Present:- Cllrs. G. Wilkinson, I. Baty, A. Emmerson, A.J. Markley, M. Snaith & E. Wannop. Also present Wendy Jameson (Town Clerk), Colin Baty & David Wise.

836 Apologies:- Cllrs. R. W. Allison, C. Baty & A. Weightman.

Cllr. I. Baty re: Football club.

No need to exclude the press and public from the meeting.

Football - supply the only over 35’s team from Maryport to Carlisle. Men’s team won the league cup for the 2^nd year running. Under 14’s finished 2^nd from the bottom - won 2 games out of 22. Under 11’s is going strong. Under 8’s team started this season. Hoping to start a girls team next season. Girls junior team were 3^rd in the county. Four youth players are on Carlisle Utd with one on trial.

Fitness Centre - takings were up on last year especially in the Spring and Summer. Hoping to start Boxercise and maybe start Pilates classes. Need new doors for the fitness centre - may need help with funding.

Football club had asked for a barrier to prevent a footpath being created over the corner of a pitch. Seems fine and not as much of a problem as it was first thought. Council have looked at it and may consider extending the rail. The bin which was put there has been set alight. Football changing rooms have been painted which looks better.

Tennis Club - is going strong with 72 junior and 12 adult members. Membership is rotating all the time. There is good junior coaching but need adult coaching too. 7 County titles have been won this year by team and individual players. Three have gone on to play for Cumbria. In the winter the club uses the sports hall a lot. On a Sat morning there is a 2 hour slot when anyone can play not just members. Trying to encourage adults and parents to get involved. Some kids are coming to the coaching sessions but are not competing in competitions. Club is getting involved with the ’Clubmark’. Starting work on it this year and will probably take 12 months to achieve. To get better facilities the club will need the ‘Clubmark’. The club wants additional courts which ideally would be better sited at the sports area - floodlit and with a bubble over so they can be used all year round. For the club to improve it needs better facilities. An open event was held over the summer at Maryport which was attended by 62 people from all over the country. It was a good week long tournament. It would be good if an open event could be held in Silloth in the future but to hold an open event, Silloth would need 4 courts with changing facilities etc. Presentation night was held recently. The club needs to expand more in terms of facilities and coaching etc.

840 Sports Club Rents

The rent for the Rugby Club (£411) and the Football Club (£339) were increased last year and are to stay at the same level for 3 years. It was agreed that there be no increase in the rents for the tennis club (£200) and the fitness centre (£1030) for the current year.

The Clerk had produced some draft figures for the 2008/09 Budget which was considered by the Town Council. The draft figures showed a marked increase to the Precept but included the following:- £25,000 for the Green Project, £7,000 for signage, £12,690 for new play equipment, £1,750 youth provision, £8,000 for Tourism and £5,000 for Christmas Lighting.

Quotes had been obtained by Cllr. Allison for tarmacing the road to the sports area which would cost £20-£22K. The footpath between the brewery and the sports area also needs tarmaced as it is muddy.

Cllr. Markley joined the meeting.

Grants could be available to resurface the footbath as this is part of the cycleway. The hard standing area could be used for the market. Floodlighting needs looked at. One of the lights lighting the footpath is not working. Cllr. Markley will speak to County Council about the possibility of purchasing the land which is leased from them. The lease has expired and the Town Council are in a holding over position at the moment. Clerk has contacted Capita on a couple of occasions regarding the lease but not received any reply. It was agreed to make provision of £10,000 in this current years budget towards the resurfacing of the road with a further £10,000 next year. It was also agreed to reduce the Tourism provision to £3,000, as there is still funds in this current years budget which have not yet been spent. It was also agreed not to include £5000 for Christmas lighting, as there is still £2,500 unspent in this current years budget. After some consideration, the net budget was agreed at £113,000 for 2008/09. This would mean a sizeable increase in the precept but there are justifiable explanations for the increase.