2005/04
Another year has passed since the last Parish Council newsletter. Since then Chris Murphy has resigned from the council due to work commitments, and has been replaced by Sue Gibson. Thanks to Chris for all his hard work.
On a sad note, Jim Davies a former vice chairman of the parish council and Jocelyn Innes, a former member of the parish council, have both passed away during the year.
The parish council still has a number of issues to resolve including the operation of the tide siren, disabled access at the railway station, car parking for users of trains to the south and the relocation of the library.
United Utilities are continuing with work on the new sewerage pipeline. There have been a number of positive reports made to the council about the way in which United Utilities and their contractors have undertaken the work.
By the time this newsletter is distributed Station Road will have been closed. It is hoped that the work will have minimal disruption on the life of the village, but it is a situation that will have to be closely monitored.
My thanks to those who have donated benches to the village. These are welcome replacements for the benches that have been damaged or have deteriorated beyond repair.
Last but not least again thanks to the volunteers who carry out various tasks in and around the village.
Dave Willacy
Chairman
THE
ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY
Will be held in the WI Hall
On
Thursday 28th April 2005 at 19:30
PARISH COUNCIL OFFICE
The Parish Council Office is open to members of the public each Wednesday and
Saturday morning from 10.30 to 11.30 for residents to discuss parish problems. Also
on each Wednesday morning the SLDC planning officer is available to discuss
planning problems within the village. To date this has been well attended so please
continue to take advantage of this service.
ARNSIDE STATION.
Talks were recently held with Trans Pennine Express, Network Rail, Cumbria County
Council Parish Council members and our County Council member, to try and resolve
the problems over disabled access to the South bound platform. A barrow type
crossing was suggested similar to Silverdale, Kents Bank, Foxfleld and other stations
on the coastal route to Carlisle. To date there has been no positive result even with
the suggestion that the crossing be sited near the signal box. The County Council is
continuing to pursue parking for passengers using trains to the South along with the
other parties. Two new shelters one on each platform are on order and hoped to be
in situ soon. They will be larger, have seating and be weather proof. Hopefully the
snowberry shrubs from the roadside will be removed completely. There will also be
an public address announcement system and CCTV installed this financial year.
CEMETERY CHAPEL.
Much hard work is being carried out to modernise the chapel. Heating, lighting,
toilets etc. will be installed in the near future. Problems continue to arise but are
gradually being overcome, e.g. the installation of a sewerage system. The chapel
fund at present is in excess of £22,000 and is continuing to rise. The Buy A Brick
donation book is held in the Parish Council office and is available for donations on
Wednesday and Saturday mornings. Some events organised in the village have a
table where donations can be made for the chapel. Thanks to the organisers of the
events that provide this facility.
UNITED UTILITIES.
Work continues within the village for the construction of the new sewerage pipeline
to Milnthorpe. Station Road will be closed from llth April for a maximum of 11
weeks but it is hoped that work will continue unhindered and it will open earlier than
planned. Pedestrian access will be maintained along the footway from Ashleigh Court
and vehicular access will be provided for setting down/picking up at the Station.
Problems may be encountered when digging at the station entrance. Problems have
been encountered on Black Dyke Road and as yet it is not known when work will
restart. It is assumed not before Station Road is reopened. Work has started in the
fields to the right of the B5282 (Sandside Road) and will continue almost to Carr
Bank Road junction when it will then cross the road and proceed on the left hand
side to Friar Cote Bridge. Work has yet to commence on the new gravity pipeline
from Beachwood to Ashmeadow, some of which will be below the mean high water
mark. Work also continues on the tank in the grounds of Ashmeadow.
Updates are published monthly in the Broadsheet.
Station Road wilt be re-opened during the coming Bank Holiday weekends.
CROSS BAY WALKS.
These are not due to commence until the Bank Holiday of 1st May. Not as many
walks have been scheduled for 2005 as in recent years. It is thought that this is due
to the problem of insurance. Parking could be an issue when the Promenade
becomes a cul-de-sac due to United Utilities construction work.. The council is
consulting United Utilities on the possibility of limited use of Station Road during
these walks.
PLAYING FIELD.
The field continues to be well used not only by the very active clubs but also by
residents and visitors alike. Unfortunately alcohol abuse is still a problem on the field.
Thanks to Year Six of our Primary School who just before the Easter holiday spent
time on the field doing an organised litter pick. Many bags were filled with litter
mainly empty alcohol containers and of more concern, broken glass.
During the Easter weekend some person or persons left broken glass on the
children’s slide which was unfortunately found by a toddler, who luckily was
uninjured by the glass. The glass was removed from the slide and the surrounding
area. The police were informed of the incident.
Work refurbishing the play area has commenced mainly due to a grant of £2000
obtained by the council for this purpose.
There has been no news of late regarding the skateboard area.
TIDE SIREN.
