Singleton Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at the Village Hall, Singleton
on 22 February 2022 at 7.15 pm
Present: – Cllrs Lee (Chair), Bailey (Vice Chair), Cholmondeley, Gallagher and Ibbotson, and the Parish Clerk, Verena Henderson, who took the Minutes. Also present was County Councillor John Singleton.
| 1. | Apologies for Absence – None |
| 2. | Police Matters Request from the Police for all CCTV owners to register their CCTVs and video doorbells with Lancashire Constabulary so that footage could be used if a crime or incident has taken place. If people want to register a camera, they need to email NICE.Register@lancashire.police.uk with their name and contact details to get started. No report received again this month but Cllr Singleton advised the meeting that there are not going to be police reports in the future as all the information is contained on their website. All types of crimes are recorded there and sending out reports to each parish council takes up too much of the PCSO’s time. |
| 3. | Open Forum – None |
| 4. | Minutes of Previous Meeting and any Matters Arising The Minutes of the previous meeting held on 25 January 2022, having been previously circulated, were proposed by Cllr Ibbotson to be signed as a true and correct record and this was carried unanimously. Matters arising Query over LCC’s letter discussed at the last meeting about the possibility of a community electric car club. The infrastructure to support electric cars was not considered good enough in our area with only two electric points being of high enough power being available in Poulton. Domestic grants to home owners were also coming to an end with no new applications being received. It was generally felt that we were a long way off accommodating the amount of electric cars on the roads the Government was aiming for. The Precept for Singleton Parish has been confirmed as 2% rise, as requested. |
| 5. | Declaration of Interests – None |
| 6. | Planning Matters and Decisions 22/0086 Kirkham in the Fields House, Fleetwood Road FY6 8NE – Two and single storey rear extensions and single storey side extension – No specific observations to make.22/0070 & 22/0071 – Mains Hall – Listed building consent for installation of replacement windows and doors – No specific observations to make. |
| 7. | Traffic and Highway Issues A report by Cllr Singleton had been circulated prior to the meeting. It showed that Network Rail was carrying out urgent inspections on all local bridges, including Station Road. All work should be completed by the first week in March. As regards the mini roundabout, Highways have been out to view and have confirmed a works order will be raised to repaint the white lines. Cllr Singleton has also requested that Highways view Old Mains Lane and offer a solution to its deteriorating condition. Blocked gulleys are also a problem and they will be cleaned out to prevent flooding. Currently there are only 6 gulley cleaning and jetting teams in Lancashire. These will be increased to 13 teams in 2022 and Fylde will have its own team. Andy Pratt, the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner and Chair of the Road Safety Partnership is very much behind the re-launch of the Community Road Watch and the drive to encourage people to volunteer for this. Cllr Lee will ask for volunteers via Singleton Chat. After training it should be noted, however, that a PCSO has to be in attendance when targeting speeding motorists. Cllr Lee advised the meeting that both Weeton and Wrea Green Parish Councils had agreed to work with Singleton and all collaborate their data from their SpIDs to pass on to the Police to help monitor speeding through the villages. Prior to Covid, LCC had intimated that the SpIDs should not be mounted on lamp-posts but should be mounted on a special pole. Nothing further was heard about this due to the pandemic but apparently they are again discussing it and we expect to hear from them further very soon. |
| 8. | New By-Pass The fortnightly roadworks update from Kier had been circulated and noted. Another letter from National Highways of a trial extension of the hours of operation until 24 April was also circulated. This would take the working hours to 7.30 – 19.00 Monday to Friday with Saturday’s hours being from 8.00 – 16.30. Cllrs Lee, Bailey and Ibbotson were all going on an organised visit to the site on Monday 28 February. Cllr Bailey was particularly concerned about the landscaping after the roadworks had been completed. Highways had suggested a 3 barred fence with barbed wire on the top, but after raising this with Kier, another suggestion of tree planting and further landscaping had been proposed. It was agreed that this should be pursued. |
