract which is made between you (or a body in which you have a beneficial interest) and the authority

(a)       Under which goods or services are to be provided or works are to be executed; and

            (b)       Which has not been fully discharged.

4          Details of any beneficial interest in land which is within the area of the authority. 

5          Details of any licence (alone or jointly with others) to occupy land in the area of the authority for a month or longer. 

6          Details of any tenancy where (to your knowledge)

            (a)       The landlord is the authority; and

(b)       The tenant is a body in which you have a beneficial                                        interest.

7          Details of any beneficial interest in securities of a body where

(a)       That body (to your knowledge) has a place of business or land in the         area of the authority; and

(b)       Either –

(i)      The total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one       hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body; or

(ii)     If that share capital of that body is of more than one class, the total nominal value of the shares of any one class in which the relevant person has a beneficial interest exceeds one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that class.

In addition, you must also disclose other non-pecuniary interests set out in the Code of Conduct where these have not already been registered.

Note

A “disclosable pecuniary interest” is an interest of a councillor or their partner (which means spouse or civil partner, a person with whom they are living as husband or wife, or a person with whom they are living as if they are civil partners).

There were no declarations of interest made on this occasion.

RESOLVED that,     the press and public be not excluded from the meeting during consideration of any items of business.

There were no petitions, statements or questions received at time of publication.

There were no petitions, statements or questions made on this occasion.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting held on 5 March 2021.

RESOLVED that,     the minutes of the meeting held on 5 March 2021 be agreed as an accurate and complete record.

For members to receive a presentation from the Area Manager – Allerdale on the topic of Area Working.

(to follow)

The presentation on Area Working was deferred on this occasion.

To consider a report from the Executive Director – Corporate, Customer and Community Services.

Members considered a report from the Executive Director – Corporate, Customer and Community Services that set out the Communities Budget for Allerdale as agreed at full Council on 18 February 2021. The Area Manager – Allerdale introduced the report and provided details of the agreed budgets and provided recommendations on how these could be allocated. Members also heard that additional funding was allocated to Local Committee to support the response to and recovery from Covid.

With regard to the Local Committee priority, ‘Supporting people to access training, apprenticeships and employment’, members asked that the Area Manager – Allerdale provide a list of approved trainers so the Committee could ascertain where there were gaps in services. It was AGREED that a comprehensive list would be brought to a future meeting as part of the Area Working Update.

The Chair brought members attention to the update on School Crossing Patrols explaining that the Service Level Agreement (SLA) estimated that the service could cost £84,360 if a full service was given at all sites. The current allocated budget of £38,154, although the same as the previous year, was significantly less than the SLA although the level of vacancies currently would mitigate the difference.

It was reported that there were 17 school crossing patrol posts and 9 of these were currently vacant. The Chair reminded members that if these posts remained vacant for more than two years they would be disestablished and the SLA would be less in future budgets. The Area Manager proposed an working group exercise on the topic of School Crossing Patrols and this was AGREED. A discussion then took place whereby the Local Member for Harrington expressed her concerns regarding a school crossing in her division. The Chair gave assurances to the Local Member that the Traffic Management Team Leader was looking to carry out a review of the school crossing in question.

RESOLVED that,    

1)    Members note the budgets allocated to Allerdale Local Committee for 2021-22 as set out in Appendix 1 of the report,

2)    Members note the additional budgets allocated to Allerdale Local Committee from the Contain Outbreak Management Fund as set out in paragraphs 4.15 and 4.16 of the report,

3)    Members agree the full School Crossing Patrol Budget of £38,154 is allocated to fund the provision of school crossing patrols in the Allerdale area as per the Service Level Agreement - see Appendix 2 and to fund technical assessments to inform any disestablishment of posts,

4)    Members note the current position statement against the 2021-22 budget as set out in Appendix 3 of the report,

5)    Members agree the full Neighbourhood Support Budget of £116,857 is allocated to contribute to the funding of the Community Services Team for 2021-22,

6)    Members agree to the allocation of the 0-19 budget of £79,319 as set out in paragraph 4.16 and spent in line with the local committee priorities.

7)    Members agree to the use of the 11-19 Universal Provision budget of £32,908 to be agreed at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To consider a report from the Executive Director – Corporate, Customer and Community Services.

Members considered a report from the Executive Director – Corporate, Customer and Community Services which presented grant applications in excess of £5,000 for consideration and approval.

The Area Manager – Allerdale detailed the grant applications from the 0-19 Services:-

Project 1 – Aspatria Dreamscape

The programme is to work with young people who are disengaged from school and struggling with their emotional wellbeing. A qualified tutor would work with primary and secondary age children in Richmond Hill and Beacon Hill schools providing group work and one to one sessions, teaching young people a wide range of life skills, including how to lead a healthy lifestyle and coping mechanisms to encourage them to improve their health and wellbeing and to re-engage in education. The project aimed to support approximately 70 young people over a 12-month period. The total cost of the project is £21,675 and the organisation were applying to local committee for £10,000

Project 2 – Right to Work

The Right to Work programme is Cumbria wide and aims to support young people who are becoming disengaged from school due to anxiety, low self-esteem, low attendance, or bullying. Referrals would come from schools and the project aimed to support a minimum of 12 young people, across all secondary schools in Allerdale, over a 12-month period. The total cost of the county wide project is £55,423 however a lower number of referrals would be taken from Eden and South Lakeland to reflect the level of need. The organisation were applying to local committee for £11,088 of the 0-19 funding.