This is again in the news and the council will continue to fight to have this facility
retained. The siren service started in 1966. It was operated by telephone by the
person in charge of Grange baths when Grange had a manually operated siren. This
proved unsatisfactory, so the siren was then operated manually from Arnside with
the Sandside siren operated by telephone. This method is still in use today. It is
shown from public records that prior to 1966, the average annual fatality in the Kent
Estuary was 2.4 persons per year. Since the introduction of the siren it has been
reduced to less than 1 per year. It is hoped this matter will be resolved with the siren
continuing to operate.
ARNSIDE WEB SITE.
This successful web site, http://www.amside.gov.uk is still operating. The site
includes items such as the minutes of parish council meetings and the latest news on
alt the activities of the parish council. All the parish council contact details are also
held on this site.
VANDALISM.
This Is still a cause of concern but has recently been less of a problem. It is usually
confined to the promenade and playing field areas.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
The area suggested by SLDC, behind Kings Close, was found to be unsuitable and as yet no suitable area for purchase or use has been identified. It is hoped that this can soon be overcome and suitable housing built for younger villagers.
FOOTPATHS/SIGNS.
Work is urgently needed on footpaths and signs in the village. Discussions are still
ongoing with the County Council with regard to the bridal path from Silverdale Road
to Black Dyke Road and the footpath along the Common being identified as the most
urgent for attention. Cumbria County Council have noted this but action is still
awaited. Renewal of finger post signs was due in January but now due in April. The
responsibility for footpaths was returned to the County Council from SLDC so any
delay in the work is is most likely due to the lack of funding.
LIBRARY
There is a need to relocate the library from its current position on Pier Lane to a
more accessible site within the village. It Is currently not accessible to disabled
residents.
The County Library Service has been given suggested sites and as yet no reply to
suitability of any of these locations. If it has to be built, it will be a wooden
construction similar to the one recently built at Haverigg Prison.
HIGHWAYS.
Some roadways previously identified as being in need of repair in the village have
been carried out, but more have yet to be done. Resurfacing of a section to the
B5282 is in the County Council budget for this financial year and repair of this stretch
of highway is eagerly awaited.
PUBLIC TELEPHONES.
There has been no recent news on the removal of any of the existing payphones in
the village so it is hoped that no news is good news. At the recent meeting with
Trans Pennine their representative said the reason that they had not installed a
telephone on the station was because one already existed just outside the station.
“BRIDGE ACROSS THE BAY” PROJECT.
The parish council is unaware of any recent meetings regarding this project so the
possibility exists that this has now become a “dead duck”.
FORESHORE CAR PARK.
The council recently investigated the possibility of raising the area of the foreshore
where cars currently park, but this became far more complicated and expensive than
had been thought. The land has been offered to Cumbria County Council and SLDC
on a long lease at a nominal rent. SLDC are considering the offer as a review of all
car parking arrangements is being carried out.
BEETHAM EXHIBITION TRUST.
Twenty families had been awarded £40 each and twelve of these were from the
Arnside.
FINANCIAL REPORT.
See separate report below.
ARNSIDE PARISH COUNCIL
Treasurer’s Report on the Financial Accounts for the Year ended 31 March 2005
1. The Council’s budget for the year 2004-2005 formed the basis of the Precept for the year just ended and amounted to £24,621.
2. Against budgeted Income of £4,964 we achieved actual Income of £6,914 due mainly to higher than budgeted Cemetery receipts.
3. An unbudgeted balance of £462 was brought forward from 2003-2004.
4. Against budgeted Expenditure of £29,585 we only spent £26,520, an underspend of £3,065.
Summary
Surplus on budgeted Income (£6,914 - £4,964) 1,950
Unbudgeted opening balance 462
Underspend on budgeted Expenditure 3,065
£5.477
5. In addition to the budgeted items included above, we had unbudgeted receipts totalling £850 and Bank interest on the Deposit Account totalling £1,004.
6. A summary of Expenditure is as follows: -
Budget Actual Variance
Administration (see note a below ) 20,341 18,337 2,004
Pier and Foreshore (see note b below ) 2,645 -512 3,157
Playing Field (see note c below) 4,052 6,422 -2,370
Allotments 75 -159 234
Cemetery 1,735 1,695 40
PC Lighting costs 696 696 -
PC Election costs 41 41 -
Totals 29,585 26,520 3,065
Note a. Underspend due mainly to £1,250 cost of Notice Boards replacement
in 2003- 2004 only budgeted in 2004-2005.
Note b. Underspend due mainly to Insurance claim recovery from 2003-2004
re vandalised benches £694 + lower than budgeted cost of vandalism
of £1,423 in 2004-2005. Also £300 cost of hanging baskets saved due
to unacceptable quality.
Note c. Overspend due mainly to recent exceptional cost of overhaul of
gangmowers and implements £2,727.
7. Major projects during the year included the launch of the Cemetery Chapel Development Fund which achieved donations and grants totalling £29,473 and incurred expenses of £1,021. The High Interest Deposit Account in the Balance Sheet of £64,095 includes self-financing Special Projects totalling £33,103, with the remainder representing the Council’s Reserves of £30,992.
AC 02 April 2005
