Singleton Parish Council
A Meeting of the Parish Council will be held at the Village Hall, Singleton on Thursday 27 November 2014 at 7.15 pm.
(Please note new starting time)
Your presence is requested.
A G E N D A
1. Apologies for Absence
2. Declaration of Interests
3. Minutes of Previous Meeting held on 16 October 2014 and any Matters Arising – Minutes from meeting held on 25 September 2014 to be signed by the Chairman also.
4. Open Forum – The Council will open up the meeting for 15 minutes for any questions from residents.
5. Police and PACT Report
6. Traffic Issues
7. Correspondence
8. Planning matters and decisions
Several planning matters to discuss including large one from Singleton Trust.
9. Neighbourhood Planning including feedback from first Parish Plan meeting held on 20 October 2014.
10. Trees on Lodge Lane Lay-By
11. Village Hall Car Park
12. Accounts and any Cheques to Pay
13. Any Other Business
14. Date and Time of Next Meeting – 18 December 2014 at 7.15 pm.
Singleton Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at the Village Hall, Singleton
on 27 November 2014 at 7.15 pm
Present: – Cllrs Lee (Chair), Bailey (Vice Chair), Chew and Smith, Mr Goth and PC Vicky Doherty. The Parish Clerk, Verena Henderson, took the Minutes.
1. Apologies – Cllr Gallagher
2. Declaration of Interests – Cllrs Chew, Lee and Smith declared a personal interest in the planning application14/0773 – Koi Pool Garden Centre – as this Garden Centre had donated Christmas Trees to the Village Hall in past years. These councillors are either on the Village Hall Committee or are Trustees of the Village Hall. These councillors also declared a personal interest in planning application 14/0652 – Singleton Village – as the Singleton Trust had also made donations to the Village Hall.
3. Minutes of Previous Meeting and any Matters Arising
Two sets of Minutes were brought before the Chairman this evening – 26 September 2014 (the meeting on 16th October 2014 was not quorate) and 16 October 2014. Both sets of Minutes were agreed to be a true and correct record and were duly signed by the Chairman.
Matters arising
Overgrown hedges on Lodge Lane. The Clerk had reported these on two occasions to LCC in the past few months, as these were encroaching onto the footpath forcing pedestrians to walk on the road. This particular stretch of the road is deemed to be dangerous, especially in these darker months, as traffic is approaching pedestrians, dogs, pushchairs etc. on a blind bend. The Clerk had received a telephone call from Fylde BC this morning who had just received this complaint by LCC. The Clerk gave them details of land owners and they promised to look at it later that day. It was agreed that the Clerk should write a letter pointing out the dangers and hoping swift action would be taken before any serious accidents occur.
4. Open Forum
Doug Goth had attended as a representative of the newly formed Steering Group, which had been formed to help the Parish Council in the Neighbourhood Planning process. He had been interested to read of other developments in rural villages which had not proved very popular. According to this item, new residents did not want to move to rural areas from towns as, not only would they be leaving behind friends, schools etc., but they would be moving to an area with little or no public transport and no facilities.
5. Police and PACT Report
The Parish Council was delighted to welcome PC Vicky Doherty to the meeting. She reported that 9 crimes had been reported in Singleton since the last report dated 15/10/14, as opposed to 6 in the same period last year. Several incidents took place in Lodge Lane. The crimes are as follows:-
• Theft of trees from Lodge Lane Lay-by
• Intruder in garden on Garstang Road who had broken into the shed of the neighbouring property using bolt cutters and removed power tools. He ran off leaving the tools
• Chain cut at United Utilities site by the River Wyre – 2 air compressors stolen
• Road rage incident at Shell Garage
• Trailer and contents of outbuildings and a lock-up on Lodge Lane were stolen
• Dresser and Xmas decorations stolen from an outbuilding at Barnfield Manor with locks cut
• Pick-up truck had its orange lights ripped off the roof and stolen and names scratched into the paintwork at Village Hall Car Park
• Someone cut the locks on the door of an outbuilding on Lodge Lane but were disturbed by alarm
• Assault at Singleton Maze when a teenager had an egg smashed in her face.
