Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

An Apology for Absence was received from Councillor Hall.

To receive declarations of interest by members of any interests on respect of items on this agenda, and to consider any dispensations.

Members may however, also decide, in the interests of clarity and transparency, to declare at this point in the meeting, any such disclosable pecuniary interests which they have already declared in the Register, as well as any other registerable or other interests.  

Councillor Worthington declared an interest in Agenda Item 8 as he was a Councillor for Barrow Town Council.

To consider whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of any item on the agenda.

That the press and public not be excluded during the consideration of any items on the agenda.

To consider the minutes of the previous meeting held on 19^th March, 2024 (copy enclosed).

The minutes of the meeting held on 19th March, 2024 were agreed as a correct record.

To receive any questions or statement which have been received from members of the public and to receive any petitions.

(note questions or statement must be received in writing (including email) by the Council at least 3 clear working days before the day of the meeting (not including the day of the meeting). So, for example, if the meeting is on Tuesday requests must be received by 11.59 pm on the previous Wednesday by the person named on the front of the agenda.  Petitions must have been presented to the Monitoring Officer 9 working days before the date of this meeting to be valid).

Mr Stephen Grisdale attended the meeting and raised the following question to the committee –

Can the Furness Locality Board provide an assurance that;

-       Any decision regarding the tree solution for Infield Park will be cognisant of the environmental implications, take account of legal requirements under the Environment Act 2021 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

-       That any arboricultural work will be carried out in accordance with BS3998 2010 -and any solution will be approved by elected officials following a thorough consultation process with the public?

To support a sustainable solution we expect that:

-       There is adequate funding allocated for long term tree maintenance -A Tree Management Plan is put in place to support the environmental aspirations of the council -There is a funded programme to plant replacement trees for all those removed in the Barrow area.

-       The council will be more proactive in sharing their reports to help inform consultation with the public.

Councillor Callister provided the following response to Mr Grisdale –

As Chair of Furness Locality Board I am aware that there is a planned public consultation to be held soon in relation to Infield Park. The Consultation will follow the guidelines included in the Duty to Consult guidance for local authrorities, this guidance is issued pursuent to S 115 of the Environment Act 2021.

All WAF Council arboricultiral work will be carried out in accordance with BS3998.

Furness Locality Board will be presented with the results of the Infield Park public consultation and a report from WAF Network team for the Locality Board to discuss if any works will be carried out on Infield Park.

There is a budget for the Local Area team to use

This Plan was currently being developed by WAF Council Arboculture team.

This type of work would require extra funding. As from 2023 – any tree removed by WAF Network team would be replanted as part of an annual contract.

Any documents or reports held by WAF Council could be obtained by making a Freedom of Information request. This could be made online by searching for Westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk and typing request a Freedom of Information request into the search bar and following the steps provided.

To consider any urgent items of business.

There were not urgent items of business for consideration on this occasion.

To receive a presentation from the Interim Senior Manager - Planning Policy.

Helen Houston and Dan Hudson provided a presentation on the Westmorland and Furness Local Plan.

To receive a report from the Traffic Management Manager.

The Traffic Management Manager presented the 20mph Prioritisation report.

The report set out the background to the 20mph policy, applications received and detailed the prioritisation process undertaken. The outcome of the prioritisation process, and a timetable for delivery of the 20mph schemes across Westmorland and Furness had been set out.

A total of 49 Town / Parish Councils and one Resident Group submitted applications for 20mph schemes. Within some of the 50 applications received, more than 1 location for a 20mph scheme was requested. In total, applications for a reduced 20mph speed limit for 79 locations across the three Locality areas were received.

Barrow Town Council made several discreet applications and, to ensure a strategic approach to expanding on the areas of 20mph speed limits within Barrow Town, separate engagement with the Town Council had begun. As a result, additional areas of the Town had been recommended to extend 20mph coverage, as schemes to be progressed throughout the programme of delivery. These would be listed out within the programme as engagement with Barrow Town Council continued.

Work would begin during 2024/25 on the remaining locations where applications were received, to identify further achievable schemes across the Westmorland and Furness area for delivery in 2025/26 and 2026/27. This would include gathering traffic data, determining appropriate extents, further discussion, and engagement with Town / Parish Councils.

It was moved by Councillor F Cassidy and seconded by Councillor McEwan and;

RESOLVED: - That the 5 schemes for Furness Locality listed in Appendix 3 of the report be approved.

To receive a report on the Traffic Regulation Order 20mph Speed Limit Trent Vale North Walney.

The Traffic Management Manager presented the Traffic Regulation Order 20mph Speed Limit Trent Vale North Walney report.

The report informed Members of the outcome following the statutory advertisement and consultation of the Order concerning 20mph in North Walney to support the North Walney cycling scheme. 2 representations were received during the 21-day period of statutory advertisement and consultation. The report sought a resolution on the proposed introduction of the Order.

There was a proposed project in place which aimed to develop and deliver a 2.32km LTN 1/20 (Local Transport Note) complaint cycling, walking, and wheeling route on North Walney, Barrow-in-Furness. Commencing at Earnse Bay, the route followed West Shore Road and Trent Vale before going through Vickerstown Park and re-joining the highway at the Jubilee Bridge junction with Walney Promenade.

