Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Borough Councillors: D Berryman, S Bibby and B Buller.

Apologies for absence were also received from the following parish representatives:

T Austin           Billington and Langho

B Green          Chipping

P Ainsworth     Clayton-le-Dale

R Beacham     Longridge

D Groves        Ribchester

The minutes of the meeting held on 16 September 2021 were corrected to note that the parish representative for Simonstone was J Hampson and not J Horton. They were then approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Councillor K Horkin commented that in relation to Minute 316 he considered that it had been ‘sanitised’ and did not reflect the sentiment of some members.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any disclosable pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interest in respect of matters contained in the agenda.

Councillor K Horkin declared that he had business interests in the Ribble Valley.

There was no public participation.

Verbal update from the Head of Regeneration and Housing on the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP).

Background:

The proposed work is taking place across six sections of the 110km pipeline through Cumbria, Lancashire and Greater Manchester, which will have an impact in your local area during construction.

Update:

·         The planning applications are still at consultation stage and awaiting the formal views of key consultees such as Lancashire County Council (LCC) Highways.

·         In relation to third party comments, it is evident that if the scheme was to go ahead, there is more support for the route including the new bridge to reduce the traffic impact on West Bradford, Chatburn and Grindleton.

·         We are still waiting for the mineral application to be determined by LCC to establish whether the arisings from the tunnelling can be deposited at Waddington Quarry (WQ).

·         No Planning Committee date can be given until the Waddington Quarry application has been determined and the views of the key consultees have been received.

·         The Council is working closely with Lancaster City Council and LCC.

The Head of Regeneration and Housing provided a verbal update on the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP)

He reminded members that the proposed work is taking place across six sections of the 110km pipeline through Cumbria, Lancashire and Greater Manchester, which will have an impact in your local area during construction.

He also noted that:

·         The planning applications were still at consultation stage and were awaiting the formal views of key consultees such as Lancashire County Council (LCC) Highways.

·         In relation to third party comments, it had become evident that if the scheme were to go ahead, there is more support for the route including the new bridge to reduce the traffic impact on West Bradford, Chatburn and Grindleton.

·         The mineral application, to establish whether the arisings from the tunnelling can be deposited at Waddington Quarry, was still to be determined by LCC.

·         No date for a Planning Committee can be set until the Waddington Quarry application had been determined and the views of the key consultees had been received.

·         The Council was working closely with Lancaster City Council and LCC.

He stated that the Council would continue to provide updates and that John Macholc the Council officer most involved in the scheme would answer any questions members may have.

Verbal update from the Head of Regeneration and Housing.

The Head of Regeneration and Housing provided a verbal update from the Dog Fouling Working Group.

He informed members that the:

·         Dog Fouling Working Group had authorised that the report prepared by the Director of Community Services (Alternative System for Dog Waste Litter Bins) be updated in line with their comments and recommendations and be submitted to the next meeting of the Health and Housing Committee.

·         The Health and Housing Committee had authorised that Option 1 of the Alternative System for Dog Waste Litter Bins report be submitted to the Policy and Finance Committee, as a growth item for consideration in the Council’s budgetary process for inclusion in the budget for the 2022-23 financial year.

Councillor Richard Sherras - Gisburn, Rimington Ward.

Councillor Richard Sherras made a presentation introducing members to the Rural Services Network.  The presentation is attached to these minutes.

Update by the Council’s Chief Executive.

Next year, Her Majesty The Queen will become the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee. 

To celebrate and commemorate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, the Chief Executive updated members on the activities the Council had agreed to carry out, which currently includes:

·         Having a beacon lit at Clitheroe Castle.

·         Providing a grant of £500 to every parish council who submit a letter of intent on how they will use the money to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee.

It was noted that the Council would send template letters to each parish clerk to enable them to request the grant.

·         Setting up a task and finish group consisting of Councillors S Atkinson, K Horkin, J Clark, S Fletcher and R Thompson. The remit of the group is to finalise plans for commemorating the Jubilee.

The Chief Executive also noted that in the week prior to the celebrations the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment would march through the streets of Clitheroe.

The Chief Executive requested parish councils to inform the Council via the Committee Clerk, of their celebratory intentions and to submit any ideas that they may wish the Council to consider.

He also informed the Committee that the Pageant Master, Bruno Peek had requested that all councils light a beacon to celebrate the event and in this regard it would be helpful if each parish advised the Council of their intentions so that it can be fed back to the Pageant Master. 

Verbal update from the Head of Regeneration and Housing.

The Head of Regeneration and Housing informed the Committee that there were still places available on the 23 and 30 November and that there would be no additional sessions in 2021.

Councillors B Holden and K Horkin stated that having attended one on the sessions they had found it extremely beneficial.

Head of Regeneration and Housing.

The Head of Regeneration and Housing reminded parish representatives that for all matters regarding data protection, GDPR, requests for information and complaints, the starting point for each parish council is to have a policy in place and that, if need be, they could use or adapt the Council’s policies.

He informed the Committee that in the light of the murder of former members of parliament Jo Cox and Sir David Amess borough councillors had been issued with a pamphlet on How to Stay Save and that this would be issued to all parish councils.

Councillor K Horkin asked if the Council had considered carrying out a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis.  The Chief Executive stated that the parish clerk is a key person in any communication with the Council and that the Council would help whenever it could and would be happy to host forums/’comfort sessions’ where ideas can be shared, and solutions found on topics such as auditing accounts etc. It was noted that Read Parish Council had a new clerk who would be pleased for any help the Council could provide as they developed into the role

On a separate topic, the Head of Regeneration and Housing informed members that several Luncheon Clubs were looking to start back up and that financial support was available including for appropriate Christmas events and for further information members should contact Dilys Day at dilys.day@ribblevalley.gov.uk,alternatively a grant application form is available by using the link below.

https://www.ribblevalley.gov.uk/downloads/file/10196/lunch_clubs_funding_application

The next scheduled meeting is 27 January 2022.

The Chairman informed the committee that the next meeting would be on Thursday 27 January at 6.30pm.