The increase in the number of caravans at the travellers’ site at Staining was mentioned. The Police had done a count recently and there were 42 caravans on the site. 12 caravans had subsequently moved on. A lot of coming and going at the moment and the Police are monitoring it.
Dissatisfaction was voiced at the PACT meetings now taking place in Elswick. This was no good for people in Singleton. PC Doherty said that there had been a marked decline in rural PACT meetings and she couldn’t really see how long they would continue. People were encouraged to email the Police or ring them on 101. The Police Commissioner had recently met with all Fylde councillors and told them that it was not a case of being short of officers; it was more a case of prioritising time. As far as this Parish Council was concerned there was only so much the current staffing levels could do and there was simply not enough police presence in the parish. The Clerk was asked to write to Inspector Thackery-Scott to voice the Parish Council’s concerns.
PC Doherty was thanked for her time, which was very much appreciated.
6. Traffic Issues
They are hoping to finish the works on Mains Lane well before Christmas. The works on Garstang Road have finished today but the widening works at Windy Harbour have started. Much of the work is currently taking place overnight to cause as little delay as possible. The Parish Council was pleased with how well they had organised the works on Garstang Road and Mains Lane and Cllr Chew had emailed them to thank them.
20mph – Cllr Chew had received an email from Sim Lane-Dixon saying that Cabinet Member Cllr John Fillis had withdrawn his support for this scheme and it was not now going ahead. No reasons had been given. Cllr Chew will take this up with County Councillor Paul Hayhurst when he is back from leave next week.
7. Correspondence
• Letter from LCC to advise that application 05/12/003 – Cuadrilla for an extension of the period of time for the completion and testing in the drilled exploratory borehole and restoration of the site on land south of Grange Road, Singleton, had been withdrawn.
• Letter from EM Highway Services Limited to advise that resurfacing works would be carried out at the A585 Skippool Roundabout from 1st December for 1 week. It will be necessary to close the B5412 Skippool Road for 2 nights on 1 and 2 of Dec.
• Dog Fouling – complaint received from a resident about dog fouling outside the school. The Dog Wardens would be contacted.
• Fylde Borough Council – Service Level Agreement for 2015 at a cost of £2,285.82 for the year. This cost covered weekly inspections and maintenance for the play area and compared with £2,227.89 for the current year. Fylde Borough Council provided an excellent service in this regard and Cllr Chew proposed that the Service Level Agreement be taken out for 2015. Cllr Smith seconded this and all Agreed. The Chairman duly signed the Agreement.
• District Parish Liaison Meeting – Minutes from the meeting held at Singleton Village Hall had previously been circulated. The next meeting would be held at Elswick Parish Council and be held on Wednesday 28 January 2015.
8. Planning Matters and Decisions
The Clerk reminded councillors that any decision taken by the Parish Council on any planning matters, either for or against, would have to refer to the relevant Planning Policy. Fylde BC had recently made this very clear.
• 14/0771 – Land off Shard Road, Singleton, FY6 9BU – Proposed siting of static caravan for temporary residential caravan (3 years) and formation of sand paddock. Against Planning Policy SP2 – Intrusion into the countryside. No objection to sand paddock.
• 14/0773 – Koi Pool Garden Centre, Mains Lane, Singleton, FY6 7LB – Outline application for erection of two dwellinghouses. (Councillors Chew, Lee and Smith declared a personal interest because of their connection with the Village Hall and donations being made of Xmas trees by the Garden Centre). On looking at the plans councillors found nothing in the planning guidelines which had been contravened. No Specific Observations.
• 14/0804 – Land between 174 and 178 Mains Lane, Singleton, FY6 7LB – outline application for one detached dwelling and garage – No Specific Observations.
• 14/0759 – Coach House, Lodge Lane, Singleton, FY6 8LT – Proposed erection of single storey building to rear with link corridor to form ancillary accommodation. No Specific Observations.
• 14/0835 – Singleton Mill Barn, Weeton Road, Singleton FY6 8NG – Formation of replacement agricultural track from existing agricultural access. This planning application had only just been listed by Fylde BC and details were awaited.
