SINGLETON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council
Held at Singleton Village Hall on 16 April 2024
Present: – Cllrs Ibbotson (Chair), Cllr Cholmondeley (Vice-Chair) and Bailey and the Parish Clerk, Verena Henderson, who took the Minutes. County Councillor Singleton also attended.
| 1. | Apologies for Absence were received and accepted from Cllrs Clifford and Lee. |
| 2. | Police Matters The list of crimes reported in the Elswick, Little Eccleston, Singleton and Greenhalgh ward showed that in February 16 offences were recorded under violence and sexual offences, 8 offences under anti-social behaviour, 3 of burglary and 2 of criminal damage and arson. Cllr Bailey had reported to both Community Beat Managers at Fylde Neighbourhood Policing Team that a car had been parked in the driveway at Barnfield Manor for several days. A few days later the car was removed but he did not know if this was because of action taken by the Police or not as he never received a reply. The Clerk was asked to request an up-to-date contact list as Police personnel changed frequently. The Clerk brought in a copy of a “Stay-in-The-Know” Newsletter from the Wyre Policing team concerning a Community Road Watch which had recently been carried out by the Police in Great Eccleston. It had been reported at the last meeting that the new Chief Constable would be carrying out more of these across Lancashire. In this newsletter the Police had carried out checking for any vehicles driving more than the 20mph speed limit along Raikes Road in Great Eccleston. 40 vehicles weren’t speeding but 3 were and these drivers would be hearing from the Police very soon. It was good to hear that the Community Road Watch was being carried out as promised by the Chief Constable. The Police had attended at the school to talk to parents about parking safely but unfortunately things seem to have gone back to being as bad as they were and councillors fear that a child could be knocked down at any time. The Clerk was asked to contact the Police about this again. A car park on Church Road, once suggested by the Trust, would certainly alleviate this recurring problem, and also help at times when the Church is busy, but although the Trust is still keen on this idea, the necessary funding needs to be in place first. |
| 3. | Open Forum – None |
| 4. | Minutes of previous meeting held 19 March 2024 and any matters arising – These had been previously circulated, and Cllr Ibbotson proposed that they be accepted as a true and correct copy. This was seconded by Cllr Bailey and agreed. Any matters arising are covered elsewhere in these Minutes. |
| 5. | Declarations of Interest – none. |
| Planning matters and decisions – No new planning applications. Decisions 24/0056 – Appletrees, 2 Occupation Lane – Single storey rear extension – Granted. | |
| 7. | Traffic and Highways issues County Cllr Singleton submitted his report. Several items had been reported before and are still being processed but he is keeping his eye on the situation. Kier has agreed to reinstating the footway section on Lodge Lane from the property “Brierfield” to the new bridge construction. Work on the clearing of footway vegetation has commenced in Singleton and already the improvements can be seen. Cllr Singleton has investigated the school flashing signs and arranged for the old ones to be replaced with a more modern one which will not require a manual task of switching on and off. Work on these is still on-going but it is hoped they will be working very soon. Community Concern Lamp post signs – any sign put on a lamppost must have the agreement of Lancashire County Council and the Clerk will complete the necessary form and return it to Lancashire Highways. Warning signage relating to the presence of ducks – Lancashire Highways not really interested in helping with this. Some parishes have designed their own signs and perhaps the Parish Council should be looking at doing this. Shard Lane/Mains Lane junction. There is a planned reduction of this junction down to one lane to make way for a cycle lane. This is being introduced by Highways England and has not proved popular with many residents as it has led to long tailbacks, particularly at rush hours. The Parish Council had been asked for its thoughts and Cllr Ibbotson suggested that the lights be changed to allow a filter for those turning right onto Shard Road from Mains Lane whilst the traffic is stopped coming from the opposite side of Mains Lane. This would clear the few vehicles turning right and allow the rest of the traffic to flow more easily. This idea will be passed on to Kier. Bus services 74 and 75 – Blackpool Transport has decided it can no longer operate these services which they run as a tendered service on behalf of LCC. The tender was submitted 3 years ago, and costs have escalated since. It is thought that they will re-tender at a new cost to LCC in the coming months. |
