Millom Town Council
Millom Town Council was formed in 1974 when the parish boundaries changed from Cumberland.
Present: Cllr B Kelly (in the Chair), Cllr S Faulkner, Cllr G Brace, Cllr J Brown, Cllr G McGrath, Cllr B Crellin, Cllrs R & S Peter, Cllr D Billing, Cllr D Burness and Cath Jopson (Town Clerk)
Apologies were received from the following:
No members of the press or public were in attendance.
Prior to the commencement of the mayor’s report Cllr McGrath asked to give a vote of thanks to the clerk for organising the poppy display in the market square for Remembrance Sunday. He also made thanks to all those who had contributed to this especially their time and effort in enabling this display to be constructed. Cllr McGrath also thanked the clerk and volunteers from the parish to organise the Christmas market, without the help of these volunteers this would not have been possible. Grateful thanks also to Millom Rugby League Club for allowing their grounds to be the venue for this.
Mayor’s Report – Cllr B Kelly
On Sunday 6th Denise and I attended the Remembrance Service at Rusland and renewed our acquaintance with the Mayors of Ulverston and Dalton. We were well-received and do think it is important to maintain such connections with our neighbouring towns.
On Thursday 10th I had a meeting with Matt Savage the Head of Millom School which was also useful in establishing links that can enhance future cooperation. On Friday 11th I attended a meeting in Workington on Cumbria’s Flood Resilience and was able to view the current knowledge held by Cumbria County Council on Millom’s potential flood situation – I was generally happy with the information they had but made a couple of comments which I hope added to what they held.
On Wednesday 16th the Deputy Mayor and myself accepted an invitation to present awards to members of Millom Army Cadets. This was a really enjoyable evening with parents taking pride in the real achievements that many of the cadets had attained – the organisation is really doing some wonderful work in giving young people useful skills and positive things to do.
Details have been published about the proposed constituency boundary changes which link Millom and Haverigg with Barrow and Ulverston. This is bound to cause some confusion for local people, given that from April 2023 we are divided from these towns by the division of Cumbria into Cumberland (of which we are a part) and Westmorland & Furness (of which the other towns are part). I do have concerns that this could have adverse effects, with health services and our MP having a different organisation and focus from our provision of local council services. I do think this will place a great obligation on the Town Council in future to help local residents understand this and also to ensure that our town does not get forgotten or ignored by the competing centres.
Deputy Mayor’s Report
Cllr Faulkner informed the council that she was in the process of liaising with various other bodies to implement a timetable for the Warm Hub Groups situated within the Millom and Haverigg Areas. This will be published on MTC Social Media site and on the website.
The clerk informed the council that all actions had been completed by herself and the RFO.
Cllr McGrath proposed that the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 28th September 2022 be signed as a true and correct record of the above meeting. This was seconded by Cllr Billing and all agreed.
No members of the public were present.
The RFO presented the following to the council for approval:
Cllr McGrath informed the council that more work had yet to be done to complete the draft proposals for the forthcoming precept. At present, Cllr McGrath proposed that a 10.5% increase be looked at. This was seconded by Cllr Faulkner and agreed by all. If costs could be cut further, this would be of benefit.
Cllr McGrath proposed a vote of thanks to Liz North be noted on her work throughout her time at the Council and wished her well for the future. All agreed to this. Action: RFO to pay all invoices received.
The clerk informed the council that nothing had been reported this month for councillors’ information.
Cllrs stated that they were disappointed that no feedback had been received from CCC representatives. Cllr McGrath proposed that all CCC Councillors be sent agendas and minutes for all the Town Council meetings. This was seconded by Cllr Kelly and agreed. Action: Clerk to ensure all agendas and minutes are circulated to CCC representatives.
Councillor McGrath informed the council that there was nothing much to report due to the forthcoming new Unitary Authority taking place. He did, however, mention that there were now only 4 senior managers at CBC due to re-staffing issues within the authority and the take over by Cumberland Unitary Authority. Cllr McGrath also requested that agendas and minutes were circulated direct to other CBC Councillors for their information. This was seconded by Cllr Kelly and agreed. Action: Clerk to ensure all agendas and minutes are circulated to CBC representatives.
Cllr Billing asked what the roles of the Parish/Town Councils would be when we were taken over. Cllr Kelly informed the council that these areas would be consulted before anything was decided.
Cllr Kelly informed the councillors once again that all being well things were on track to take over the running of the new Cumberland Shadow Authority. He reported that there was a re-shuffling of various departments.
Cllr Kelly informed the council about the boundary changes for England. He stated that it would create issues when it comes into effect as the boundary changes for elections would then be set to equal out the number of the population voters, i.e. Millom would probably be voting for the Ravenglass/Ulverston/Broughton/Barrow constituencies. He envisaged a number of issues in this regard.
The clerk had circulated all correspondence received to the councillors for their information.
The clerk informed the council that she had received a letter in regard to asking for support to improve services at West Cumberland Hospital Stroke & Heart Care Units. Concern had arisen following a number of stories recently within the local press about residents having to travel to Carlisle for treatment connected to stroke and heart conditions. Cllr Brown proposed that the Clerk write a letter of support from Millom Town Council, this was seconded by Cllr Burness and agreed. Action: Clerk to write letter of support.
© Millom Town Council. All rights reserved
APRIL 30TH: Methodist Church meeting room
MAY 28TH: Methodist Church meeting room
JUNE 25TH: Methodist Church meeting room
JULY 30TH: Methodist Church meeting room
All meetings will commence at 07.00pm unless otherwise stated on
the agenda.