• 14/0652 – Singleton Village. The Parish Council had only just received a large map of the proposed development by Singleton Trust. The Council was also disappointed that it was unable to make a full judgement on the application as it did not have all the relevant information, i.e. location of shop, whether the houses are for affordable rent or sale or a mixture of the two. However, with the information to hand, the Parish Council went through each aspect of the plan and will submit a detailed response to the Planning Authority. Briefly, it found that the plans for the housing were against Planning Policies SP2, HL3 and EP3, It had concerns about the proposed car park and possible disturbance to residents. The playing field was out of the settlement boundary against Planning Policies SP2 and CF1 and the planned new site for the MUGA was in contravention of Planning Policy CF6. As regards conserving the historical conservation area, these plans were against Policy NPPF12. The Parish Council would therefore be objecting to the proposal.
Decisions
• 14/0477 – Land to rear of 76 Mains Lane Singleton FY6 7LD – outline application for a detached dwelling – Refused
• 14/0496 – Poolbrow Caravan Park – Formation of two dormers to front – Granted
• 14/0474 – 19 Riverside Chalet Park, Occupation Lane – Erection of single storey bungalow to replace existing building – Granted
• 14/0538 – The Swallows, Garstang Road, Singleton FY6 7SX – Retrospective application for erection of single storey extensions to rear – Granted.
9.
Neighbourhood Planning
The Chairman reported that he had been very pleased to see the volunteers join in so enthusiastically as members of the newly formed Steering Group. The first meeting took place on 20 November 2014 and the Minutes were circulated and agreed. These will now be put onto the website. The Chairman stressed that more people were welcome to join the Steering Group.
Fiona Riley, Planning Policy Officer of Fylde BC, who is helping the Parish Council with this process, had sent a model Terms of Reference for the Steering Group. The Clerk will adapt this to suit us as soon as possible. We would also need a Constitution.
The Parish Council will be supporting the Steering Group and as many members as possible will attend their meetings. The Chair of the Steering Group would need to be appointed from members of the Steering Group and the Vice-Chair position would be shared by Cllrs Chew and Smith. It was agreed that the next meeting of the Steering Group should be arranged as quickly as possible.
10.
Trees on Lodge Lane Lay-By
The Parish Council was extremely concerned to learn that the remaining 14 trees planted in the early spring at the lay-by had been uprooted and stolen. The previous 6 had been uprooted and stolen in the spring. The trees had cost the Parish Council £400 to buy. The decision now has to made as to what to do next time. It was decided to defer this item until early in the New Year.
11.
Village Hall Car Park
Another crime statistic, this time damage and theft from vehicles parked on the Village Hall car park. Vehicles parked on the car park are at their own risk but the Parish Council was still very disturbed to hear about this.
Singleton Trust has offered an annual sum of money to help with the cost of the loan which the Parish Council took out for improvements to the car park, until the loan is fully repaid. Checks will be made with the Monitoring Officer at Fylde BC to see if we are legally able to accept this payment.
12. Accounts and Cheques to Pay
• Donation received from United Utilities – £500 towards the Defibrillator and £250 towards the Xmas Cards – Total £750. The Clerk will send a letter of thanks.
• HM Revenue and Customs – Notification of Repayment of VAT – £1,572.09
• Lancashire County Council – Invoice drawn up for cutting of grass at Lodge Lane for 2014 – £468.00
• Rental for hire of Village Hall for use by Fylde BC (as agreed 19/06/14 – minute 6) – £45.00 – Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Smith. Agreed
• T.A. Pawson – Mounting of SPID – £60.00 – Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Bailey. Agreed
• T.A. Pawson – Application of grass seed at Village Hall Car Park – £30.00. Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Smith. Agreed.
• Clerk’s Salary and Expenses for October/November 2014 – £271.20. Proposed Cllr Chew, Seconded Cllr Lee. Agreed.
13. Any Other Business
Cllr Chew had contacted Andy Pawson about the village signs that needed cleaning. He had quoted £50/£60. Proposed by Cllr Bailey that he proceed. Seconded by Cllr Lee and Agreed.
The Defibrillator has been ordered but not received as yet.
14. Date and Time of next meeting
18 December 2014 at 7.15 pm at the Village Hall. Date of the next Steering Group meeting still to be decided.
As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 9.30 pm.
Signed …………………………………………… Dated ………………………………………
Verena Henderson
Clerk to the Parish Council
Tel: 01995 670455