Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at the Village Hall, Singleton
on Tuesday 27 October 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.
| 1. | Apologies for Absence – None |
| 2. | Police Matters Following an incident of cold calling which had upset an elderly resident, our PCSO proved to be very helpful by carrying out a vehicle check, contacting colleagues to make them aware and providing a reassuring phone call to the resident and then dropping off “No Cold Calling” stickers to her address. |
| 3. | Minutes of Previous Meeting and any Matters Arising The Minutes of the previous meeting held on 29 September 2020, having been previously circulated and agreed, were formally signed as a true and correct record by the Chairman. Matters arising from previous Minutes Bridle path off Pool Foot Lane – A lot of emails and phone calls to and from Fylde BC’s Enforcement Officer about this. He has investigated the state of the bridle path and also the infilling of a pond and liaised with LCC. He feels it is a matter for LCC to pursue and the Clerk was asked to write to LCC for their final comments.Singleton Playground – Fylde BC have completed the works on the playground and removed the rotten logs. They confirmed that they are still sanitising the play area three times a week.Works on the new by-pass – The Tree Officer at Fylde BC has undertaken to look into the works on the new A585 by-pass and the felling of several trees.Archaeological Presentation – The History Society would be happy to host this and Kier have been advised accordingly. |
| 4. | Open Forum – None |
| 5. | Declaration of Interests – None |
| 6. | Planning Matters and Decisions No new planning applications to consider. Confirmation received that planning application 19/0855 – Windy Harbour Holiday Centre for an additional 78 static caravans has been refused. The Enforcement Officer is looking into what is happening at two properties on Mains Lane. |
| 7. | Traffic and Highway Issues Information received that Highways England will be carrying out resurfacing works on the A585 between the M55 Junction 3 and Garstang New Road from mid-November until mid-December. The work will be undertaken overnight between the hours of 8pm and 6am. Traffic lights and overnight full road closures will be used during this time. Cllr Lee provided County Cllr Paul Hayhurst with the data collected from our new SpID machines showing an overall improvement in the speed of traffic coming through the village. Cllr Hayhurst was pleased with this data and thought it would be helpful in keeping the 20mph speed limit through the village. |
| 8. | Proposed new By-Pass Details received concerning a Zoom meeting to take place on 5 November to provide an update on the A585 by-pass project. Cllr Lee is hoping to take part in this. Following complaints received about the state of the hedges along Lodge Lane on land now owned by Highways England, the Clerk had contacted them requesting that the hedges be cut. A reply had been received saying that this was the responsibility of LCC. The Clerk will check with LCC about this as it was generally thought that it was the responsibility of the landowner to keep the hedges in a tidy state. |
| 9. | Correspondence There is a White Paper consultation on Planning for the Future. All information can be found on Fylde’s website.Thank you letter from Ray Cottam for the donation of £50 to the Gt Eccleston Cricket Club. This was donated in thanks for his work in doing the internal audit of the 2019/20 accounts.Remembrance Sunday Services – Letter from the Chief Executive of Fylde BC that this year there will be a closed service and they are asking people not to gather in the usual way on the morning of Remembrance Sunday due to Covid-19. They wanted members of the public to display a poppy in their windows and to stand on their doorsteps on Remembrance Sunday to observe the two-minutes silence as a mark of respect.The District Parish Liaison meeting will take place via Zoom on 2 November at 6.30pm. Cllr Lee will take part in this.Parish Play Charges 2021/22. Information received that the charges for the maintenance of the playground will increase by £17.75 to a total of £3,567.76 in the next financial year.New Homes Grant 2020/21 – This was the grant given towards a community project in Singleton which had been earmarked for repairs to the playground. This work has been delayed due to the park being closed for some months due to Covid-19, but confirmation has been given to Fylde that this work was still needed.Certificate received from the Information Commissioner’s Office to show that the Parish Council was a paid up member in line with the latest data protection requirements.Wyre Council Draft Masterplan for consultation on residential development planned for Lambs Road/Raikes Road, Thornton. This will be for an eventual 400 dwellings. Comments on this can be submitted until 5pm on Friday 6 November 2020. |
| 10. | Accounts and Invoices – The Clerk is still pursing the problem of starting on-line banking with the bank. This has been acknowledged and apologies received for the delay in responding. A response is expected in the next four weeks. S. Butcher, Litter-picking – £169.60. Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Cholmondeley – Agreed.Clerk, Salary and Expenses for September/October – £270.48. Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Ibbotson. Agreed. |
| 11. | Any Other Business Cllrs Gallagher and Lee have approached a representative of Singleton Trust to explore the possibility of renting or purchasing land with the aim of creating a village green. The idea of a village green had been mooted several years ago by the Trust, but unfortunately had not materialised as yet. The Trust was still wanting to have a village green and had discussed this matter again at a recent meeting. The Parish Council was keen to look into the possibility of grants being available to help create this and with this in mind Cllrs Gallagher and Lee would be meeting officers at Fylde BC in the near future. They would also be asking for advice from Fylde BC’s Park Development Department.Cllr Lee, the Borough Councillor for Singleton and Greenhalgh, was congratulated by the Parish Council for being elected Leader of the Independent Councillors at Fylde Borough Council.A parish review is going ahead by Fylde Borough Council and the Boundaries Commission is also conducting a review. The overall aim is to reduce the number of councillors in the borough from 51 to either 39 or 41.No further news regarding combined authorities and a new mayor for Lancashire.A new internet pipeline from the USA has arrived in Blackpool. Work will now begin to take this to Preston and money will be available for improved broadband services in the Fylde as this makes its way to Preston. This is a very long-term solution to the broadband problems in the area but is certainly something to welcome.Some other parishes in the borough are now providing their own services and are not paying Fylde BC to do this. This is especially the case in providing a lengthsman. Cllr Lee will make enquiries as to the practicality of this for Singleton and see if it would be worthwhile pursuing.There is a move to reinstate the Rural Fylde Forum with rural parishes getting together to provide mutual help/advice. This former organisation was replaced by the District Parish Liaison meetings but these meetings are controlled by Fylde and do not always cover items more appropriate to the rural areas.Newsletter – Cllr Ibbotson is working on the next newsletter. Copies will be given to the Clerk to put up on the noticeboards.Christmas card. It was decided that following the success of the Easter colouring competition, we should ask children of the parish to design this year’s card. A selection box will be given to each entrant. This will be publisised in the newsletter and the winner will be chosen at the next parish council meeting. |
| 12. | Date and Time of next meeting – Tuesday 24 November 2020 at 7.15pm at the Village Hall. As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 8.20pm. |
Signed …………………………………………… Dated ……………………………………………………
Verena Henderson: Clerk to the Parish Council: Email: Clerk@SingletonParishCouncil.org: Tel: 01995670455Toggle panel: File Cabinet Shortcodes