| 8. | New By-Pass Still a few issues to sort out regarding screening and fencing. Still heavy lorries coming along Lodge Lane and through the village but those using the by-pass are now finding that it is working well. |
| 9. | Correspondence Invitation to the Annual Meeting and Mayor Making at Fylde Borough Council on 8 May 2024. Cllr Lee will be attending on the Parish Council’s behalf. Price submitted for the clearance and disposal of winter plants and replacing them with fuchsias, begonia non-stops and lobelia. The price is £768. This is for all 24 tubs around the parish. The handyman also suggested removing the primroses that were planted in the tubs earlier in the year, and replanting these in Puzzle Wood. The Clerk will contact the Trust to see if they are agreeable to this idea as Puzzle Wood is on their land. The price was agreed. Proposal to put a temporary storage container on the Village Hall Car Park. The Bowling Club is in the process of rebuilding their clubhouse and have now parked a caravan on the car park which they propose to put on land behind the clubhouse after the partial trimming of 2/3 bushes in the hedge. The caravan will go over the trunks and they undertook to replace any bushes if necessary. This was discussed at length and though the Parish Council had previously agreed to a storage container being placed on the car park whilst the building work was going on, it was concerned about the plans for the hedge. It was also concerned about whether the Bowling Club had sufficient public liability insurance to cover any possible injuries to members of the public, as this would not be covered by the Parish Council’s own insurance. The Clerk will write to the Bowling Club highlighting the Parish Council’s concerns and Cllr Ibbotson would be happy to meet with them. |
| 10. | Update from Fylde Borough Council – None |
| 11. | Parish Play Area Service Charges and Service Level Agreement Out of the Parish Council’s annual precept payment from Fylde BC, a payment is taken at source for a Service Level Agreement to inspect the children’s play area on a regular basis and to do routine repairs and maintenance to the equipment. Other areas are highlighted in an annual report showing where attention is needed. The cost of this service for the financial year 2024-2025 is £4,581.01. The annual agreement was signed by the Chairperson and will be forwarded to Fylde Borough. The 21-page report showed only one item requiring attention from the Parish Council and that was a picnic table which needed to be secured to the ground. The Clerk will ask the Handyman to have a look at this. |
| 12. | Retirement and Election of new Parish Councillor Cllr Ibbotson will be retiring from the Parish Council at the Annual Parish Meeting on 21 May 2024. After consideration, Cllr Bailey, the Parish Council’s longest serving councillor, has decided to stay on for now following several requests from the public for him to do so. There will therefore be one vacancy which will be advertised by Fylde BC after the Annual Parish Meeting. |
| 13. | Annual Parish Meeting This will take place at the Village Hall on Tuesday 21 May 2024, starting at 7.00pm with the normal monthly meeting following on at 7.30pm. A Chairman’s report will be given, covering the previous 12 months, and a full financial report given by the Clerk. |
| 14. | Accounts and Any Invoices to pay – Litter-picker – 4 weeks, £411.00 – Proposed Cllr Ibbotson, Seconded Cllr Cholmondeley, Agreed. Clerk – Salary and Expenses for March/April 2024, including £40 annual Data Protection fee – £438.95. Proposed Cllr Cholmondeley, Seconded Cllr Bailey. Agreed. |
| 15. | Any Other Business – None |
| 16. | Date and time of next meetings – Annual Parish Meeting 7.00pm and Monthly Meeting 7.30pm on Tuesday 21 May 2024 at the Village Hall. As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 8.35pm. |
Signed ……………………………………………… Dated ………………………………
Verena Henderson, Clerk to Singleton Parish Council,
Tel: 07530 605 291: email: Clerk@SingletonParishCouncil.org