To facilitate a 0.31km section of ‘quiet street’ approach on Trent Vale the existing restricted road with a speed limit of 30mph, by virtue of the presence of a system of street lighting, was proposed to be reduced to 20mph. The aim was in slowing vehicular traffic where there was likely to be cyclists in the road.

The Order was proposed to include the connecting roads in introducing a reduced speed limit from the current restricted road 30mph to 20mph to slow vehicular traffic within this whole residential area. The roads were Trent Vale, Thames Road, Tyne Road, Mersey Road, Tees Gardens, Tweed Rise, Medway Road, Southport Drive and Maryport Avenue as shown in an Appendix to the report.

It was moved by Councillor Husband and seconded by Councillor Hamilton and;

RESOLVED: - That the WESTMORLAND AND FURNESS COUNCIL (VARIOUS ROADS BARROW-IN-FURNESS AND SURROUNDING AREA)(CONSOLIDATION AND PROVISION OF SPEED LIMITS) ORDER 20>< (“the Order”), be brought into operation as advertised.

To receive a report on the Traffic Regulation Order - Preston Street.

The Traffic Management Team Leader presented the Traffic Regulation Order – Preston Street report.

The report informed Members of the outcome following the statutory advertisement and consultation of the Order concerning new parking arrangements on Preston Street, Barrow-in-Furness.

Preston Street currently had a number of “Loading Only Parking Place, Monday – Saturday, 8 am – 6 pm” restrictions. These parking bays were designated many years ago, but today motorists are abusing the use.

It is therefore proposed to replace those at the rear of the Cross Keys Hotel, Portland Walk, Cavendish Street with “No Waiting At Any Time” (double yellow lines).

Implementing a no-waiting at any time restriction would help to reduce congestion and improve the area's amenities.

The “Loading Only Parking Place, Monday – Saturday, 8am – 6pm” restriction on that part of Back Portland Walk/Preston Street, Barrow-in-Furness (behind no.s 5A, 6 and 7 Portland Walk and 21 Preston Street) would be retained.

A copy of the Notice which summarised the proposals was attached as an appendix to the report.

The statutory consultation and advertisement period commenced on 8^th March 2024 and concluded on 29^th March 2024.

One representation was received in relation to the statutory advertisement and consultation. A summary had been provided as part of the report which was attached as an appendix.

RESOLVED:- That the WESTMORLAND AND FURNESS COUNCIL (VARIOUS ROADS, BARROW-IN- FURNESS) (CONSOLIDATION AND PROVISION OF TRAFFIC REGULATIONS) ORDER 20>< (“the Order”), be brought into operation as advertised.

To receive a report from the Senior Manager - Safe & Strong Communities.

The Senior Manager – Safe and Strong Communities presented the Safe and Strong Communities report.

The Safe and Strong Communities report brought together information from across Thriving Communities. It presented the 2024/25 devolved budget with recommendations to agree budget allocations, mechanisms for awarding grants and agree grant recommendations from 2024/25 within the devolved budget.

The report included updates from thematic workstreams, in line with priorities, highlight issues, actions and risks and provided an update on the devolved budget positions.

Thematic Working Groups

Since the Locality Board report on 19th March 2024 all four thematic working groups had been meeting weekly. The thematic working groups included Furness Locality Board Members who had elected to sit on the working groups and key external partners who can provide the technical expertise as required.

The Furness Locality Board Plan had been agreed and the priorities for Furness Locality Board were:

Health & Wellbeing – supporting everyone to start well, live well and age well.

Poverty Proofing – supporting our disadvantaged communities to access and increase opportunities.

Community Working Group

The working group had developed an action plan to look at delivering on priorities that had been emerging. These were:

• Website and staffing to support the Furness for You Know Your Neighbourhood Project.

• Anti-social behaviour in town centre.

• A key priority for the working group was addressing social isolation with data and community intelligence evidence North Walney and Hawcoat wards experiencing the highest levels

It was recommended that grant requests from Community Grants, 0-19s, 11-19s and DWP Household Support Fund were considered through Community Thematic Working Group. This was due to its cross-cutting areas from children and young people to adults including our 3rd sector partners. In addition, many of the funding applications were likely to be Furness wide and this working group had wide geographical representation of elected members as there would be a minimum of one elected member per ward on the working group.

Community Grants

Cabinet at its meeting on 12th September 2023 approved the community grants scheme and criteria. The community grants were to support constituted non-profit making organisations to apply for grants up to £5k that benefit the local area and meet local priorities.

Grants from this fund were awarded to groups who were involved in community based projects and initiatives that would benefit the local area. The Community Grants Fund was intended to invest in communities to bring about a positive and lasting change for the benefit of the whole community. Projects and/or initiatives would be assessed on their ability to contribute to the achievement of the Westmorland and Furness Council Plan and locally identified community priorities.

0-19s Grants

As part of the Furness Locality Board evaluation and in line with the Locality Board plan; it was proposed that a Looking Back to Look Forward workshop was held. This would enable members to look at projects, priorities, and how funding was targeted in 2023/24. This would then inform 2024/25 projects, priorities and would follow on from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.