More time is to be given to Eden’s town and parish councils to decide whether to take on responsibility for footway lighting and public toilets.
Eden Council leader Virginia Taylor (Lib Dem, Penrith) said in July, 2017, the district authority told parishes if they did not take on services including public toilets and footway lighting, the district council would “very likely” withdraw them from March, 2022.
But at a full council meeting on Thursday, district councillors voted in favour of a motion to rescind the March, 2022, deadline and called on officers to work with overview and scrutiny and partners — to develop a new policy that would “support devolution of appropriate services to parish and town councils for the benefit of the communities we serve, rather than primarily to cut costs for Eden District Council”.
Ms Taylor said: “This council should indeed encourage parish and town councils that wish to take on services for the benefit of the community to do so. However, the threat of withdrawing services if parishes and towns are unable or unwilling to take them on is no basis for a constructive relationship between the district and parishes and towns.”
She said the decision made in 2017 to “cut rural services under the guise of devolution” should not be acceptable to any councillor who cared about protecting rural services.
Successful community asset transfers take a long time, involve true co-production, and “you move at the speed of trust”, said Ms Taylor.
She added: “The motion merely removes the deadline for completion of the process of devolution of assets — this means that existing negotiations can proceed, and indeed new ones may commence.”
Eden Council has now transferred about 550 footway lights to 39 town and parish councils in the district.
In total, 17 parish councils have so far decided not to take over any agreed footway lights.
This includes the parish councils of Temple Sowerby, Kirkoswald, Brough Sowerby, Hartley, Dacre, Bandleyside, Crosby Ravensworth, Dufton, Ousby, Milburn, Ainstable, Askam, Crosby Garrett, Great Salkeld, Great Strickland, Kings Meaburn and Winton.
On the issue of public toilets, facilities have so far been transferred at Shap, Glenridding, Patterdale, Threlkeld, Pooley Bridge and Dufton.
Discussions are still ongoing with Appleby Town Council, Alston Moor Parish Council, Kirkby Stephen Town Council and Penrith Town Council in regard to transferring public toilets.
However, Brough Parish Council had confirmed that it does not wish to take over the responsibility for its public toilets.
Deputy chief executive Les Clark, who updated a meeting of Eden Council’s overview and scrutiny committee earlier this month about the devolution of assets to town and parish councils, said that because of COVID there had been limited progress over the last year.
