Present: Members of the Parish Council Councillors Harry Barker, Chairman, Bill Wilson, Vice Chairman, Mike Cumming, Alan Mason, Susan Orrell, Elizabeth Donachie, John McLean and John Shields; Clerk Mrs Janice Cumming, W&F Councillor Daniel Edwards and Ben Shirley
1/01/25: DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST None expressed
2/01/25: APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE PC Chloe Dixon, Barrow Neighbourhood Police.
3/01/25: PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
3/01/25: Permanent Memorial at Duddon Road Car Park. A member of the public has approached Cllr Alan Mason and Cllr Ben Shirley with a plan to place a permanent memorial to 2 young men from the village and raise awareness regarding mental health issues. The parish council discussed how extremely important and deeply concerning mental health issues are and particularly within our community. The parish council would be pleased to work with Cllr Shirley regarding this project.
4/01/25: APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MEETING HELD 17 DECEMBER 2024
These were approved and agreed as a true and accurate record and were duly signed by the Chairman.
Proposed Cllr Mike Cumming Seconded Cllr Bill Wilson Agreed
5/01/25: PROGRESS REPORTS AND UPDATES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING
5/01/25/1 Flooding at the rear of Ireleth Road/Askam View. Cllr Shirley is still working with various agencies regarding this issue. He thanked Cllr Barker for his input and for meeting him at the site to look at and understand the problems and hopefully has now established responsibility. It is hoped that a meeting with the various agencies will take place soon and he again thanked Cllr Barker for allowing access to the area.
5/01/25/2: Public Footpath, Greenscoe. This is ongoing and Cllr Edwards is in contact with Cumbria Highways.
6/01/25: REPORT FROM BARROW NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICE TEAM
3 x RTC (This is more than usual - majority are due to the snow and ice).
1 x domestic incident, 3 logs for broken down vehicles, 1 x harassment which no suspect identified.
With regards to the car in the beck on Ireleth Road. PC Dixon has been working with Peter Buckley of W&F Council and the owner of the vehicle. The vehicle has now been removed.
Last week high visibility patrols to address speeding issues were carried out in Askam and Ireleth.
The PACT survey is now available for Dalton North, which includes Askam and Ireleth and can be completed on the Barrow Police Force Facebook Page.
The Clerk has reported to the police that she found large empty N2O canisters on Duddon Road Car Park on Monday 13 January. She asked that patrols were carried out, this is a dangerous activity, particularly as it could mean people could be driving under of the influence of N2O.
Cllr Ben Shirley asked that the SID be deployed on the Lots Road. The Clerk has contacted the neighbourhood police, there are some maintenance problems with the SID, but it will be deployed as soon as these are remedied.
PC Chloe Dixon will be holding a Police Desk in Askam is on the 17th of February 2024 at 16:00 hours
at Askam library.
7/01/25: TO REPORT AND DISCUSS PLANNING APPLICATIONS
Reference Number: B21/2025/0018 Location : 113 Duddon Road Askam-In-Furness Cumbria Proposal: Erection of single storey side conservatory extension. This application was discussed, particularly in relation to off-road parking. It was agreed that if there was parking for 2 vehicles on the property then the parish council had no objections.
Cllr John Shields asked Cllr Ben Shirley about planning application BPA4/2023/0632 application to determine if prior approval is required for a proposed: Erection of a Building for Agricultural or Forestry use - Steel frame, metal profile sheet cladding and colours to match to surroundings for storage of equipment needed for maintenance of the forest area on site. Cllr Shirley explained that even though the Planning Officer had advised refusal of this application the response date had been missed by W&F planning authority, thus by default the development was now going ahead. Cllr Shirley said he would be contacting the W&F scrutiny committee regarding this as he feels this should not have happened and needs to be addressed urgently. Cllr Shirley will be visiting the site with the Planning Officer.
8/01/25: DOG FOULING IN ASKAM AND IRELETH
An increase in dog fouling in Askam and Ireleth has been reported to Westmorland and Furness Council Officers who will be visiting the village regularly and fines will be issued. Cllr Susan asked if signs could be put up along the beach as she sees dog owners allowing their dogs to foul on the beach and not pick up. The parish council realise that most dog owners pick up after their dogs, but a minority don’t. PLEASE PICK UP AFTER YOUR DOG IN OUR VILLAGE AND ON OUR BEAUTIFUL BEACH. There are lots of litter bins and you can use any of these for your dog waste.
9/01/25: ACCIDENT ON DALTON ROAD/IRELETH ROAD
The car which came off the road has now been removed but highlighted once again the danger of these 2 roads with regards to speeding vehicles. Cllr Ben Shirley has been in contact with several agencies regarding concerns from residents. He met with Michelle Scrogham MP and the issue has been discussed at the Cumbria Road Safety Partnership. Cllr Shirley will keep the parish council updated on this matter.
10/01/25: WESTMORLAND AND FURNESS LIGHTING POLICY
Cllr Mike Cumming attending this meeting via TEAMS. This was to advise that any streetlights managed by Town or Parish councils would be taken over by W&F, however, does not apply in the Furness area.
11/01/25: VE DAY (VICTORY IN EUROPE) 80TH ANNIVERSARY 8 MAY 2025
The parish council agreed to mark this occasion.
12/01/25: REPORT FROM CLERK INCLUDING FINANCES
A copy of the monthly expenditure spread sheet was made available. This was accepted.
Proposed Cllr Elisabeth Donachie Seconded Cllr Bill Wilson Agreed
Since contacting Network Rail regarding the wall near the railway line on Dalton Road, Network Rail are working on the repairs to the wall.
13/01/25: CORRESPONDENCE All correspondence sent to the parish councillors prior to the meeting.
14/01/25: SANCTIONS FOR PAYMENT
Aqua Projet monthly landscape £866.15, Renewal of Data Protection Fee £40.00.
15/101/25: DATE, TIME, AND PLACE OF NEXT MEETING
Tuesday 18 February 2025 at 7.30 pm in the Community Centre, Duke Street, Askam.
Signed ……………………………………………………………. Dated ……………………………..
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