A parish in Cumbria

Crake Valley taken by Rob Sutherland in November 2020 with a drone

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Lowick news issue four

Download the latest newsletter from the Parish Council.

Lowick Parish Council newsletter issue four (pdf format, 1.5Mb)

Want to receive this newsletter via email?
Please send a request to the clerk and you will be added to our mailing list.

We would love your feedback for any improvements and what you want to hear about.

Meeting held on 18 July 2019

Councillor Ingham received a helpful reply from County Councillor Matt Brereton with regard to traffic issues in Lowick. He has raised these with officers from Highways and is hopeful that there will be some action with Lowick’s particular problems – re-siting the satnav sign; general signage; speeding – which will be part of a wider review in the area.

As part of the Parish Plan, Councillors have developed their particular items and there was a discussion about preparing a questionnaire which will be sent to all households. It is hoped to have a meeting early in September and Councillor Ingham undertook to prepare a questionnaire which will be discussed and refined before it is sent out.

Mr Ellwood, Chairman of Lowick Green Management Committee, reported that the wild flower areas have done well and he will be sowing some yellow rattle seed in the wild areas – courtesy of Cumbria Wildlife Trust. The old well is now flowing freely.

The Lengthsman has been out and about in the parish, strimming and tidying and is going to examine the bus shelters to see what work needs to be done to keep them in good repair.

Councillors discussed a planning application for the development of a barn into a dwelling at Woodgate. The Council is opposed to this development and will be responding to SLDC, giving reasons for this opinion.

The Southern Boundary Partnership information evening was held in the Community Hall on 3 July.

Kirkby Moor Windfarm

The Parish Council are very disappointed that the appeal has been allowed by the Planning Inspector, following the Public Enquiry. This means that the wind turbines will remain until 2027. This information came in after the meeting but will be on the agenda for the September meeting.

Unfortunately Police Community Support Officer Debbie Ross has had to take sick leave but if anyone needs to contact the Team, Sgt Rupert Johnston will be covering for her.

The next meeting of the Parish Council will take place on 19 September at 7.30pm in Lowick Community Hall. All are welcome.

Lowick news issue three

All households within the parish should have received a copy of the latest newsletter. If you have been missed please let us know.

Lowick Parish Council newsletter issue three (pdf format, 644Kb)

Want to receive this newsletter via email?
Please send a request to the clerk and you will be added to our mailing list.

Meeting held on 21 March 2019

The Council is still awaiting a response from CCC Highways about the possibility of having solar signs on the A5092 to remind motorists of the 40mph speed limit. Although this is merely a request for information it seems difficult to get any feedback.

As part of the Parish Plan, the Council has delivered a second newsletter to all households. Again this was collated by Councillor Edmondson and if anyone has an issue to raise appertaining to the parish and of interest to residents, please contact Councillor Edmondson – or any councillor.

Mr Ellwood, Chairman of Lowick Green Management Committee has not received any negative comments about improving the parking area outside Cosy Cottage/Green View and outside Hopefield Cottages so plans to go ahead with this.

Some residents have been affected by the action of Vodafone to stop using the mast near Lowick Old School. Councillors feel very strongly that the phone company should ensure that our rural area is adequately served with a satisfactory signal for all. As well as advising affected residents to contact Vodafone directly, it will be sending a letter outlining concerns and the needs of our area.

Flooding on the A5092 was raised by a local resident and Councillor Sanderson commented that he had heard that one gully was so badly blocked that the road may have to be dug up to repair it. Gully sucking has taken place along the A5092.

The Public Enquiry about Kirkby Moor took place in January and the Planning Inspector’s decision should be published in May.

Councillors discussed an issue relating to an unofficial residential development just over the parish boundary with Blawith and agreed to raise this with the Lake District Special Planning Board.

The next meeting of the Parish Council will take place on 16 May at 7.30pm in Lowick Community Hall. This is the date for AGM and Annual Parish Assembly. All are welcome.

Meeting held on 19 January 2019

Councillors considered a letter sent by a local resident about traffic issues: namely the possibility of having solar signs on the A5092 to remind motorists of the 40mph speed limit and improved signing at the Coniston road junction to try and prevent motorists – cars, caravans and coaches – using the narrow road along Lowick Green. The idea of solar signs is a positive one but the Parish Council will have to consult with CCC Highways on this, as well as sign improvements. This would not be the first time but little has happened so far …… It seems to be related to cost and priorities ……

As part of the Parish Plan, the Council has delivered a newsletter to all households. This was collated by Councillor Edmondson, with contributions from various sources. It has been well received – if anyone has an issue to raise appertaining to the parish and of interest to residents, please contact Councillor Edmondson – or any councillor.

