SINGLETON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council
Held at Singleton Village Hall on 20 July 2023
Present: – Cllrs Ibbotson (Chair), Cllr Cholmondeley (Vice-Chair), Bailey, Clifford and Lee and the Parish Clerk, Verena Henderson, who took the Minutes. County Councillor Singleton and two members of the public also attended.
| 1. | Apologies for Absence – None |
| 2. | Police Matters – “In The Know” circular received from the National Fraud & Cyber Crime Reporting Centre saying that 21 million scam emails had been reported resulting in the removal of over 235,000 malicious websites. In addition, 54,000 text message scams have been removed as a result of suspicious texts forwarded to the 7726 service. |
| 3. | Open Forum – Two members of the public attended to raise the following issues: – Concern about the state of the footpath from houses on Lodge Lane up to the traffic lights. There are no kerbs in some areas and the footpath is on the same level as the road. The surface is also very uneven, and residents consider it extremely dangerous to walk along there. One resident will forward images she has taken to Cty Cllr Singleton for him to pursue with Lancashire County Council.Pool Foot Lane – The bollard at the end of the lane has been moved. This was originally put in there to stop traffic from using the lane as a cut-through. Cty Cllr Singleton will investigate who is responsible for the upkeep of this. The overgrown public footpath there has also been a concern of Cllr Clifford and he and the Chairperson met to walk the 2-mile public right of way. Cllr Clifford had previously seen a lady with a pram struggling to get down this path because of the vegetation. Cty Cllr Singleton will investigate the maintenance of this footpath. |
| 4. | Minutes of previous meeting held on 13 June 2023 and any matters arising – The Minutes of the previous meeting, having been previously circulated and agreed, were signed as a true and correct record by the Chairperson. Matters Arising The metal plate under the railway bridge has not yet been removed. This is the responsibility of the Railways, and the plate is covering a damaged culvert.Fly-tipping on Lodge Lane. Fylde BC tried to find this when the road was closed during the roadworks but failed to do so. The amount of rubbish has now increased and the Clerk will contact Fylde BC again to update them with the position.After a short meeting with the Trust on 26 June, following issues raised by members of the public in regard to the sale of land opposite the Miller Arms, the Chairperson had a further meeting with the Trust’s Chairman. The Trust is seeking legal advice on the sale of this land and the matter is therefore in abeyance until this advice is received. The Trust is anxious to get on with the Village Green however and had submitted various questions in regard to the planning progress of this. Unfortunately there has been a delay in progressing the planning due to the council elections and changes in personnel and Portfolio Holders at Fylde BC. A formal planning application is still to be made and they are still going through the process and trying to get everything in place. Cllr Lee will meet with Dave Kay as soon as possible to advise him of the situation. In the meantime, Cllr Bailey will ask Kier if they will commit to helping with the digging out for the green if they have left the area before it gets underway. |
| 5. | Declarations of Interest – None |
| 6. | Planning matters and decisions – 23/0352 – The Croft, 117 Mains Lane Singleton FY6 7LD – Erection of replacement three storey gable-fronted extension – No specific observations23/0360 – Roughdale, 104 Mains Lane Singleton FY6 7LD – Single storey side and rear extension – No specific observations23/0453 – Orchard Nurseries, 166 Mains Lane Singleton FY6 7LB – Application to vary condition 2 of planning permission 21/0824 to increase width of first floor balcony to rear of dwelling … No specific observations23/0440 – Rose Cottage, The Village, Singleton FY6 8LL – Formation of rear dormer. No specific observations. Planning Decisions 23/0152 – Windy Harbour Holiday Centre – Erection of two non-illuminated signs – Refused.23/0352 – The Croft, 117 Mains Lane FY6 7LD – Granted23/0320 – Riverside Chalet park, Occupation Lane FY6 7RA – Application to discharge details relating to conditions associated with planning permission 21/0480 – Issued.22/0772 – Lane to the rear of Briarfield, Lodge Lane, FY6 8LT – Demolition of existing stables and erection of one detached dwelling – Refused. |
| 7. | Traffic and Highways issues – County Councillor Singleton submitted his report as follows: – Mains Lane grass verges – Following complaints from residents he requested officers at LCC to investigate the cutting of highway verges on Mains Lane. The Highway Authority is behind with grass cutting this year. LCC advised that this section of the carriageway is owned and maintained by National Highways which means that LCC is unable to carry out maintenance to the verges. The Clerk also reported this matter to National Highways on 21 June. The grass had since been cut but was still overgrown in places.United Utilities tankers had been queuing up on Old Mains Lane to supply water to Fleetwood. This was due to a damaged pipe which was allowing waste to get into the water supply.Shard Road bus stop. LCC is unable to make any changes to the existing road layout on Shard Road due to the HGV traffic using both Shard Road and Mains Lane. Highways have reassessed the bus stop location on Shard Road and agree it requires improvement. They will relocate the bus stop to the near-by Mains Lane and attach the necessary signage to street lighting column T396. Cty Cllr Singleton reported back following