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The 2008 Annual Parish Meeting was held in the Parish Hall at 8.00pm on April 15th 2008
1. Attendance
All members of the Parish Council were in attendance, with Mr Ian Smith in the Chair.
Thirty two members of the public attended.
The meeting was also joined by Mr Steve Hastie, Ranger with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and PC Monika Nagy, Neighbourhood Officer with the North Yorkshire Police.
2. Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on April 23rd 2007
The minutes of the meeting held on April 23rd 2007 were read out by the Clerk and approved as a true record of the proceedings.
Proposed: Catherine Vaughan-Williams
Seconded: Molly Preston
3. Chairman’s Report
The Chairman opened his report by thanking everyone for attending and introduced Steve Hastie and Monika Nagy to the meeting.
The Parish Council had met 10 times since the last Parish Meeting and attendance by registered electors had increased dramatically at the last few meetings. Parish Councillors were thanked for their support during the year and the Clerk was thanked for his work, having been busy dealing with issues in the Parish.
Andrew Lodge, who has taken over responsibility for cleaning the bus shelter was commended for doing such a thorough job and Martin Holroyd, the Community Warden has again given the Parish good service during the year and his efforts have been supported by the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and the Forest of Bowland. He has also been involved in recent work on the Pinfold, behind the village bus shelter, a project that has been funded by the North Yorkshire Aggregates Grants Scheme. These monies are awarded in compensation for adverse effects of quarrying activity on the local environment. Austwick school are very keen to become involved in the scheme at the Pinfold, using it as an educational resource by planting wild flowers and fitting bird boxes.
In regard to planning matters, the Chairman told the meeting that the Parish Council had considered 21 planning applications during the last year, of which 11 were approved, 1 was withdrawn, 3 were refused ( Sandford Barn, Wharfe; Oxenber, Townhead Lane; Pant Head House, Pant Lane ) and 6 have yet to be decided upon.
The application that has generated the greatest level of interest and concern is that relating to the proposal to build 5 local occupancy houses in the garden of Pant Head House. The Parish Council had asked that the application should be decided by the National Park planning committee in the public interest rather than the delegated powers of the planning officer. This request was granted and the Chairman (Ian Smith), Mr Peter Goold and the Clerk (David Dewhirst), in the company of other Austwick residents attended the committee meeting at Bainbridge on May 8th. Mr Goold and the Clerk addressed the committee to highlight local concerns over the proposed development, which was subsequently refused by 10 votes to 2. During the course of the deliberations by the planning committee there seemed to be some difference of opinion within the committee as to the best way to determine and realistically clarify local needs requirement for any proposed development.
Concerning highways, the meeting was told that liaison between the Clerk and Stuart Cracknell, the North Yorkshire area supervisor, had got results, but that it was necessary to keep up pressure to ensure that all necessary works were done within a reasonable time scale.
Councillors have had a meeting with representatives of the Highways Agency and Amey Mouchel at the Cross Streets junction to try and persuade them of the need for double white lines and a 40mph limit along this dangerous stretch of road.
Following the recent government review of the Post Office network it was very pleasing that the efficiency of the Austwick Post Office, together with vigorous lobbying from local residents and the Parish Council, had resulted in the business being retained as part of the network.
The January edition of the Parish Newsletter contained a questionnaire relating to the Parish Plan and the proposal to apply for conservation area status for Austwick and the surrounding area. The key areas of concern to residents were identified as:
Planning control, future development & loss of green space 25
Traffic speed, parking & highways in general 15
Footpaths & verges 5
Housing for young families 5
Affordable housing 4
Support for school & shop 4
Improved bus routes & times 4
Dog fouling 4
A65 junctions 4
Wheelie bins 3
On the subject of Conservation Area status, a total of 61 responses were received in favour of the proposal, with 2 against. It was hoped to have a representative of the National Park present at the meeting to discuss the pros and cons of conservation areas, but he could not attend. It is planned that a public meeting will be held in the near future to look at the matter and agree on a way forward for the proposal.
In conclusion, a busy year for the Parish Council and Austwick Councillors will continue to represent the interests of residents to the best of their ability.
Before opening the meeting to questions from the floor, the Chairman asked Monika Nagy and Steve Hastie to briefly outline their current areas of responsibility.
WPC Nagy explained that she is part of the Safer Neighbourhood Team, with responsibility for Austwick and that she would be patrolling the area on a regular basis. She can be contacted via the 0845 6060247 police number, or through the Clerk who has e-mail and mobile numbers available. There were questions from the floor concerning the new snack bar on the A65 at Harden Bridge and the general issue of unlawful behaviour by individuals in the village. WPC Nagy said that the police were currently looking into the matter of the snack bar from a traffic safety point of view and that any unlawful activity should be reported to her, with details of the persons involved.
