SINGLETON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council
Held at Singleton Village Hall on 20 February 2024
Present: – Cllrs Ibbotson (Chair), Bailey, Clifford and Lee and the Parish Clerk, Verena Henderson, who took the Minutes. Seven members of the public and County Councillor Singleton also attended.
| 1. | Apologies for Absence – Cllr Cholmondeley. |
| 2. | Police Matters The Clerk had sent an email to the PCSO and Inspector at Kirkham Police Station regarding the concerns about parking outside the primary school, which had become a real problem again especially with the volume of traffic coming through Singleton since the partial opening of the by-pass. The email to the Inspector had been returned as undelivered and so a further email was sent to the Community Beat Manager. No responses had been received. The Chair will contact the new Inspector. The crime statistics on the Police website for Elswick, Little Eccleston, Singleton and Greenhalgh were for December 2023 and were as follows: – Violence and sexual offences – 20; Anti-social behaviour – 12; Theft – 5; Vehicle crime – 2. |
| 3. | Open Forum Complaint received from a dog walker who walks on Pool Foot Lane about a new area of tarmacadam being used as a rear vehicular exit at the end of the lane. Vehicles being driven in this area make walking dangerous due to the narrowness of the lane and the encroaching vegetation. His question was, is this a legitimate exit? County Cllr Singleton will take this up with LCC. Another concern was the appearance of contaminated water in ditches in this area, and the fear that this had come from the amount of refuse dumped on that site when the golf course was first being developed. The state of the footpath on the Singleton side of the new bridge, which goes through the farm to Grange Road, was also raised. This is just a mud bath now. LCC says it is National Highways problem, National Highways say it is LCC. After today’s meeting with Kier, they have said that even though it is outside their area, they will lay 25 metres of hard-core tarmac. They have also been asked for a few tons of stones to make the footpaths more accessible. The quality of the workmanship on the new by-pass was brought into question. Also, when is Kier going to repair the damage caused to the footpath on Lodge Lane? Although this area is outside their remit, after meeting with Kier and pointing out that the damage was caused by their vehicles, they will reinstate the footpath to a satisfactory condition. Cty Cllr Singleton will revisit this with LCC and Kier. The Chairperson advised the meeting that any problems with the highways such as potholes and broken manhole covers etc can be reported by any member of the public to LCC “Love My Streets” for which there is an App. Planning application by the Trust on land opposite The Miller Arms. There had been a lot of objections to a previous application made for this land, which was still on file. Confusion this time arose by two applications having been lodged, one for four houses and one for five. Complaints made tonight that nothing had been heard from the Trust since the original application and no clear answers as to why they had sold the land. One resident complained of 10 years of uncertainty as to what was happening with this land. Cllr Lee explained that at the moment there was conditional planning permission on a joint application for the developer and the Trust. The Parish Council was fighting the sale of the land. The sale of land goes against the objectives of the Trust. Any land could only be sold in wholly exceptional circumstances according to the Charity Commission. Cllr Bailey had found a letter from Richard Dumbreck dated 25 February 1998 to the local council in which he states, “The village must not be allowed to degenerate into a suburban spread”. It was agreed to write to the Trust, enclosing a copy of that letter. |
| 4. | Declarations of Interest – Cllr Lee in regard to planning application 24/0056. |
| 5. | Planning matters and decisions 24/0045 – Land southwest of Weeton Road, Application for approval of the reserved matters … for a residential development of 4 dwellings: 24/0085 – Land southwest of Weeton Road – Erection of 5 two storey dwellings. Objection to both applications – Not in keeping with the village. Proposed Cllr Bailey, Seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed. 24/0056 – Appletrees, 2 Occupation Lane, FY6 7LQ – Single storey rear extension. No specific observations. 24/0037 – The Moat House, Mains Hall, Singleton., Alterations and extensions to dwelling … No specific observations. Planning Decisions 23/0827 – Rose Cottage, The Village, FY6 8LL – Rear Dormer and two roof lights to front – Refused. |
| 6. | Minutes of previous meeting held on 23 January 2024 and matters arising The Minutes of the previous meeting, having been already circulated and agreed, were proposed to be accepted by Cllr Bailey, seconded by Cllr Clifford and duly signed by the Chairperson. Matters arising – New siting for Spid – This is in abeyance awaiting the decision on the speed limits on Lodge Lane which currently go from 40 – 60 – 30 – 20 mph. Cty Cllr Singleton is trying to get the 60 mph removed.Bus shelter on Mains Lane – This has been confirmed by LCC as the responsibility of Fylde BC. |
