Present:- Cllrs. G. Wilkinson, C. Baty, I. Baty, S. Hart, W. Jefferson, A.J. Markley, A. Proud, M. Snaith & E. Wannop. Also Ken Wannop, Wendy Jameson-Brown, PC A. Robertson & Susie Shepherd.

325 Apologies:- Cllrs. R.W. Allison.

Cllr. A.J. Markley re: Planning application

It was agreed to discuss item 20 at the end of the meeting after the Press & Public have been excluded.

The Chairman had attended the Neighbourhood Forum meeting at Abbeytown and also welcomed HMS Biter. The Town Council were presented with a plaque. It was suggested that they be asked if they could come back for Carnival Day. There is a Spitfire, Red Arrows and a free fall parachute team also coming. The ship will be coming back next year under a different Commander and will also be here for the Remembrance Day service.

The minutes of the meeting held on 6 March 2006 were approved by the Town Council and signed by the Chairman as a true record.

PC Robertson provided a report on incidents of crime since the last meeting. A complaint was received about HGV’s being parked on Lawn Terrace which is being dealt with. A meeting of the Pubwatch scheme took place on 28 March. There are currently 5 people excluded under the Pubwatch scheme. Police Station - there is no news regarding the sale of the old Police Station or about moving into the Fire Station. There is a campaign going on at the moment to catch people using mobile phones whilst driving. A three point fixed penalty notice is issued to offenders. Mobile speed signs have been sited at Allonby. These were bought by some local parish councils but are sited by the Police. It maybe possible to borrow them and it was suggested that a letter be sent to David Barr.

There had been no requests from members of the public to raise any matters of interest in the meeting.

a) The Community Law Centre - Annual Report 2004/05.

b) Clerks & Councils Direct - March 2006.

c) CALC Circular - March 2006.

d) The Save Wigton Hospital Campaign - Invitation to take part in the March/Rally on March 4^th at 10.00 am.

e) Solway Coast Neighbourhood Forum & CVS Community Event at Abbeytown Village Hall at 2pm - 5.30pm.

f) North Allerdale Partnership Executive Meeting on Thursday March 16^th at 7pm at Royal Oak, Wigton.

g) Cumbria Highways - re: Dropped Kerbs. A gradual programme of 2 or 3 dropped kerbs will be done each year due to budgetary restrictions. Mr Proud was thanked for his assistance.

h) Cumbria in Bloom - Invitation to take part in Cumbria in Bloom 2006.

i) Allerdale Borough Council - re: Vacancy. No election has been requested therefore Town Council can co-opt as soon as practicable.

j) Allerdale Borough Council - re: Signage to Solway Discovery Centre. The Borough Council is looking into installing an appropriate number of signs to guide people to the Discovery Centre.

k) Allerdale Borough Council - Invitation to Breakfast Briefing to celebrate the launch of Allerdale Borough Council’s Corporate Improvement Plan.

l) Allerdale Borough Council - Housing Need and Market Survey 2006. Posters advertising the survey.

m) HMS Biter - Invitation to attend a social gathering on HMS Biter on 31 March at 1730-1800 to meet students and the team.

n) Allerdale Borough Council - re: Summer Activities for young people - PARCS. Letter asking if the Town Council would be willing to support extra sessions this year. The Town Council agreed to fund an additional two sessions.

o) The Skinburness Leisure Hotel - Invitation to a Charity Auction Dinner on Sat 22 April at 7.00pm in aid of The Great North Ambulance. Letter of thanks to be sent but unfortunately the Chairman will be unable to attend. Other Cllrs. Are aware of the function if they wish to attend. The Council already supports the Great North Air Ambulance.

p) Cumbria Constabulary - re: Police Station. The building is being sold on the market. The Council’s offer in January 2003 cannot be legally considered as the Police Authority did not approve the sale of the property until September 2005.

q) Cumbria Constabulary - re: Police Station. Copy of the sale particulars.

r) Allerdale Borough Council - re: Consultation for the Draft Statement of Community Involvement. Comments requested by Friday 5 May 2006. Noted. Chairman to look at the document.

s) North West Regional Assembly - Consultation on the North West Plan - Submitted draft Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for the North West of England. Comments to be submitted by 12 June 2006. The Town Council are against the principle of a North West Regional Assembly and it was agreed that no further action to be taken.

a) Allerdale Borough Council have approved the following:-

Erection of two storey extension at 86 Skinburness Road, Silloth

b) Notification of Site Inspection - 2/2005/1307, Demolition of existing garage and security fencing and erection of 9 flats (1 unit of 4, 1 unit of 5) Land at rear of Beaconsfield Terrace, Silloth on Thurs 6 April at 10.50 am. Cllr. Markley to attend on behalf of the Town Council.

None

None

Cllr. Hart left the meeting.

Primary School Everything running well. Cllr. Markley attended Distington school where the choir were performing with other schools from the area.