The Area Manager – Allerdale then detailed the grant applications from the General Provision budget :-

Project 3 – Hoarding Project

The hoarding hub is a working group of the Allerdale Local Focus Hub, a multi-agency partnership working together to tackle issues which have a detrimental effect on the quality of life of the local community. The hoarding hub received 56 cases since it started in 2018 and through collaborative working, 34 cases are now closed. The hoarding hub applied for £10,000 from the General Provision fund to support the project. The amount requested reflects the increase in hoarding cases that are being referred and this is expected to rise further as a direct result of Covid. The funding would be administered by the Community Development Team.

Project 4 – Digital Inclusion Project

A Digital Inclusion Project had been developed across Allerdale and Copeland to support people who were digitally excluded due to financial hardship or lacking digital skills.

The Digital group were applying for £10,000 from the General Provision fund to support the project. The amount requested would fund digital devices and data for the loaning scheme along with the printing and distribution of the support handbooks to ensure that the project reaches the target audiences. The funding would be administered by the Community Development Team.

The Area Manager – Allerdale detailed the grant application for the Containment Outbreak Management Fund (COMF) :-

Project 5 - Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Members asked to note the minutes of the 7 April 2021 and 30 June 2021 meetings of the Allerdale Highways Working Group and consider any recommendations.  

Members considered a report from the Executive Director – Economy and Infrastructure which detailed the outcome of the meetings of the Highways Working Group (HWG) held on 7 April and 30 June 2021 and presented the Highways Working Group recommendations to the Local Committee for approval.

A discussion took place regarding the minutes of the meeting of the Allerdale Highways Working Group which took place on 30 June 2021 whereby the Local Member for Thursby asked that his suggestion to officers of an alternative proposal to speed reduction measures between Thursby and Micklethwaite be changed so that in the minutes it reads:- ‘To extend the existing 50mph speed limit from the Wigton bypass to Micklethwaite, then reduce to 40mph through Micklethwaite to the Thornby Junction, beyond that junction increase the speed limit back to 50mph through to Thursby roundabout’.

RESOLVED that,    

1)    That Local Committee notes the minutes of the meeting of the HWG held on the 7^th April 2021 attached as Appendix 1 of the report,

2)    That Local Committee notes the minutes of the meeting of the HWG held on the 30^th June 2021 attached as Appendix 2 of this report with the following amendment to minute 75, final paragraph:- ‘The Local Member asked whether officers could extend the existing 50mph speed limit from the Wigton bypass to Micklethwaite, then reduce to 40mph through Micklethwaite to the Thornby Junction, then beyond that junction increase the speed limit back to 50mph through to Thursby roundabout.

3)    that Local Committee DO NOT agree to proceed to statutory consultation and advertisement of a Traffic Regulation Order (“the Order”) which would: -

(i)    Consolidate the provisions of the following Orders: -

The County of Cumbria (Various Roads in the Borough of Allerdale) (Consolidation and Provision of Speed Limits) Order 2021; and The County of Cumbria (C2007 Great Broughton, C2016 Seaton, and A591 and A595 Bothel) (Speed Limits) Order 2021; and

(ii)  Propose to introduce new restrictions as shown on the plans attached as Appendices 2, 4 and 5 ONLY.

4)    the Working Group recommend that Local Committee DO NOT agree that, subject to there being no unresolved objections received at the end of the statutory consultation and advertisement of the Order referred to in paragraph 3.1 above, that the Order be brought into operation, as advertised having taken into consideration the matters contained in Section 122(2) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 which are more specifically referred to in paragraph 7 of the report,

5)    That Local Committee agree that officers reconsider the proposal to implement speed limits on the A596 at Micklethwaite, and that an amended report containing the three proposals be brought to a future HWG meeting.

To note the minutes of the last meeting of Local Committee Chairs and Leadership.

Members asked that their thanks be recorded and fed back to the team that had worked hard to support Network Rail in completing the railway bridge work that will prove vital to Workington Harbour and to the prosperity of the West Coast. It was AGREED that a letter be written asking the Programme Lead - Infrastructure Planning to pass on his thanks to the team.

RESOLVED that,                 members note the minutes of the Workington Harbour Management Committee from 16 April 2021.

To note the minutes of the last meeting of the Workington Harbour Management Committee.

A discussion took place regarding the positive impact for access to Workington Harbour if an agreement was reached regarding the Levelling Up Fund.

The Area Manager provided an update on the Local Cycling and Walking Investment Plan which had now entered a period of consultation. The Local Member for Maryport North asked that officers ensure that any future proposal includes substantial plans for maintaining the cycling ways.

RESOLVED that,                 members note the minutes of the last meeting of  Local Committee Chairs and Leadership from 27 April 2021.

To receive updates from Allerdale’s Local Committee Champions

The Armed Services Champion provided an update to members. She informed members of the changing roles of some County Council staff and District Council members which had caused a delay to some of the meetings which should have taken place. Members heard that during the COVID-19 lockdown the Council had received an Employee Recognition Award for recognising the efforts of Armed Forces veterans.

There were no verbal reports from members serving on outside bodies on this occasion.

The next meeting will be held on 20 September 2021 at 10am.

The next meeting of the Allerdale Local Committee would take place on 1 September 2021 at 10:00am in the Main Hall, Wigton Market Hall.