Singleton Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at the Village Hall, Singleton
on 30 May 2019 at 7.15 pm
Present: – Cllrs Lee (Chair), and Cllr Gallagher, and the Parish Clerk, Verena Henderson, who took the Minutes. Also present were a representative of the Singleton Trust and two members of the public. Unfortunately the Parish Council is not quorate at the moment but it is hoped to be able to co-opt more members as soon as it gets the go-ahead from Fylde Borough Council.
1. Apologies for Absence – None
2. Minutes of Previous Meeting and any Matters Arising
The Minutes from the meeting held on 25 April, having been previously circulated and agreed, were signed as a true and correct copy by the Chairman.
3. Open Forum
The representative from Singleton Trust said that the Trust would like to regularly attend Parish Council meetings to keep open a line of communication between the two bodies. The Trust would be happy to participate in the Open Forum.
An update in regards to the proposed by-pass was given to the meeting. A lot of mystery still surrounds the proposal with Highways England telling some people one thing and other people another. The land to the north of the entrance to Singleton Hall North Lodge has been sold, subject to contract. Highways England has withdrawn its interest in this land but has purchased a property and land at Barnfield Manor. A meeting was held at Wyre Borough Council and complaints were received from local residents that the main interest shown was in protecting the flora and fauna and not in the concerns of local residents. A roundabout on Lodge Lane has been mentioned. The three different councils involved – Lancashire County Council, Fylde Borough Council and Wyre Borough Council – all seem to have different interests. The Environment Agency has also supported the proposals. There is still an unresolved problem with Thistleton Junction, however, which has seen 3 fatalities in the last 12 months. A roundabout has been proposed but they don’t seem to have the money for that. The present group overseeing the current plans say that Thistleton Junction is not in their remit. The Parish Council still favours the Blue Route.
4. Declaration of Interests – None
5. Planning Matters and Decisions
19/0318 – Land North of Garstang Road at Junction with Windy Harbour Road, Singleton – Mixed Use Tourism & Leisure Development involving a 9-hole golf course, siting of 495 holiday lodges, erection of 4 storey hotel …. Parish Councillors had previously attended a presentation about this proposal which is planned over 3 phases over a period of 7-9 years. The lodges would be built 3 per acre, as opposed to 11 per acre on the current caravan site. A 9-hole golf course would be built with input from Myerscough College. Concern had been expressed by a resident on Pool Foot Lane that the border of the development would be too near to their land. They were concerned that children and animals may wander onto their land where there are several ponds which could prove dangerous.
This proposal was for a very large development and the Parish Council would ask for assurance that none of these lodges would be for permanent residence and would not be a first or only residence. The Parish Council has previously written to Fylde BC about concerns about the number of holiday residential sites in the parish and the strains on local infrastructure, in particular local health services which are already stretched. The Parish Council would also ask the Planning Officers to ensure that all the facilities in the proposals are built and not just the lodges.
Planning Decision
19/0234 Bankfield Farm, Pool Foot Lane, Singleton FY6 8LZ. Revised plans granted.
6. Police Matters
Cllr Lee had looked into Community Speed Watch and had gained 16 volunteers to run this. They would need training but after contacting the Police he was told that unfortunately they didn’t have anyone available to do the training. The Parish Council was extremely disappointed in this.
7. Traffic and Highway Issues – None
8. Proposed new By-Pass
An update in regards to the By-Pass is covered in item 3.
9. Update on SID – Still awaited
10.
Correspondence
• Email received from Fylde BC re planning training available to councillors. Cllr Gallagher would be interested in attending this.
• New certificate received from the Information Commissioner’s Office in regards to the GDPR regulations which cover the Parish Council until 17 May 2020.
11.
Advice from the Head of Governance at Fylde Borough Council
Emails and phone calls exchanged with Ian Curtis, Head of Governance at Fylde BC with reference to the Parish Council not being quorate since the local elections. Only two councillors are currently serving on the Parish Council. Mr Curtis has prepared a report for the July meeting of Fylde BC naming two councillors (Bailey and Smith) to be temporary council members. Once this has been ratified by the Borough Council Singleton Parish Council can then go on to co-opt these members, plus another one if available and will be able to vote and have formal meetings again.
The Parish Council cannot hold its Annual Parish Meeting until after the report to Fylde BC has been agreed. As regards payments of invoices, whilst no new expenditure can be agreed, expenditure which has previously been agreed – i.e. annual insurance, regular routine expenses – can be paid as before.
12.
Internal Audit of Annual Parish Council Accounts for 2018/2019
Ray Cottam had very kindly audited the Parish Council accounts once again and had agreed with all the figures and had compiled a list of bank reconciliations. The Clerk had completed the Annual Governance and Accountability Return in accordance with the financial regulations. The accounts will be made available to the public from 17 June to 26 July and notices regarding these will be put on the notice boards and website. The return was duly signed by the Chairman and the Clerk.
13. Accounts and Invoices to Pay
• T A Pawson – Mounting of SpID – £30.00
• Came & Company – Annual Insurance – £717.94
• Mr Butcher – Litter-picking April – £132.20
• Mr Butcher – Litter-picking May – £157.20
• Clerk – Salary and Expenses April/May – £371.22
14. Any Other Business
Singleton Trust had previously agreed to pay half towards the cost of the litter-picker. The Clerk would work out how much the Parish Council has paid over the 2018/19 period and would send a request for reimbursement of half of this amount to Richard Cornish of the Dumbreck Trust.
15 Date and Time of next meetings
The next two meetings were arranged for 27th June and 8th August.
As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 8.30pm.
Signed …………………………………………… Dated ………………………………………
Verena Henderson
Clerk to the Parish Council
Tel: 01995 670455