Singleton Parish Council
A Meeting of the Parish Council will be held at the Village Hall, Singleton on Thursday 28 January 2016 at 8.15 pm.
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 17 December 2015 and any Matters Arising
4. Open Forum – The Council will open up the meeting for 15 minutes for any questions from residents.
5. Police Matters
6. Traffic Issues
7. Correspondence
8. Planning matters and decisions
9. Consultation on Combined Authority for Lancashire
10. Signing of Annual Parish Council Risk Assessment
11. Annual Precept
12. Defibrillator and First Aid Course
13. Accounts and any Cheques to Pay
14. Any Other Business including :-
• Notice Boards
• Broadband
15. Date and Time of Next Meeting – 25 February 2016 at 7.15pm.
Verena Henderson
Clerk to Singleton Parish Council
Singleton Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at the Village Hall, Singleton
on 28 January 2016 at 8.15 pm
Present: – Cllrs Bailey (Chair), Gallagher (Vice Chair), Chew, Lee and Smith, and the Parish Clerk, Verena Henderson, who took the Minutes. The Parish Council was delighted to welcome four members of the public to this meeting.
1. Apologies – None, other than the Chairman arriving slightly later.
2. Declaration of Interests – None
3. Minutes of Previous Meeting and any Matters Arising
The Minutes of the previous meeting held on 17 December 2015, having been previously circulated, were agreed as a true and correct record and duly signed by the Vice-Chair.
Matters arising
The decision regarding the fate of rural bus services is to be taken very shortly by Lancashire County Council.
Repair works have taken place to improve the surface of Station Road, although they are rather patchy in places.
4. Open Forum
Four members of the public attended this meeting to voice their concerns at a planning application for a site on Mains Lane which has asked for the removal of two conditions on a previous planning permission. A presentation was made by the members of the public which showed photographic evidence that these conditions were being flouted and they stressed that they believed they had been flouted in excess of 6 years. They felt that an industrial estate was being formed with up to 8 units currently on site and expressed concern about a possible fire risk with chemicals, old tyres and timber being stored on site. There was also a problem with heavy lorries constantly visiting the site and often causing tail-backs to the junction at Shard Lane traffic lights.
The Parish Council would be discussing this planning application later in the meeting and would take everything into consideration before submitting their decision to Fylde Borough Council. The members of the public then left the meeting.
5. Police and PACT Report
The most recent Police report covered crimes up to 31/12/2015 and showed another offence of driving off without paying for fuel, and a burglary on Grange Road. Cllr Smith said that he believed that up to 5 burglaries had taken place in recent weeks, and certainly 2 that he knew about personally. There had also been something on Facebook about burglaries in the area, especially in the early hours of the morning. Residents are to be asked to be vigilant and ensure vehicles are locked and their homes secure.
6. Traffic Issues
It is hoped that further work will be carried out to Station Road in the near future. Meanwhile, work is still continuing on the gullies on Mains Lane. Cllr Chew had reported the blocked gully on Pool Foot Lane, but this had not been attended to as yet.
7. Correspondence
• An invitation received from Kirkham Town Council to attend a future meeting to discuss flooding issues in the Fylde. Cllr Chew will attend this on behalf of Singleton and Greenhalgh Parish Councils.
• Agenda received for the District Parish Liaison Meeting, which was to take place this evening. The agenda contained the item concerning the lack of road sweeping and weed-killing in rural parishes, as requested by us.
• Information received from the National Association of Local Councils concerning auditing procedures for smaller authorities, which is to change from 2017. The Audit Commission has been disbanded and parish and town councils can choose to have an auditor appointed to them by a new sector-led body or they can decide to procure their own. Noted and we await further information.
• Walney Extension Community Fund – This relates to the extension to the Offshore Wind Farm and community grants being made available to those areas affected. It was felt that this would relate mainly to coastal areas coming down as far as Wyre and North Blackpool.
• Three councillors – Cllrs Bailey, Gallagher and Lee had been booked on the training course at Fylde Borough Council regarding planning matters, which is to take place on 14 March at the Town Hall from 10.00 – 13.00.
• Singleton Village Hall is to hold a Quiz Night on Saturday 20 February starting at 7.00pm. Any interested participants please let Cllr Chew know, who in turn will book in with Sally Coop.
8. Planning Matters and Decisions
16/0023 – The White Villa, Weeton Road, Singleton, FY6 8LL – Application for non-material amendment to planning permission 09/0750 to insert window to front gable at second floor level of eastern dwelling. This has just been added to the planning list and it is thought it refers to the new development on The Village. Further details are awaited.
