02/09/2026
Hi All,
Hope you are well and are or have been enjoying the summer months.
Unfortunately the July meeting did not take place due to myself being hospitalised so we did a catch up meeting in August and below are the minutes to let you know what is going on. The big items at the moment is the refurb of children's play park and trying to find funds, the Local Plan and how it will change the village, W&F next years budget and how it will hit our pockets and the up and coming new Mayor election. So I guess it is a bit of "watch this space"?
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF PRESTON RICHARD PARISH COUNCIL HELD IN ENDMOOR VILLAGE HALL ON TUESDAY 25th August 2026
Cllrs Present: Cllrs. M Smith (Chair), R Toon, S Parr,
A. Atkinson, G Galbraith, K. Dos Santos Unitary
Cllr Mrs J Battye and Mrs A Park (Clerk)
Apologies Cllrs D Inman, I Park,
The Chair announced the passing of Margaret Daunt having been a stalwart of the community for many years and a Parish Councillor for many years. A minutes silence was held as a mark of respect.
40.26 REQUESTS FOR DISPENSATION – None
41.26 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – None
42.26 MINUTES – The minutes of the last meeting were confirmed as a true and accurate record
43.26 OPEN SESSION –
A members of the public requested the following be dealt with.
a. Foliage obscuring the school sign on Gatebeck Road.
b. Foliage obscuring the school bus stop on Woodside Road.
c. Ivy on the walls on Woodside Road.
d. The tipping of hard-core material in a field at the rear of Oxenberg and being accessed over a public footpath. It was reported several loads of hard-core had been deposited there and noted that the site has been offered as a possible site for house building in the Local Plan.
e. The wall has not been rebuilt although it is believed the electricity work has been completed.
f. Potholes on Low Park Lane have not been dealt with although W&F Council have advised the reporter it had been done. Further potholes on Meadowside.
g. A request for a mirror to be placed opposite the junction of Low Park Lane to aid drivers entering Gatebeck Lane for Low Park.
It was decided a & b would be reported to the Lengthsman for attention. As c is a matter for the householder as the owners of the walls and as work is being carried out on the pavements currently, we will wait and see how it is dealt with. The matter of Oxenberg (d) is currently in the hands of the planning department however Cllr Battye will contact them with the new information and what find out when the wall will be rebuilt. The matter of Low Park Lane (f) will be chase up by Cllr Battye as she also had been advised the work had been completed. The request for work to be done on Meadowside potholes and a mirror (g) will be made by the Clerk.
44.26 UNITARY COUNCIL MATTERS – Cllr Battye advised the following:
a. WASTE - The new green waste service has commenced and the take up has been good. New smaller wheelie bins are to be introduced for recycling items and will be phased in this year and a new food waste collection in the future. Details on Waste and recycling harmonisation Waste and recycling harmonisation | Westmorland and Furness Council
b. BUDGETS – this year W&F have managed to balance the budget but the next 2 years, due to government cuts, savings will need to be made. They are currently looking at all “discretionary” services to see if savings can be made.
c. COMBINED MAYORAL AUTHORITY – It has been agreed that when W&F and Cumberland councils combine the headquarters will be sited in Penrith being central to the area. (The Mayor will be elected by us all next May). As leader for children’s services, Cllr Battye is looking at developing youngsters’ education, skills, training for employment opportunities.
d. PLANNING – Changes are being made to planning process to speed thing up. Planning officers will have more powers on decisions and the time for Parish & Town councils to have their say will be reduced. Appeals can be made to the Minister currently but to the Mayor when elected.
45.26 SIGN FOR THE BOWLING CLUB – an estimate of £943.63 had been received from Highways for the provision and installation of the sign, the Bowling Club felt this was too much and could not proceed, Cllr. Battye advised she would see what could be done.
46.26 HIGHWAYS – In answer to the Parish Council’s request for methods of slowing traffic through the village Highways have sent an estimate for A65 edge markings when entering from the north, stating between £2200 - £3825. After discussion it was decided to defer a decision on this until the matter of the upgrading of the play area had been discussed and decided.
