Singleton Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at the Village Hall, Singleton
On Thursday 27 May 2021 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 The reported crime figures received for April showed that there had been 3 cases of Anti-Social Behaviour including 1 Covid breach and 2 malicious communications and also 1 reported burglary when a derelict property was broken into. A new Police and Crime Commissioner has been elected and this is Andrew Snowden. An invitation would be sent to him to attend a future meeting. |
| 3. | Minutes of Previous Meeting and any Matters Arising The Minutes of the last meeting held on 20 April, having been previously circulated and agreed, were signed as a true and correct record by the Chairman. There were no matters arising. As the previous meetings had been held via Zoom over recent months, due to the Covid restrictions, the agreed Minutes from 15 December 2020, 26 January 2021, 23 February 2021 and 23 March 2021 were also signed by the Chairman. |
| 4. | Open Forum – None |
| 5. | Declaration of Interests –Cllr Gallagher in regard to planning applications 21/0293 and 21/0410 and he therefore took no part in the determination of these applications. |
| 6. | Planning Matters and Decisions 21/0366 – Fairview, 71 Mains Lane, Singleton FY6 7LD – Two storey side extension etc. No specific observations to make on the proposal.21/0414 – Newbrook, Old Mains Lane, Singleton FY6 7LA – Single Storey rear extension – No specific observations to make on the proposal.21/0410 – 150 Mains Lane, Singleton FY6 7LB – Single storey rear extension etc. – No specific observations to make on the proposal.21/0293 – Bankfield Lodge, Pool Foot Lane, Singleton FY6 8LZ – Erection of one detached dwelling with detached garage. Much discussion about this application in the absence of Cllr Gallagher. Planning permission had previously been granted for a 2-storey building in this plot but what is currently being built bears no relation to the original permission and is a 3-storey building with an additional huge basement not indicated on the plans, covering virtually the whole of the proposed property. The Parish Council is at a loss as to how it has got to this point. A huge mound has been built (approximately 3 metres high), which is visible from Garstang Road, so the overall height of this dwellinghouse would be far higher than that for which permission had been granted. The Parish Council is concerned about the potential for flooding to surrounding land/property due to the land having been raised so significantly. Work is well underway despite this application still having to be heard. There was also concern about the loss of trees which had a TPO on them. The Parish Council will be submitting its objection to Fylde BC.21/0313 – Land adjacent to 77 Mains Lane, Singleton – Formation of sand Paddock – No specific observations to make on this proposal.21/0480 – Riverside Chalet Park, Occupation Lane, Singleton FY6 7RA – Resubmission of previous plans, this time with the development being phased. The Parish Council objected to the last application and finds that the same issues still applied – traffic issues, the loss of 35 permanent residences in the parish, and would be objecting along similar lines again. Planning Decisions 21/0211 – 9 Wyre Grange, Lodge Lane – Granted. 21/0227 – 18 Mains Lane, Singleton – Granted 21/0169 – The Farmhouse, 195 Mains Lane – Granted 21/0245 – Coach House, Lodge Lane – Granted 21/0127 – Rosebank, 12 Mains Lane, – Granted Appeal Lodged Windy Harbour Holiday Centre – Change of Use of land to allow the siting of an addition 74 static caravans for holiday use. |
| 7. | Traffic and Highway Issues Information received about a number of carriageway repairs being carried out on the M55 from June 7th for approximately 5 weeks. Noted. |
| 8. | New By-Pass Information received from Dave Whitelow of Kier about a scheme being run by the Woodland Trust for applications from community groups to receive trees to plant. These would be distributed in November 2021. As the number of trees on offer in any one grouping would be too large for the Parish Council to use, the Clerk was asked to pass this information on to Singleton Trust to see if they would be interested. The Clerk was asked to contact Kier once again to see if members of the Parish Council could do a site visit now that the Covid rules had been relaxed recently. |
| 9. | Correspondence Next meeting of the District Parish Liaison group would be held on Monday 21 June. Cllr Lee will be attending on the Parish Council’s behalf.Thank you letter received from the Gala Committee in regard to the donation of £200 from the Parish Council’s funds towards the planned event on 11 September. |
| 10. | Update from Fylde Borough Council The Welcome Back Fund – Information received about a fund set up by the Government to provide support for coastal resorts and high streets across England as they prepare to safely welcome back holiday makers and customers.Email received from Fylde Borough Council to say that the Covid Government Grant Support would be distributed to all parts of the borough and that a sum of £1000 was paid into the Parish Council’s bank account on 21 May 2021. Cllr Gallagher proposed that a further sum of £300 be paid to the Gala Committee for their event, this was seconded by Cllr Ibbotson and Agreed. That would leave £700 for another project, which would be discussed again at a future meeting.There is a new LCC councillor for the area – John Singleton – who has replaced Cllr Hayhurst who retired from the County Council at the recent elections. The Clerk will invite Cllr Singleton to a future meeting. The Parish Council wished to express its thanks to Cllr Hayhurst for his support and help over the years, in particular in regard to his work in helping the Parish Council achieve and keep its 20mph speed limit. |
