Present: Members of the Parish Council Councillor Mike Cumming, Chairman, Bill Wilson, Vice Chairman, Harry Barker, Alan Mason, Susan Orrell, Elisabeth Donachie, John Shields and John McLean; Clerk, Mrs Janice Cumming, Westmorland and Furness Councillor Daniel Edwards and Ben Shirley, PC Chloe Dixon, PC Rich and PCSO Charlie Tomlinson
1/01/26: DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST None.
2/01/26: APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE None
3/01/26: PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
Representatives from Askam Youth Action attended the meeting to discuss the future of the Youth Club, which has been active in the village for many years. The group meet on Thursday evenings and has over 100 members with each session having between 55 and 60 children in 2 age groups. The group are struggling to secure grant funding to support the club over the next few months. Councillor Shirley has asked Officers from W&F to help the group apply for the funding and the Parish Council have also supplied details of local funders. The parish council suggested the group apply to the parish council for a grant and provided a grant request form for them to complete and return to the parish council. Everyone agreed that this club is extremely important to the village and needs all our support to keep it going for the young people. The parish council thanked the group for all they do for our young people.
4/01/26: APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MEETING HELD 16 DECEMBER 2025
These were approved and agreed as a true and accurate record and were duly signed by the Chairman.
Proposed Cllr John McLean Seconded Cllr Susan Orrell Agreed
5/12/25: PROGRESS REPORTS AND UPDATES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING
5/01/26/1: Removal of Litter Bins: These have again been reported to W&F council and the litter bin vandalised at Duddon Road car park has also been reported. Ongoing
5/01/26/2: Missing Street Plate Names: Councillor Edwards has been reported these, no updates yet.
5/01/26/3: APNR Parking System at FGH: Response from MBHA stating that blue badge holders will be retained with new system. Nothing agreed regarding other users for clinics. The Clerk will respond asking that this will be part of the engagement. Action Clerk
5/01/26/4: Nature Recovery: It appears that Askam and Ireleth have missed the deadline for the Nature Recovery Fund, which is disappointing. Other funding opportunities maybe available in the future and it is hoped that groups within Askam and Ireleth will be involved in this.
5/01/26/5: Royal Mail: Response received regarding the delivery of mail to Askam and Ireleth. This was discussed and the parish council were not in agreement with the response, the Clerk was asked to respond. Royal Mail are keen to recruit for permanent full-time positions to join the team in Barrow. Anyone interested should apply at www.jobs.royalmailgroup.com. Action
Clerk
6/01/25: REPORT FROM NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICE TEAM
PC Dixon introduced PCSO Charlie Tomlinson, the new PCSO for Dalton North. PCSO Tomlinson will be a regular visitor to Askam and Ireleth and is already taking an active role.
Report from PC Chloe Dixon. Dates from 15/12 - 20/01 4 RTC 2 caused by bad weather conditions, no serious injuries, 2 verbal, 2 arrest stolen vehicle, 2 concern for welfare, safeguarding put in place, border dispute which was deemed a civil matter, harassment, sudden death, railway crossing barrier fault, 2 vehicles reported with no tax or MOT, 1 in Duddon Road and 1 in Steel Street these have been reported and action will be taken. Reports of 2 E-bikes driving dangerously around the village, this is an ongoing problem, and the police are acting across the Furness area and now have extra powers to remove these bikes. If anyone has any information as to who owns these bikes can they please contact PC Chloe Dixon on 101, option 2, ext. 42997 or through Crime Stoppers 0800 555 111. The Chairman thanked the Neighbourhood Police Officers for attending the meeting and for their work in the village.
7/01/26: REPORT AND DISCUSS PLANNING
Reference Number : B21/2025/0373 Location : 3 School View Askam-In-Furness Cumbria LA16 7FN
Proposal : Construction of a ground floor side extension forming garage. No objections.
Reference Number : B21/2026/0016 Location : The Old Parsonage Sun Street Askam-In-Furness Cumbria LA16 7ET Proposal : Removal of redundant detached wc's. Construction of a detached, single storey building forming a storeroom. The parish council were pleased to see that the planning officer met with the needs of this property being in a conservation area.
Councillor Mason reported that the application for a replacement Wind turbine at Greenhaume had been refused by Planning, one of the main concerns was that this much larger turbine could seriously compromising aircraft accessing Walney Airport.
8/01/26: WASTE AND RECYCLE BIN COLLECTIONS
Cllr John McLean stated that the emptying (or lack of emptying) of waste and recycle bin collections over the Christmas and New Year period had been appalling and that W&F had failed to adequately communicate the situation to the residents. There was a lengthy discussion regarding the poor service which is being provided by W&F regarding waste collection and recycling which seems to be fair worse in the Furness area compared to other areas in W&F. This was raised at the W&F Barrow Local Committee meeting, and a very strong letter of complaint has been written to the Chief Executive of W&F. Councillor Shirley and Councillor Edwards agreed this situation was unacceptable and they would be continuing to ask for explanations and answers from W&F councillors and officers.
09/01/26: UPDATE FROM WESTMORLAND AND FURNESS COUNCILLORS
Cllr Shirley reported that repair work to the fence at Askam Railway station will be carried out before April 2026. Cllr Shirley raised the matter of the deep concerns and disappointment expressed by Westmorland and Furness to the changes to services funding by the Government. The council have submitted a robust formal response to the government’s consultation and await the outcome of its final financial statement in early February. If this proposal goes ahead, it will mean cuts to vital services. Cllr Shirley reported that funded had been allocated to extra bus services and both Cllr Shirley and Cllr Edwards would be lobbying for additional services through Askam and Ireleth for the no 7 bus service.
Cllr Edwards reported that he had been in contact with W&F for a very long time regarding the terrible state of the A590 as you drive into Barrow. No-one wants to take full responsibility for picking up the litter on this road, which is in a terrible state. Barrow Local Committee have written a strong letter to the W&F and asked that something is done about this litter as soon as possible. Cllr Edwards spoke of the meeting held at Barrow Town Hall with Morecambe Bay Health Authority, although it was an open and honest meeting there was not too much good news for Furness General Hospital. At the moment the CT scan is not working but will hopefully be replaced as soon as possible. There is a programme of cutting beds on all wards at FGH and waiting times at A&E and allocation of beds is still not good, but not as bad as Lancaster Royal Infirmary, which doesn’t fill anyone with confidence as we were told that patients from Barrow could be sent to Lancaster.
10/01/26: CORRESPONDENCE All correspondence sent to the parish councillors prior to the meeting.
11/01/26: REPORT FROM CLERK INCLUDING FINANCES
The monthly expenditure spreadsheet was made available. This was viewed and accepted.
Proposed Cllr Susan Orrell Seconded Cllr Alan Mason Agreed
12/01/26: SANCTIONS FOR PAYMENT
Payment to Liam Ellis Joinery for repairing benches £1510.00, Larkin Engineering Services repair
and replacing panels on the gazebo in the memorial garden £930.00, Arrad Foot Balconies monthly
landscape and maintenance £866.15, 2 x copier paper £9.30, ICO General Data Protection Yearly
charge £52.00
Proposed Cllr Bill Wilson Seconded Elisabeth Donachie Agreed
13/01/26: DATE, TIME, AND PLACE OF NEXT MEETING
Tuesday 17 February 2026 at 7.30 pm in the Community Centre, Duke Street, Askam.
Signed ……………………………………………………………. Dated ……………………………..
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