Joint Advisory Committee Allerdale Borough Council have agreed to buy the Discovery Centre and the house from SRI for a sum still to be agreed. This will establish Silloth as the capital of the AONB. It will be incorporated into Allerdale’s tourist strategy and will be advertised alongside Allerdale’s other venues. It was in everyone’s best interests to go in this direction - AONB, Silloth, SRI & Allerdale etc. Provides a good base for environmental tourism. There are a series of ½ day educational programmes being run which are proving to be very popular and are attracting attention from all over England.

Silloth Tourist Action Group No report.

Silloth Regeneration Partnership Nothing to report. Waiting to hear from Liz Carlisle re: Awards for All.

North Allerdale Partnership Nothing to report.

Sea Dyke Charity Cllr. Proud has sent in a letter resigning from the Charity. The Town Council will therefore need a new representative.

Silloth Health Matters Applying for funding to finance the Pensioners Tea Party. There are various events planned for the summer.

It was agreed to defer the matter until the next meeting which is the Annual meeting and when there should be a full quota of Councillors present.

A lot of work has been done regarding the Discovery Centre and the Statement of Community Involvement. Allerdale are pushing towards beacon councils. Town Council needs to be making steps towards it. Looking at the relationship with Allerdale and some arms length bodies such as NAP, Keswick, Cockermouth i.e. MTI Partnerships. Allerdale are keen to get these relationships right and are about to sign a memorandum of agreement. MTI’s are not keen on Allerdale being too involved in the management of these bodies.

County Council - a lot is going on. All three of our Allerdale and County Councillors are very busy.

Nothing to report. Concern re: flowerbed in front of the Balmoral. £220 worth of flowers have been wasted because people just walk across the flowerbed. It was agreed to remove the flowerbed and grass it over. Ken to look at putting a new flowerbed in next to the mosaic as an alternative.

Annual Town meeting will be held in May and reports will be needed from Town Councillors over the next couple of weeks for the Annual Town Report. Date of the meeting to be put in the Solway Buzz.

The list of cheque payments were approved by the Town Council for payment.

The Town Council considered the following requests for financial assistance:-

A) Childline North West - It was agreed to provide a donation of £38, as last year.

B) Vitalise (formerly Winged Fellowship Trust) - It was agreed not to financially support the Organisation as it is not a local charity or widely used by the Parish.

343 Item 20 on the Agenda was discussed at the end of the meeting.

It was proposed that the Council again asks the County Highways Department to make good the corner of the footpath at 36 Waver Street, also the footpath adjacent to the lane to the side of the house, which is continually being damaged by the refuse wagon and is now a danger to pedestrians. Cllr. Wilkinson reported that an order has now been placed for the work to be done.

It was proposed that this Council questions the need for Solway Coast AONB to fund Causewayhead WI for West Silloth Beach Cleaning when this service is already carried out by Allerdale Borough Council. The beach is cleaned 3 times a week between Silloth & Maryport. The East beach is not cleaned and it was suggested that the WI be asked to clean the Silloth/Skinburness side. AONB provided the WI with funding to buy equipment. This is one of 18 projects which has been funded by the AONB. The WI give their time voluntarily.

346 Item 23 on the Agenda was withdrawn.

In view of the ever increasing amounts of donations requested by outside bodies, it was proposed that the Council agrees on a fixed maximum to be given to any qualifying organisation. It would help with sharing out money to groups throughout the year. Each application is to be considered on its own merits. Setting of the criteria is important but the Council are not in favour of capping the amount of money given. Clerk to produce a report showing details of monies given to sporting bodies etc over the last 10 years to see where the money goes. From an audit point of view, money should be seen to be spent on what it was intended.

Signage is to be provided and is in hand.

Quotes to be obtained for replacing the guttering and painting the Eden Street Changing Rooms.

350 Lease of the Green

It was agreed that a request be sent to Allerdale Borough Council asking to extend the period of the Lease of the Green to 35 years.

The Town Council considered estimates received for the following:-

A) Community Hall Windows - Only two prices obtained - deferred until next month.

B) Tennis Court Fencing - Three quotes had been obtained from the following Birkett Fencing,

Ken and the Clerk had spoken with Mr Gray at Solway Community School about the possible apprenticeship and the school is keen to be involved. The Clerk has been in touch with Connexions, the Job Centre and the local colleges gathering information to see what is available. From the information gathered there does not appear to be an apprenticeship in Horticulture run locally. However various local authorities have sent young people to Newton Rigg to study for a National Certificate in Horticulture which starts in September and is 1 day a week for 2 years. If the student is under 19 the fees are paid by the Government. Employers now have to pay at least the national minimum wage. Clerk to look into the Health & Safety aspects of employing a youngster. Job description to be written up and sent to the local school. Notice also to be placed on Town Council notice board.

In hand.