Steve Hastie told the meeting that a bid had been made to an opportunities fund to seek finance for the proposed A65 bridleway link between Austwick and Clapham, but that the route may be cost prohibitive if funding could not be secured. A site visit had been made to consider the building of an additional wooden bridge over the beck on Flascoe Lane. Once land owner agreement has been obtained, funding for the project would be sought. He pointed out that the National Park could provide labour for construction of the bridge but could not be responsible for on-going maintenance because a crossing already existed in the form of the clapper bridge. There was a general discussion around the addition of a hand rail to the existing bridge, but this was generally considered to be inappropriate for the type of structure.
With regard to stiles and gates, Mr Hastie said that the maintenance programme now flags up problems based on urgency. The maintenance team were responsible for some 1350 items, of which 70 were in need of attention. Ladder stiles were not currently being replaced by the National Park Authority because of problems people have in negotiating them, but if land owners insist on ladder stiles then only limited funding is available.
4. Any other business
Mrs Sally Edwards drew the attention of the meeting to the recent Settle Transport Strategy document which showed proposals for a bridleway from Cross Streets to the B6480 road to Clapham. Mr Hastie said that the National Park had tried to get the shorter link including in the strategy document and that the Parish Council should pursue the matter. It was generally agreed that a link as proposed in the strategy was unnecessary.
Mr Alec Rigby told the meeting that the money donated by Barbara Hanforth had now been spent on a notice board for the parish hall and banners for the street market. He also said that owing to a new protocol for road closure applications, the cost had risen from £50 to approximately £200.
Mr Ernest Booth asked how much the Pinfold Project had cost and did the Parish Council consider that the expense was worthwhile. Mr Ian Shaw responded by saying that the cost was £1800, of which 75% was reclaimable under the North Yorkshire Aggregates Grants Scheme. Without the grant this work could not have been carried out and that a previously unsightly piece of land would now be greatly improved. Mr Shaw also said that Austwick school were very enthusiastic about using the area for nature studies, planting wild flowers and so on.
Mrs Sally Edwards asked whether there had been any progress on having the verges on Pant Lane replaced. The Chairman responded by saying that the developers had been written to on several occasions, as had the National Park, but unfortunately the verges did not seem to have a very high priority. Mr David Creaser asked who is responsible for ensuring that the law is enforced in cases such as this and also asked if the developers needed permission to erect large advertising signs. The Clerk replied that the National Park enforcement officer was responsible and that permission was almost certainly required for the sign. However, the temporary nature of the item made enforcement difficult. The general point was made that since the removal of the verges had widened Pant Lane, cars were parking in it, making it very difficult for other vehicles to get by. A recent archaeological report related to the application for 5 houses at Pant Head had observed that excessive traffic in the lane could damage the unusually high dry stone walls that bounded it. Mrs Edwards also asked if a tree preservation order could be applied for on the cherry tree in the grounds of Pant Head House. It was agreed to pursue this matter. Mr Bryan Braithwaite-Exley asked if a letter could be sent from the Annual Parish Meeting asking for Harden Ward at Castleberg Hospital to be kept open. This will be done.
Mr Jon Beavan, from the Dalesbridge Centre, asked if the Parish Council could do anything about the new snack bar on the A65 at Harden Bridge. The Clerk informed the meeting that discussions had already taken place with Craven District Council but that there were conflicting views on exactly who was responsible for the land on which the van stood. Mr Beavan was concerned about the adverse impact that such a business could have, both visually and economically, on his own enterprise, in addition to the issue of road traffic safety.
Mr Bob Halstead asked about the pot holes around the village, which were marked up last autumn but were still not filled in. The Chairman confirmed that NYCC highways had been advised of the deteriorating situation and that damage to vehicles as a result of their inaction became their responsibility. The Clerk will contact them again.
Mrs Kathleen Morphet raised the issue of the water leaking out of the verge from around a telegraph pole below the Old School House on Townhead Lane. The Chairman confirmed that the matter had been raised with both BT and NY highways department. The Clerk added that this had been investigated in some depth by highways with coloured dyes to try and determine where the flow came from. After these investigations it was thought that the water was probably from a spring above the road level. NY highways will be urged to channel the water to prevent it spreading right across the road as this presents a potential hazard in freezing winter weather.
There being no further business the meeting was closed at 9.05pm.
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