47.26 LOCAL PLAN – Cllr Battye advised a booklet has been produced providing an overview of the Local Plan process and can be found in various outlets throughout South Lakeland it also gives a link to the below for further details.
https://www.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk/localplan
She advised she had driven around local sites with the Planning Policy Manager to assess the local sites for herself. Well in to the autumn sites will assessed and suggested for inclusion or not and then there will be a full year’s consultation on those selected. Questions were asked concerning if facilities and services will be considered when choosing sites and it was said they will be. The matter of the waste management site proposed at Crooklands being a very large site, question asked was what waste would be managed there. Cllr Battye did not know at this time but stated it was also marked as a housing site.
It was noted the field behind Oxenber was also on offer which caused public concern in view of the wall being down for some time allowing access over a public footpath. A member of the public advised there have been numerous loads of waste tipped into the field, possibly hardcore but it is not known if it is hazardous, which is a further concern. The wall was taken down for access to allow electricity work to be done which was completed some time ago. Cllr Battye stated she would update the Planning Department on these matters to check what is going on.
48.26 BUS REFORM PILOT – Cllr Battye advised W&F Council are currently piloting new approaches to delivering bus services around Ulverston to assess the take up and if it works it could be rolled out across Cumbria. The Clerk asked about Rural Wheels Cllr Battye will look into that service to see if it is still running.
49.26 PRESTON RICHARD EMERGENCY PLAN (PREP) The PREP team need a bigger generator in the event of a incident and the Clerk is looking into getting a grant. Cllr Atkinson will send details to the Clerk & Chair of the generator required.
50.26 POLICE – The clerk advised no local reports found on media for our area, police details found on Home | Cumbria Police and page south lakes police - search results | Facebook
51.26 PLAYING FIELD/VILLAGE HALL –
The Chair advised that the inspection by W&F on the playground had not been carried out by a qualified inspector and as such many of the reported items were incorrect. Cllr Toon said we needed to do any concerning repairs, this action was proposed by Cllr Galbraith and Seconded by Cllr Parr and all agreed. It was decided the smaller repairs that do need carrying out are being done by the Chair and local businesses. However, there are some pieces of equipment that do need replacing and three quotes had been obtained, these were discussed at length, one supplier was chosen for furthering and they will be asked back to discuss options. Cllr Battye said she would ask representatives from W&F will get in touch with the Clerk to discuss what help they can offer. The Clerk will also look into grants to see how we can fund any purchase.
52.26 SPEEDWATCH – Cllr Parr advised all SID’s are now working.
53.26 Planning APPLICATIONS FOR INPUT & DECISIONS –
NEW PLANNING APPLICATIONS –
PLANNING 2026/1353/HOU - Coopers Drive Endmoor LA8 0BG – Single storey side extension
2026/1529/FPA - Encore House Main Street Endmoor - Replacement of existing window opening with external doorway to front elevation
PLANNING APPLICATIONS AWAITING DECISIONS –
2026/0609/FPA - Land behind Malvern Woodside Road Endmoor - Er****on of a single self-build dwellinghouse
PLANNING NOTIFICATIONS RECEIVED: -
2026/0925/DISC - Plots 1 & 2 Land adjacent to North Lodge Crooklands - Discharge of condition 4 (surface water & sewage works) attached to Outline Planning permission SL/2022/0224 (Outline planning permission with matters reserved for two detached dwellings) – Discharge of conditions
54.26 FINANCE –
Paid between meetings:
DH Forestry £1550.00 (May)
ICO licence £47
Netherfield CC £177.60 April & May
Wages & Expenses (June) £890.82
HMRC Tax & NI £315.45
Lily Green Gardening/Grass £450 (June)
A2A web hosting £88.80
W&F Council play inspection £266.40
J Mortimer (Play equip repair) £35.35
Longhorn (play equip repairs) £11.50
L&W Wilson (pitch repair) £4200
DH Forestry £1400 (June)
Wages & Expenses (July) £891.43
HMRC Tax & NI £315.45
Lakes Computers £60.00 (Backup)
Netherfield CC £177.60 June & July
DH Forestry £1235.00 (July)
Lily Green Gardening/Grass £300 (July)
Payments received – Endmoor Football Club £500
Transfers between a/c – 22/6/26 £3k dep-cur,
17/7/26 £3k dep - cur
3/8/26 £3k dep - cur
Next Meeting– 21st September 2026
We are making a new Local Plan for Westmorland and Furness. We want to hear your views about what the plan should do, what it should achieve and how you would like to be kept up to date and involved.