Mr Ellwood, Chairman of Lowick Green Management Committee explained that he was hoping to improve the parking area outside Cosy Cottage/Green View and asked for views about improving the roadside parking outside Hopefield Cottages to avoid the need for residents to park on the grass, which easily gets damaged.

The Public Enquiry about Kirkby Moor will take place in January and Lowick Parish Council is supporting the Kirkby Moor Protectors. Councillors Mitchell and Sanderson will give evidence at the Enquiry. The result will be eagerly awaited.

Councillors agreed to request a precept of £3000 from South Lakeland District Council to cover costs and any projects.

The next meeting of the Parish Council will take place on 21 March at 7.30pm in Lowick Community Hall. All are welcome.

Lowick news issue two and an update from the Public Inquiry

Parish newsletter

All households within the parish should have received a copy of the latest newsletter. If you have been missed please let us know.

Lowick Parish Council newsletter issue two (pdf format, 843Kb)

You can read below an extended version of the report from Councillor Sanderson.

Public Inquiry regarding The Kirkby Moor Wind Farm

Zephyr Investments Ltd demanded the Public Inquiry, allowed under The Town and Country Planning Act 1990, to Appeal the decision of South Lakeland District Council to refuse an Extension of Time for the existing wind turbines which elapsed on 26th August 2018. Mitch and I attended several days from the 22nd January and gave evidence to the Public Inquiry at Ulverston on 30th January.

The content was very dry with hours of legal wrangling between the advocate representing Zephyr Investments and SLDC planners. Zephyr were looking for legal loopholes in the current planning regulations and hoping to set new presidents for the less regulated repowering rulings. Under the current regulations the wind farm would not be approved due to environmental, SSSI status, landscape, local population density and power output restrictions. Zephyr steered well clear of these arguments, instead they concentrated on the lack of regulation about repowering existing wind farms.  This could become a test case. 

Planning for the Kirkby Moor Wind Farm was only finally agreed in 1994, by Government, for a time limited period, as a test for the then new wind technology. A time period of 25 years in operation was imposed due to the location of the site and relaxation of some planning restrictions. Zephyr’s argument was that local residents had become used to the windmills and would not object to them staying powered until the Government stopped the pay in tariff for the green energy they generated. With some of the extra money generated and given an extra 12 months to complete the work they would ringfence a sum of money to provide an enhanced process of decommissioning and restoration works to take place and not just remove the windmills, which is all they are required to do under 1994 planning approval.

Zephyr’s Advocate questioned Matt Brereton intensely when he spoke about the mistrust many of his constituents had in the promises being made by the appellants.

The Green Party also gave evidence which acknowledged the insignificant amount of energy produced by these out dated, inefficient turbines but argued that they were things of beauty and any amount of green energy helped towards decreasing global warming. I hope if the appeal is dismissed The Green Party will give support to have Kirkby Moor re-instated to a condition to enable it to recover quickly and even improve from its former state. Burlington Slate have said when they decommission the quarry, they will return the moor to a state recommended by current regulation.

Zephyr Investments Ltd. are classified as a Holding Company employing between 10 and 50 people with a turnover of between £2 and £10 million. Kirkby Moor Wind Farm is a significant part of their portfolio.

Lastly in his round up the Inspector said that in all the wind power planning cases he had listened to, and he had dealt with numerous, the participants on both sides were the most courteous, polite, reasoning and intelligent he had ever come across. Our advocate Geoff Sinclair said to me he had a good feeling about the outcome, and I will feel we have done the best we could regardless of the result.

Improving communication in our village

The general opinion within our parish is there is a need for better communication between us all.

Hopefully our new newsletter will help. Copies have been delivered to every household in the parish.

Lowick Parish Council newsletter issue one (pdf format, 443Kb)

It’s early days and we would love your feedback for any improvements and what you want to hear about.

Meeting held on 15 November 2018

Planning

Following a submission by a local resident in respect of planning application 7/2018/5560 and with additional information from the LDSPB, the Parish Council amended its original objection to the planning proposal and will inform the LDSPB accordingly. It had no objections to the proposal for an agricultural workers cottage at Everard Lodge.

