SINGLETON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council
Held at Singleton Village Hall on 21 November 2023
Present: – Cllrs Ibbotson (Chair), Cholmondeley (Vice-Chair) Lee and the Parish Clerk, Verena Henderson, who took the Minutes. County Councillor Singleton also attended along with one member of the public.
| 1. | Apologies for Absence – Cllrs Bailey and Clifford |
| 2. | Police Matters Email received from PCSO Jacob Giddins, following his attendance at the October meeting. He will endeavour to make himself available for the December meeting to provide an update with regards to the parking issues raised outside the school. In the meantime, he will be contacting Singleton School to organise getting letters out to parents. |
| 3. | New grass-cutting arrangements – Deferred to next meeting. |
| 4. | Open Forum Question raised about what happens when the by-pass is opened? Will Garstang Road East be blocked off temporarily until work is finalised? Could a temporary closure lead to an increase in fly-tipping or allow the road to be accessed by travellers? The new by-pass is supposed to be opened to traffic by Christmas, although the work will not be fully completed. Cllr Singleton will request another meeting with Kier to raise these questions and raise the concerns of Barnfield Manor residents about their pathway and arrangements for the necessary work levelling up their entrance to Lodge Lane. |
| 5. | Minutes of previous meeting held on 24 October 2023 and any matters arising- The Minutes of the previous meeting, having been already circulated and agreed, were signed as a true and correct record by the Chairperson. Matters arising The rubbish on Mile Road has been cleared.LCC has started the work on clearing the overgrown footpaths.Highways have cut the grass on Mains Lane.Advertising boards on Mains Lane – 3 have been there for over 6 months. Fylde BC will be asked to pursue these firms.The Handyman has tried to repair the pothole on the car park but has complained that the car park needs more chippings. It was agreed to sanction him to order 3 tons of chippings which could be kept in a corner of the car park. The chippings are getting very thin in areas.Quotation received for the work needed to the lights on the car park. The lights have probably reached the end of their natural life and will be heavily rusted. The cost of supply and replacing the existing PIR lights with new lights in existing positions will be £580. It was agreed that this work was necessary and that it was a safety hazard walking on the car park in the dark. The Clerk will arrange for the work to be carried out.A wreath was purchased and was laid by the Chairperson in the Remembrance Service at Singleton Parish Church. |
| 6. | Declarations of Interest – None |
| 7. | Planning matters and decisions 23/0732 – Barn House, Grange Road, FY6 8LP – Erection of a single storey outbuilding including garage and woodstore. No specific observations to make. Planning decisions 23/0527 – Greenways, 77 Mains Lane, FY6 7LD – Two storey rear extension – Granted. |
| 8. | Traffic and Highways issues The consultation period has now expired regarding the new locations for the Speed Indicator Device (SID). No responses have been received and therefore the Chair will instruct LCC to proceed with the installation of the new posts.Faulty lamp standards on Mains Lane have now been fixed.Metal plates in the carriageway on Station Road. This is the responsibility of Network Rail and Cllr Singleton has contacted them directly to register the Parish Council’s concern about the delay of repairing this fault.Footway deterioration on Lodge Lane. The Highway Authority will arrange a full inspection of the surrounding area once the ongoing A585 project is completed.Footway from Barnfield Manor on the new road. LCC has informed National Highways about the concerns and the contractor will contact Cllr Singleton directly.Notification received that traffic will be temporarily prohibited over a length of Back Lane, Weeton from 0800 hours on 23 January 2024 to 1800 hours on 29 January 2024. Noted.Public Realm Agreements. Itemised list received from LCC showing functions carried out by either themselves or the Borough Council regarding grass cutting, leaf clearance etc on adopted public highways. Fylde BC is responsible for leaf clearance in Singleton and the Clerk will ask for this to be done. |
| 9. | New By-Pass Cllr Singleton will request a meeting with Kier regarding what is happening to Garstang Road East and Barnfield. |
| 10. | Correspondence – None |
| 11. | Update from Fylde Borough Council Cllr Lee reported that it was mentioned at a meeting at Weeton Parish Council that the Police will now be concentrating on speeding in 20mph areas. |
| 12. | Village Green A very productive meeting had taken place with members of the Trust. Nothing can happen now until the New Year. The leading group at Fylde are considering the funding and it is thought that this will be approved. There will be monthly meetings with the Head of Regeneration too. The Chairperson congratulated Cllr Lee on his continuous efforts in bringing forward this project. |
| 13. | Accounts and Any Invoices to pay – Wreath for Remembrance Sunday – £70. Proposed Cllr Cholmondeley, Seconded Cllr Lee. Agreed.Reimbursement to Cllr Ibbotson – Aluminium signs x 2 for new noticeboards – £17.90. Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Cholmondeley. Agreed.Reimbursement to Cllr Ibbotson – Thank you present – £24.00. Proposed Cllr Cholmondeley, Seconded Cllr Lee. Agreed.Village Hall – rent due following meeting with Trust – £20.00. Proposed Cllr Ibbotson, Seconded Cllr Cholmondeley. Agreed.Litter-picker – 4 weeks – £411.00 Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Ibbotson. Agreed.Clerk – Salary and Expenses for October/November 2023 – £451.88. Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Ibbotson. Agreed. The Clerk circulated a balance sheet up to 31 October 2023 which showed that after expenditure of £19,169 so far this financial year, the balance was £43,654. As the deposit account was now earning interest, the Clerk had moved £10,000 over to that account and the bank interest earned so far this year was £88.00. The Clerk was thanked for her work on keeping the accounts in order. |
| 14. | Any Other Business Christmas card – The Chairperson is arranging this.Bowling Club request. The Chairperson had met with members of the Bowling Club about their proposed building work and their request to site a container at the back of the village hall. The Parish Council has no objection to this if public liability is covered and they are responsible for any damage. They are to have a meeting with the Trust. Cllr Singleton suggested that the Bowling Club contact him as grants were available to help towards the costs of this improvement. Two years ago, the Clerk’s salary was linked to the scales at Fylde Borough Council. Cllr Lee announced that a recent pay award had been made of 3.88% which would be reflected in future payments to the Clerk. |
| 15. | Date and time of next meeting – Thursday 21 December at 7.15pm. As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 8.15pm. |
Signed ……………………………………………… Dated ………………………………
Verena Henderson, Clerk to Singleton Parish Council,
Tel: 01995 670455: email: Clerk@SingletonParishCouncil.org