Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Mrs C McCarron-Holmes, Lord Liddle and Mrs C Tibble.

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.

(1)          There are no public questions or statements to be considered at this meeting.

(2)          Sue McCauley, a resident of Keswick to present a petition relating to a school crossing for Keswick School.  

A petition was received from the Mrs Sue McCauley and Mr David Burn which requested that the Local Committee consider the implementation of a pedestrian crossing at High Hill, Keswick near to Keswick School.

Mr David Burn gave a statement to the Committee which went as follows:-

Keswick School is a coeducational 11-18 academy, and has about 1360 pupils. There are just over 300 pupils in the 6th form, and the school has 40 boarders.

The school is on Vicarage Hill, which exits onto High Hill. High Hill itself runs towards the town centre and there is a bus stop about 120 metres from the school, and a petrol station with a Spar Shop a further 60 metres away. Pupils have to cross High Hill to get to both the bus stop and Spar shop. On street parking is allowed on High Hill for about 100 metres opposite the bus stop and garage.

High Hill is a busy road, being the main access into Keswick from the west, and data collected by CCC in 2019 showed that more than 7500 vehicles a day passed a point close to its junction with Vicarage Hill, and that of these more than 1500 a day were exceeding the 30mph speed limit. Rumble strips have since been installed and may have improved matters, but the fact remains that this is a very busy stretch of road and it is often difficult to cross High Hill safely to get to the bus stop and garage shop.

As far as we know there have not been any accidents at this location, but the strong community view is that a pedestrian crossing is desperately needed to ensure that things remain this way. Keswick Town Council voted unanimously to support this request and the school’s Head Teacher believes that a crossing is of paramount importance.

An online petition at change.org/p/cumbria-county-council-highways-keswick-school-pedestrian-crossing has so far collected almost 1130 signatures, and a number of the accompanying comments are to the effect that without a crossing this is an accident waiting to happen. The safety and wellbeing of pupils attending Keswick School lies squarely with this committee, and I urge you to approve or support our request.

Mrs Sue McCauley gave a statement to the Committee which went as follows:-

I am here to represent the children of Keswick School as a seriously concerned parent who is absolutely dumbfounded that Keswick School does not have a safe crossing for the children to cross the road, at any point in the day. 

Many children cross the road to walk to and from home to local villages and to access the local garage before grabbing snacks and drinks and then trying to re-cross the road to catch their bus home.  Literally playing ‘Cat and Mouse’ on a daily basis, it really is horrible to witness. 

The traffic coming off the road towards Keswick school is extremely fast and there is very little warning motorists are about to come across thousands of pupils dodging in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting held on 20 July 2021 as an accurate and complete record.

RESOLVED that,                 the minutes of the previous meeting of 20 July 2021 be agreed as an accurate and complete record.

To consider a report from the Executive Director – Economy and Infrastructure with purpose of providing Members with the background and details of the proposed changes to North Allerdale Traffic Regulation Order following statutory consultation and advertisement.

Members considered a report from the Executive Director – Economy and Infrastructure which provided the Local Committee with the background and details of the proposed changes to North Allerdale Traffic Regulation Order following statutory consultation and advertisement.

Members heard that informal consultation was carried out between July, August and September 2020 over a period of 5 weeks. 16 Proposals were then progressed to 3 weeks of statutory consultation and advertisement which concluded on 9^th July 2021.

The Traffic Management Team Leader provided the Local Committee with a summary of the proposals and outlined the consultation responses received to each proposal.

RESOLVED that,

1)    That having taken into consideration the matters contained in section 122(2) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 which are more specifically referred to at paragraph 7.2 of the report, members agree that “The County of Cumbria (Various Roads North Allerdale) (Consolidation and Provision of Traffic Regulations) Order 20><” (“the Order”) be brought into operation, as advertised, save for;

i)             Proposal 1 – King Street, Aspatria, to remove sections of Disc Parking Bay and replace with No Waiting At Any Time” markings – to be introduced in part only, ie. to remove the section of disc parking bay outside of Dresden House only as shown on the plan attached as Appendix 4 to the report to Local Committee and replace with “No Waiting At Any Time” markings.

ii)            Proposal 3 – Station Road, Wigton, to introduce sections of ‘No Waiting At Any time’ restrictions (double yellow lines) and ‘No waiting between 8am-6pm’ along sections of Station Road, Wigton - to be introduced in part only, ie. ><, as shown on the plan attached as Appendix 7 to the report to Local Committee.

iii)           Proposal 9 – King Street, Wigton, which sought to introduce ‘No loading or unloading at any time’ restrictions opposite the junction to Station Road, which is not to be introduced; and,

iv)           Proposal 19 – Blennerhasset Bridge, which sought to reduce the weight limit of the bridge from 26 tonne to 18 tonne, which is not to be introduced.