| 11. | Children’s Play Park Cllrs Gallagher and Bailey met with the representative from Fylde Borough Council in regard to maintenance of the Children’s Play Park. A lot of work has been done but other items remained in need of attention. The officer had promised to contact Cllr Gallagher again, but had failed to do so. Cllr Gallagher will inspect the Play Park again and we will chase up the officer if it is deemed necessary. The gap in the fencing had been filled and is no longer a risk to children. |
| 12. | Defibrillator Training Cllr Bailey contacted Peter Bond of North West Ambulances, who looks after all the defibrillators in Lancashire. He is quite happy to set up training courses at the Village Hall. Numbers would have to be in line with Covid restrictions and it may be that we will have to organise 2 sessions. The training sessions will be advertised on Singleton Chat and through the Newsletter and people will be asked to contact the Clerk so that numbers can be taken. |
| 13. | Accounts and Invoices to Pay The Clerk had prepared the Annual Governance Statement for the financial year 2020/21 and this was presented to the Parish Council. It showed that the sum of £35,498 had been carried forward to the 2021/22 financial year and that just £275 was outstanding on the £30,000 loan taken out from Fylde BC many years ago to pay for the car park. The accounts were agreed and signed by the Clerk and Chairman and would be now taken to the internal auditor for verification. More forms for the bank were completed to enable the Clerk as an Authorised User to access the accounts and use on-line banking. Access had been denied in recent months to the Clerk, although she had successfully used the account for 9 years, because she was not a signatory. Rulings seemed to have been tightened up at the banks in recent times. As non-elected members of Parish Councils, Clerks were not signatories of any expenditure as this was decided upon by elected members, but Clerks were responsible for administrating the accounts and for keeping proper records. As such, access to the accounts was essential. Came & Company – Annual Insurance – £806.85 – Proposed Cllr Bailey, Seconded Cllr Gallagher. Agreed.S Butcher – Litter-picking. This amount referred to a cheque made out on 21/07/21 and never presented. This was possibly due to Covid and the litter-picker shielding. This is to replace that cheque – £157.00 – Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Lee. Agreed.S Butcher – Litter-picking from end of March to May 2021 – £157.00. Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Lee. Agreed.Clerk. Salary and Expenses April/May 2021 – £282.31. Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Bailey. Agreed.Singleton Gala Committee. Donation from Government Fund. £300. Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Ibbotson. Agreed. |
| 14. | Lengthsman Cllr Lee had put this item on the Agenda because of the long absence of the litter-picker who had been shielding during Covid and had been experiencing poor health. However, although the litter-picker had withdrawn from other parishes, he wished to continue with Singleton and had resumed working in recent weeks. It was decided therefore to leave things as they were. |
| 15. | Fire Station The deterioration in the condition of the Fire Station is of a concern to the Parish Council. Cllr Lee has contacted the owners, Electricity North West. He hasn’t heard anything for 2 weeks and will chase this up. It was mentioned that the Conservation Officer at Fylde BC had taken an interest in the Fire Station and she may be able to help. |
| 16. | Any Other Business Rooks. These are again causing a big problem to residents of Church Road and Miller Crescent. The Clerk wrote to the representatives of Singleton Trust in June 2018 about this problem but at a joint meeting between the Parish Council and Singleton Trust on 1 August 2018 the response was recorded as not being the Trust’s responsibility and that a tree specialist was being engaged to check any trees that are on Trust land and which are in close proximity to properties and highways. It is now reported that there are 35 nests and obviously the problem is escalating. Fylde BC can help and a license can be acquired to remove some of the nests and trim some of the branches so as to deter future nesting. No birds will be culled but numbers should reduce in the future. The Clerk was asked to write once again and detail the help Fylde BC can give to the Trust.Ruts at top of Pool Foot Lane. These are making mowing impossible which have been caused by heavy vehicles and possibly a tractor when cutting the hedges. The gardener will be asked to fill these ruts with soil to hopefully resolve the problem.Potholes. A problem the length of Pool Foot Lane. These will be reported.The Parish Council was saddened to hear of the recent passing of Marjorie Smith whose brilliant artwork has been used many times in the Parish Council’s Christmas cards over the years. |
| 17 | Date and Time of next meetings – The next meetings of the Parish Council were arranged for Thursday 24 June, Thursday 22 July and Thursday 19 August 2021, all at 7.15pm at the Village Hall. As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 8.55pm. |
Signed …………………………………………… Dated ………………………………………
Verena Henderson: Clerk to the Parish Council: Tel: 01995 670455