Singleton Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
Held at the Village Hall, Singleton
On 19 March 2020 at 7.15 pm
Present: – Cllrs Gallagher (Chair), Bailey (Vice Chair), Cholmondeley, Ibbotson and Lee, and the Parish Clerk, Verena Henderson, who took the Minutes.
Because of the Coronavirus Pandemic it had been previously agreed to suspend meetings of the Parish Council until such time as it was safe to hold them. Two members would be going into voluntary isolation for the suggested time of 12 weeks because of underlying medical issues. This meeting was therefore considerably shortened and covered mainly financial matters which had to be dealt with as the current financial year ended on 31 March 2020.
Under advice from the National Association of Local Councils the Parish Council would continue to function by the Clerk being given delegated powers by the Council. The Clerk would liaise with the councillors about matters via email, so that a paper trail can be retained and the Clerk should only act on the instructions of the Council – the Chairman having a casting vote if required. All financial matters should be circulated prior to payment which would still require 2 x signatures on all cheques.
The business carried out at this shortened meeting is covered below.
1. Apologies for Absence – None
2. Minutes of Previous Meeting and any Matters Arising
The Minutes of the previous meeting held on 20 February, having been previously circulated and agreed, was signed as a true and correct record by the Chairman.
Matters Arising
The new format for the website was agreed and is to go live straight away. It is hoped members of the public would find it easier to navigate and the website will be linked in to Singleton Chat. Cllr Lee was thanked for all his efforts in this regard.
3. Police Matters
A breakdown of the recorded crime figures for February showed that there had been 2 cases of Anti-Social Behaviour, 4 cases of theft of fuel from garage and 3 cases of auto crimes.
4. Open Forum – None
5. Declaration of Interests – None
6. Planning Matters and Decisions
20/0181 – Springend, Garstang Road, Singleton FY6 7SX – Hip to gable enlargement to roof space and construction of front and rear dormers – The Parish Council has no specific observations to make on the proposals.
7. Traffic and Highway Issues
Response received from LCC in regard to the Parish Council’s request for a zebra crossing. LCC states that as there have been no recorded injury collisions in the past five years, this does not allow them to justify funding for a feasibility study for a pedestrian crossing. Other locations in the county were therefore considered a priority.
The response also referred to the vegetation on footpaths on Garstang Road, and they undertook to request landowners to cut their hedges back as required and they would arrange for the vegetation at the junction of Old Mains Lane to be cut back.
8. Proposed new By-Pass – None
9. Update on SpID
Still awaiting two parts. These are supposed to be on route.
10.
Correspondence
Request received from Singleton Gala Committee for a donation towards this year’s Gala due to be held on 21 June 2020. It would appear that like everything else, this year’s Gala would be cancelled for this date. The Clerk was asked to write to the Gala Committee advising them to re-submit their request if they intend to hold the Gala at a later date.
11.
Contact Details
Full contact details of the Clerk and email addresses and telephone numbers of all councillors would be put on the website for the benefit of residents.
12.
Wish List – Deferred
13. Accounts and Invoices to Pay
• Mr S Butcher – Litter-picker – Due to a bank error, the last cheque for £144.60 had shown on the bank statement as being only £14.60. A cheque for £300 was therefore requested to make up the difference. Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Bailey. Agreed. n.b. This is the third such error made by the same bank.
• Elan City – Two SpID machines – £4,881.72 – Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Lee. Agreed.
• PEI Delta – Laptop for recording data from SpID machines – £295.60 – Proposed Cllr Bailey, Seconded Cllr Lee. Agreed.
• Fylde Borough Council – Annual instalment on loan – £1,775.00 – Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Bailey. Agreed.
• T A Pawson – Mounting old SpID – £30.00 – Proposed Cllr Bailey, Seconded Cllr Lee. Agreed.
• Singleton Village Hall – 6 months’ rent – £124.50. Proposed Cllr Bailey, Seconded Cllr Gallagher. Agreed.
• Mr S Butcher – Litter-picking for March – £169.60 – Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Lee. Agreed.
• Clerk – Salary and Expenses for February/March – £265.60 – Proposed Cllr Bailey, Seconded Cllr Gallagher. Agreed.
The Clerk was asked to draw up a spread sheet showing all invoices received and paid during the interim period before the Parish Council fully resumes. She would need two signatories as at present and all details would be put on the spread sheet so that there would be a clear audit trail. There would still be the regular invoices to pay plus the annual insurance which was due for renewal at the end of May.
14. Any Other Business
All councillors completed the bank forms for new signatories and for the Parish Council to do on-line banking.
15 Date and Time of next meeting – To be advised.
As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 8.15 pm.
Signed …………………………………………… Dated ………………………………………
Verena Henderson
Clerk to the Parish Council
Tel: 01995 670455