| 7. | Traffic and Highways issues Walkway from Pool Foot Lane to Windy Harbour. Very overgrown. Shin high in mud. At the moment not accessible.Road closure on Lodge Lane from North Lodge to 75 metres south of its junction with Barnfield Manor from 2030 hours until 0500 hours on Monday 11/03/24 to Saturday 16/03/24.Station Road – metal plates in the carriageway. Network Rail have discussed the permanent solution with their contractors. The plates will be replaced by permanent repair and the road resurfaced in due course.Overgrown vegetation and hedges: The side dressing of vegetation has started in Westby. Weeton and Singleton will follow shortly.Barnfield footway. The verge will be reprofiled to ensure it is flat. In addition, the traffic splitter island will be modified locating the centre pole and globe closer together for ad hoc pedestrian use.Singleton Bowling Club. Cty Cllr Singleton has given a County Council member’s grant of £750 to Singleton Bowling Club.Proposed potential car park on Church Road – Back in 2014 the Trust had plans made up for the village which included a car park on Church Road. Cllr Bailey thought that in view of the current concerns about parking on Church Road, especially at school and church times, the idea for a car park may be worth revisiting. It would mean removing some trees from the copse, which is on Trust land. Another idea would be to have a walkway from the village green and for parents to use the pub car park, but that would be some time off. The Clerk was asked to write to the Trust to ask for their views about creating a car park off Church Road, in line with their original idea, because of the growing concerns cause by parking particularly at school times. |
| 8. | New By-Pass A positive meeting held with Kier earlier today.A road name is needed for the new by-pass. Suggestions to the Clerk by the weekend please. |
| 9. | Correspondence Email received from the Gala Committee asking for support for this year’s Gala, which will take place on 16 June. Cllr Ibbotson proposed a donation of £300. This was seconded by Cllr Bailey and agreed.Nominations for the New Year 2024 honours round. Deadline for nominations is 4 March 2024. Noted.Free framed portrait of HM The King is available to public authorities across the UK. The clerk will apply for one. |
| 10. | Update from Fylde Borough Council Concern at Fylde BC that the Morecambe Bay Wind Farm proposal would mean extensive roadworks from the shore to Freckleton. There would need to be 40-metre-wide dug outs for the cables. They would need to be quite spaced apart and they cannot be put too close together. A high substation would also need to be built at Freckleton. Another proposal just being considered is to bring it up the estuary to Stannah and use former industrial land.Singleton Against Speeding – A second meeting has now taken place. Cllr Lee spoke with Andy Pratt, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner. It is currently taking six months to have background checks done for all the volunteers to carry out the speed checks. As they will only be collecting data for the Police, Cllr Lee wondered if the Parish Council could purchase its own speed gun so that information could be relayed to the Police. It was agreed that the problem was currently exacerbated with the volume of traffic cutting through the village. Cllr Lee proposed that a camera be purchased up to the price of £300. This was seconded by Cllr Clifford and Agreed.District Parish Liaison Meeting will be held on 28 February at Fylde Town Hall, commencing at 6pm.District Parish Liaison Planning Meeting – to which Clerks are encouraged to attend – was cancelled at the last meeting and a splinter group will be meeting on 21 February. This has caused a lot of confusion, and the Clerk will not be attending until the situation becomes clearer. |
| 11. | Village Green Cllr Lee was able to confirm that the Leading Group at Fylde BC will be supporting this. Work can now be done on surveys, plans etc to get an accurate figure which can then be presented for approval. Cllr Lee had sent a detailed email regarding this to all members of the Parish Council and the Trust and was thanked for his work in this regard. |
| 12. | Accounts and Any Invoices to pay – The Clerk confirmed that Fylde BC had received the Parish Council’s request for a 3% rise in the Precept for 2024/25.The Clerk had completed a VAT claim for refund for the financial year 2022/2023 for the sum of £1,326.17, which had been submitted on 31 January 2024. HUYS GRAY Ltd – 3 tons of limestone for car park repairs – £169.63. Proposed Cllr Ibbotson, Seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed.Handyman – Work on car park, including cost of new gravel spreader and compactor, with added concrete – £349.80. Proposed Cllr Ibbotson, Seconded Cllr Lee. Agreed.T A Pawson, Revised invoice for cutting of hedges at the Village Hall and play area – £204.00. Proposed Cllr Ibbotson, Seconded Cllr Bailey. Agreed.Litter-picker – 4 weeks – £411.00. Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Ibbotson. Agreed.Clerk, Salary and Expenses for January/February 2024 – £448.83. Proposed Cllr Ibbotson, Seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed. |
| 13. | Any Other Business The Chairperson had asked the handyman to replace the panzies in the tubs as these had been very poor. These had been replaced with Primulas. It was agreed not to have any panzies next winter.The Parish Council was pleased with the planting of daffodils by Kier. Although a lot of trees had also been planted along the new highway, it was feared it would take many years before the benefit of these would be seen.Community Pay-Back Scheme. The Clerk had been trying to find the contact details. Cllr Singleton offered to help. This was in respect of a clean-up of litter along the now disused section of Garstang Road.The Chairperson informed the meeting that she would be resigning her position as Chair and also from the Parish Council at its Annual Parish Meeting in May 2024. This was because of too many commitments elsewhere. Cllr Bailey also announced his decision to retire from the Parish Council in May, after 15 years of service. This would mean that the Parish Council would have 2 vacancies on the Council after May 2024. |
| 14. | Date and time of next meeting – Tuesday 19 March 2024. As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 9.10pm. |
Signed ……………………………………………… Dated ………………………………
Verena Henderson, Clerk to Singleton Parish Council,
Tel: 07530 605 291: email: Clerk@SingletonParishCouncil.org