the District Parish Council Liaison meeting with the Police. There are currently two inspectors but one of them is retiring this year. His department is the Safer Neighbourhood Team. There are 6 PC’s, 4 of which are retained to mental health at the hospital to work with vulnerable people at the hospital. The other inspector will be based in Blackpool. Eventually there will not be an inspector at Kirkham although the Blackpool Inspector has said she will cover both stations. Kirkham will retain 4 Police Officers. Ten PCSO’s will also be available but these will be stationed at Blackpool because there is a greater need for officers in Blackpool. Cllr Singleton asked the Inspector about the Police attending meetings. If there is something that is of concern to a Parish Council, they must write to the Inspector who will see that a Police Officer will attend a meeting to discuss a particular concern. The Parish Council needs to get the new SpID organised, which will be located on Lodge Lane to slow down the traffic before it gets to the bends. Traffic is still going much too quickly along this stretch. Cty Cllr Singleton will arrange for the appropriate officer from LCC to advise about the special post required (at a cost of £600) plus whatever else necessary. |
| 8. | New By-Pass A meeting has been arranged with Kier for 26 July at 12 noon. Items to be discussed – Shard Road JunctionPossible footpath between the entrances of Barnfield Manor and Singleton Hall for pedestrians to cross to the traffic calmer.Shell petrol station.The milestone that was moved. This needs putting back in position outside Old Mains Lane. |
| 9. | Correspondence Letter concerning Community Payback and Immediate Justice programmes to help maintain local neighbourhoods. The Parish Council had approached these people a few months ago about tidying up the hedges and pathways along Shard Road but had been told that this road was too dangerous and therefore nothing came of it. Cllr Clifford will speak with the Church to see if this could be of help to them.The Clerk had received a Freedom of Information request to provide details of the amount of money spent on a yearly basis in respect of flower purchases, planting and maintenance. The relevant amounts for five financial years were supplied. |
| 10. | Update from Fylde Borough Council District Parish Liaisons Meetings – A proposal to have four meetings a year, 3 of which would be with the planning officers with Clerks being asked to attend.Cllr Lee had met with the Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner at Wrea Green and had organised a meeting with all 5 parish councils in his Ward. The meeting would look at putting together parishes, stakeholders and LCC to sort out road safety. Fylde has announced it is creating three new improved disabled facilities at leisure venues to enable all people to take part. These will be a great improvement and one of these new facilities will be located at Kirkham Community Centre. |
| 11. | Areas Mowed on behalf of the Parish Council Currently Andy Pawson cuts the grass for the Parish Council at – The Layby on Mains Lane*Shard Bridge Junction*Poolfoot Lane*The Layby on Lodge Lane*Children’s playground *LCC pays the Parish Council an annual fee for these areas, which for several years has been £468 but which this year has been increased to £514. Mr Pawson has announced that he will be retiring in April 2024 but has someone to take over from him at the same rates of pay. It was suggested that this person be invited to come to a meeting with the Parish Council. Perhaps it would be a good time to reassess where the grass-cutting should take place. LCC would need to be informed and agree to any increase in areas the Parish Council maintains. Any application to LCC for an increased monetary contribution towards extended areas of grass-cutting would need to be done well in advance of April 2024 in order to get it approved for the new fiscal year. |
| 12. | New Noticeboard Another new noticeboard has been put on order to replace the damaged one at Pool Foot Lane. It was agreed to hold off fixing this new noticeboard until we are confident that the new layout will not affect its placement or need changing. An idea was also mooted about possibly relocating a noticeboard to the new junction at Shard Road. |
| 13. | Accounts and Any Invoices to pay Mr Pawson, applying weedkiller to Village Hall area – £18.00. Proposed Cllr Ibbotson, Seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed.Litter-picker – £513.75 (5 weeks) – Proposed Cllr Ibbotson, Seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed.Clerk, Salary and expenses for June/July – £471.69. Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Bailey. Agreed.Cllr Ibbotson. Reimbursement for thank-you present – £30.97. Proposed Cllr Cholmondeley, Seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed. |
| 14. | Any Other Business Memorial benches – still working on this.Problems with overgrown hedges making walking dangerous for pedestrians who must step out into the road. Two areas in particular – Lodge Lane and coming towards the village from the Barracks. The Clerk was asked to write to the relevant parties about this.Station Road. This is the worst road in the area and extremely dangerous to walk into the village from the houses down there. Cllr Singleton will ask LCC to look at putting in a pavement or path for pedestrians when they resurface the road. |
| 15. | Date and time of next meeting – Thursday 17 August 2023 at 7.15pm. As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 9.05pm. |
Signed ……………………………………………… Dated ………………………………
Verena Henderson, Clerk to Singleton Parish Council,
Tel: 01995 670455: email: Clerk@SingletonParishCouncil.org