15/0081 – Shard Storage, Browlea, 134 Mains Lane, Singleton, FY6 7LB – Removal of conditions 7 & 9 on planning permission 01/0683 to allow site to be open to members of the public and to remove restriction that limits use to fencing storage/fabrication only. After much consideration the Parish Council did not think that condition 7 should be reverted and that condition 9 should be enforced. The Parish Council does not wish to see this site become an industrial zone and it is against SP5.7 and .9. It is extremely concerned that hazardous chemicals and materials are being stored there that could contaminate the land and be a fire hazard. There has also been an increase in traffic hold-ups as articulated lorries are frequently visiting the site.
9.
Consultation on a Combined Authority for Lancashire
Documents received and previously circulated concerning the options for the future of collaborative working and the creation of a combined authority. Whilst the Parish Council sees the merits in having a combined authority it does have great concern that finances will not be evenly distributed for the benefit of the Fylde Coast.
10.
Risk Assessment
The amended Risk Assessment was duly signed by the Chairman. The amendments showed that increased insurance payments had been made to cover the new defibrillator and that weekly checks were being carried out to ensure this was in good working order.
11.
Annual Precept
The Clerk distributed an up-to-date balance sheet and a breakdown of figures in regards to the provisions for the precept for 2016/17, as follows:-
2015/16 2016/17
Precept £17465 Gross Proposed by Fylde BC £17757 Gross
Gov Grant 1379 Gov Grant 1045
£18844 £18802
Less 2286 Playground Maintenance to Fylde BC 2309
Total £16658 £16493
As can be seen, there is a small reduction in the net figure proposed for this year. It was therefore proposed by Cllr Gallagher and Seconded by Cllr Smith that the Parish Council requests a 1% rise in the Precept for 2016/17 to produce a final figure of £16671. This was agreed.
12. Defibrillator and First Aid Course
This evening 24 local people, including members of the Parish Council, attended a first aid course and instructions on the defibrillator led by Peter Bond of the Red Cross. The Parish Council would like to thank Peter Bond for this excellent and informative course which was very well accepted. Cllr Chew proposed that the Parish Council award the Red Cross a grant of £50 as a token of thanks. This was seconded by Cllr Lee and Agreed.
Doug Goth has agreed to take over the weekly checking of the defibrillator, and again the Parish Council would like to record its thanks to Doug for his continued support.
13. Accounts and Cheques to Pay
• PEI Delta – for Installation of Defibrillator – £266.16 – Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Chew. Agreed.
• T. A. Pawson – Mounting of SPID – £60. Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Lee. Agreed.
• Clerk’s Salary and Expenses for December/January – £154.76. Proposed Cllr Chew, Seconded Cllr Gallagher. Agreed.
• Red Cross – Donation of £50. Proposed Cllr Chew. Seconded Cllr Lee. Agreed.
14. Any Other Business
Notice boards. A member of the public had asked if the notice board on Mains Lane was to be replaced and, if not, could the posts please be removed. The notice board has been repaired and will be replaced as soon as the wet weather improves. The Clerk pointed out that the notice board at the Village Hall was deteriorating as a result of the very wet winter and needed attention before it got any worse. Also, the lock on the one on Pool Foot Lane was now faulty and needed attention.
Broadband. Cllr Smith is still experiencing a very weak broadband signal but it was felt this was due to him having a shared line. Also, there were increased problems in wet weather due to it affecting the old copper wiring. He is trying to find a solution to this problem through his supplier. Other councillors reported much improvement in their broadband reception.
Next meeting with Singleton Trust will take place on 3rd February. Cllrs. Bailey, Gallagher and Smith will attend.
Cllr Bailey was rather concerned after receiving a phone call asking about attendees on a Parish Council visit to Cuadrilla. The Parish Council had not been invited to visit Cuadrilla nor indeed had requested such a visit. He will try and find out more about this and report back.
Cllr Chew had had a meeting with Highways England concerning proposed changes to the A585 at Singleton crossroads. When they have firm plans they will put these out to public consultation, including an open session at the Village Hall.
15. Date and Time of next meeting
Thursday 25 February 2016 at the normal time of 7.15pm.
As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 9.40pm.
Signed …………………………………………… Dated ………………………………………
Verena Henderson
Clerk to the Parish Council
Tel: 01995 670455