To receive a report from the Executive Director – Corporate, Customer and Community Services (copy enclosed).

This report provides an update on the key issues affecting children and young people in Allerdale, including current health issues. It sets out the details of funding available and grant applications submitted against those funds.

Members considered a report from the Executive Director – Corporate, Customer and Community Services which sought to bring the Local Committee up to date with the activity across Allerdale and any recent developments including development of projects and schemes associated with additional internal and external funding.

Members heard that work was progressing on the proposed Aspatria Family Hub. Draft drawings had been received, detailing the potential reconfiguration and a small extension to the existing library building to create a multi-purpose space which would predominantly be used by the library service and the children’s centre. Officers were currently researching available funding streams for the works and once funding had been identified the project would be presented to the Strategic Investment Group for a decision as to whether the project could proceed to the next stage.

The Area Manager – Allerdale updated members on the Borderlands project and explained that Thinkingplace had completed their engagement sessions with stakeholders and the wider community of Wigton and presented ideas for the creation of a vision for Wigton. The Wigton Town Team, supported by the Community Development Officer and the Area Manager are currently investigating some of the findings from the engagement and potential projects that can be progressed.

Members heard that a new innovative project had just commenced as a pilot covering the Keswick & Solway ICC area called Community Catalysts (micro-enterprises). A coordinator had now been appointed to link with local passionate people who want to develop their own community co-operatives or social enterprises. The Area Manager – Allerdale gave an example stating that the project could be a great opportunity for people with or without a care background to help others locally and earn a living from it at the same time.

RESOLVED that,    

1)    Members note the contents of the report,

2)    Members note the proposed change in provision to the library service at Moorclose and the commencement of an engagement session to inform library users in that area of the proposed changes.

To receive a report from the Executive Director – Corporate, Customer and Community Services (copy enclosed).

This report sets out the priority areas in relation to people across Allerdale and identifies projects that are considered to improve the lives and opportunities for the local population.

Members considered a report from the Executive Director – Corporate, Customer and Community Services which presented the grant applications received for consideration and approval.

The Area Manager – Allerdale provided a summary of all the applications received and explained in detail the projects related to the COMF Environment Fund. The projects identified for COMF Environment funding included:-

·         an application for the amount of £38,919 to Workington Town Council towards a Trim Trail, Crazy Golf and additional planting in Vulcans Park,

·         an amount of up to £10,000 to Allerdale Borough Council towards the cost of a BMX track feasibility study within Workington,

·         an amount of up to £10,000 to Allerdale Borough Council towards the creation of wetlands in the Siddick area,

·         an amount of £25,000 to Allerdale Borough Council towards enhancing the improvements that have commenced on Maryport Promenade.

Members considered the recommendations related to the COMF Environment Fund and AGREED the recommendations IN PRINCIPLE, as it was explained that further work was needed to fully investigate the extent to which the projects met the criteria for funding via the COMF Environment fund

RESOLVED that,

1)            Members note the contents of the report.

2)            Members agree to an amount of £11,132 is allocated from 0-19 Fund to North Allerdale Development Trust (NADT) towards expansion of emotional and social wellbeing projects and further development of the Wigton Wombles project.

3)            Members agree that an amount of £11,026 is allocated from the 11-19 Universal Provision fund to Every Life Matters for theprovision of a pilot programme will include alertness training across all staff and specialist intervention training for pastoral and safeguarding leads who work with secondary school children.

4)            Members agree that an amount of £10,000 is allocated from the COMF Events fund to ParkPlay towards to launch a ParkPlay project for a 12 month period in partnership with four town councils across Allerdale (Workington, Maryport, Silloth and Aspatria).

5)            Members agree that an amount of £8,000 is allocated from the COMF events and activities fund to Workington Town Council towards Christmas Winter Wonderland event.

6)            Members agree that an amount of £9,000 is allocated from the COMF events and activities fund to Solway Coast Business Group Ltd (NFP Social Enterprise) towards a programme of events to celebrate the Roman heritage.

7)            Members agree that an amount of £5,000 is allocated from the COMF events and activities fund to Allerdale Borough Council towards an Autumn community event in Wigton.

8)            Members agree that an amount of £4,000 is allocated from the COMF events and activities fund to Allerdale Borough Council towards creating a social village in Workington over the Christmas and New Year period providing support to the community.

9)            Members agree that an amount of up to £50,000 is allocated from COMF hardship fund to Cockermouth Rotary to administer to payments individuals and families experiencing hardship due to the COVID pandemic. This funding will be paid in stages to meet demand and to ensure that it is  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

To receive updates from Allerdale’s Local Committee Champions

There were no Champion’s Updates provided on this occasion.

There were no verbal reports provided from Members serving on Outside Bodies on this occasion.

The next meeting of the Local Committee will be held on 15 November 2021 at 10am.

The next meeting of the Allerdale Local Committee is due to take place on the 15 November 2021.