Highways

County Councillor Matt Brereton has made enquiries with CCC Highways about the SatNav sign on the A5084, whose location has resulted in HGVs turning down the narrow road to Lane End in error. He will press for it to be re-located to the other side of the road. This is supported by Councillors.

X12 bus service

Parish Councillors agreed to make a donation of £200 to help fund the X12 bus service which provides an important community link for people using public transport in the Crake Valley.

Southern Boundary Partnership

Councillor Sanderson is involved in meetings with the Southern Boundary Partnership which is exploring the possible extension of the southern boundary of the National Park. The minutes of these meeting are on the Parish Council website for residents who have a specific interest in this project.

Parish Plan

At a meeting in October, Councillors made some progress in developing a plan. A questionnaire is being developed covering a variety of topics which will be circulated to all residents for their comments. Councillor Edmondson is compiling a newsletter to be delivered to all addresses in the parish.

Next meeting

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on 17 January at 7.30pm in Lowick Community Hall.

Meeting held on 20 September 2018

The last Parish Council meeting was held on 20 September.

Richard Ellwood, Chairman of Lowick Green Management Committee, attended the meeting to give some feedback following the Tour of Britain and the associated event held on Lowick Green. This was very successful, raising £435 for the Green committee.

There has been no progress with CCC Highways about traffic issues in the parish but District Councillor Ann Hall thought that County Councillor Matt Brereton might be able to support Lowick in their endeavors to make changes/improvements.

The Parish Council has agreed to support the group ‘Kirkby Moor Protectors’ in its work  to oppose the appeal by the developers against the decision taken last December to refuse planning permission to extend the life of the wind turbines. This will allow Lowick to become a member of the Party which will enable it to play an active role in the new  appeal by the developers taking place at a public enquiry in January 2019.

Councillor Sanderson is involved in initial meetings which will explore the possible extension of the southern boundary of the National Park. This is particularly relevant for Lowick as the parish is divided by the current national park boundary. These are exploratory meetings but there is a public roadshow proposed for early next year.

Parish Plan

Thank you to all who visited the stall at Lowick Show and, in particular, made written comments about what they would like to see the Parish Council to achieve over the next few years. Councillors are aware that Lowick is not a neat, compact parish and that it needs to make the public more aware of what is going on.

One suggestion has been a regular newsletter distributed to households. Further discussion by Councillors is planned at a meeting in October. New or further ideas can be shared with any of your parish councillors. There is a Facebook page too.

Next meeting

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on 15 November at 7.30pm in Lowick Community Hall.

Meeting held on 17 May 2018

Litter pick update

Please note that the proposed litter pick suggested for Friday 6 July has been cancelled. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

The last Parish Council meeting was held on 17 May. This was the date for the Annual General Meeting. Councillor Longmire was re-elected as Chairman and Councillor Edmondson as Vice-Chair. Your other Councillors continue to be B. Mitchell, G. Sanderson and L. Ingham.

Richard Ellwood, Chairman of Lowick Green Management Committee attended the meeting to clarify the work being proposed for The Green. He hopes to get a grant to undertake some drainage work and, hopefully, Young Farmers may help with cutting down some trees by the wall along the A5092. Grass cutting is a significant item in the budget but the majority local residents want this to continue.

Councillors have notified CCC Highways about traffic issues but are awaiting a response about a site visit. Apparently, County Councillor Matt Brereton has been attending local PC meetings and, on the advice of Anne Hall, Lowick’s issues will be forwarded to him for his support.

The Parish Council intends to take part in a litter pick organised by the LDNP on 6 July. It is hoped that this will be supported by members of the community. The meeting place will be The Green and the time advertised nearer the day.

Councillor Mitchell gave an update on the Kirkby Moor Wind Farm. It appears that SLDC say they have no grounds to enforce the reinstatement of the area to what it was: only the blades and turbines will be removed. Councillors feel strongly that this is unacceptable and will be following it up.

Councillors considered the paperwork associated with the Annual Audit and approved the accounts. These will be sent to the External Auditor and are available for the public to peruse from 11 June. Thank you to Mr Ian Curry who acted as our Internal Auditor.

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on 19 July at 7.30pm in Lowick Community Hall.

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