| 9. | Correspondence LCC had produced a document “Better Working between Lancashire County Council and Parish and Town Councils” – 2022 – 2024. This had been circulated and noted.Wyre BC Planning Policy Newsletter received. Wyre was to commence a full review of the Wyre Local Plan (2011-2031) and was consulting on the scope of the full review and undertaking a call for sites for six weeks from 27 January to 10 March 2022. All information is on their website.Fylde will recommence its green bin collection service from Monday 21 February. This will be at an increased charge of £35 per green bin. Residents are encouraged to subscribe by 18 March to avoid any disruption to collections. LCC Highways Department are to produce an estimated price list for the most frequently requested small items, such as grit bins, bollards, and small road signs etc, to help parish councils with future budget planning. |
| 10. | Update from Fylde Borough Council Fylde now has a new planning system installed which has caused staff there a few problems and delays but now seems to be working okay. The print is too small for viewing on the telephone but it is hoped that this will be improved soon. The Principal Planning Officer stressed the importance of a Parish Council being represented at the relevant planning meeting if it objects to any planning application. He said that it would also be very useful for Fylde to receive feedback on why the Parish Council was not happy with any decision.Following Government grants to revitalise high streets, it was pleasing to note that Kirkham’s high street was being regenerated and a few new businesses had been set up in recent months.The bulk waste collection service has been reintroduced.Fylde has proposed a 1.99% rise in its part of the Council Tax. (LCC is to increase Council Tax by 1.99% with a further rise of 2% for Adult Social Care, making the total increase 3.99%. Police have proposed 4.42% rise and Lancashire Fire and Rescue have proposed an increase of £5 based on a Band D property).The Clerk had received the Service Level Agreement for the maintenance of the children’s playground by Fylde for the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 at a cost of £3,730.01. This amount is deducted at source from the annual precept. An inspection report accompanied this Agreement, which had been circulated. Councillors however were very disappointed that reported necessary repairs back in June 2021 had still not been carried out despite assurances received. It was agreed not to sign this Agreement until these repairs had been sorted. Cllr Gallagher will have a closer look at the inspection report, which seemed to be just a copy of a previous report, and report back to the Clerk. |
| 11. | Queen’s Platinum Jubilee The lighting of beacons is to take place countrywide at 9.45pm on Thursday 2 June 2022. The Parish Council will try and get a skip and place it either on the car park or in the field behind. It was suggested asking Kier for help with setting this up and supplying wood etc. A group of residents is meeting shortly in the village to discuss how to celebrate the Jubilee and the Parish Council would be happy to pay for them to use the Village Hall if required. |
| 12. | Tree Planting on Lodge Lane – Update Mr Pawson now had the trees and had dug the holes but was awaiting calmer weather before planting. A resident had kindly offered his help with a tractor to lift them in. Mr Pawson would get the necessary tree stakes and ties. |
| 13. | Accounts and Invoices to Pay Clerk – Salary and expenses for Jan/Feb 2022 – £250.50. Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Gallagher. Agreed. |
| 14. | Any Other Business Litter-picker. We had not heard from the litter-picker for many months now. Greenhalgh had recently recruited a couple who were doing an excellent job. Cllr Lee will forward the details to the Clerk who will contact them and see if they would take on this role for Singleton parish.The Boundary Commission has proposed a change to the Parliamentary constituency. In these proposals, Fylde will take over Hardhorn with Highcross, Breck ward and Tithebarn ward. There is also a proposal to make Lytham a Parish Council with East Lytham and West Lytham.A tree is causing problems in front of the Village Hall. Branches have been breaking off and it is touching wires. The tree belongs to the Diocese and the Clerk was asked to check with the Chair of the Village Hall to see what was happening about it.Village Green – The Trust was meeting this evening and discussing it. The Parish Council would like a committee to be formed containing perhaps two members of the Trust, a resident from the village and two members of the Parish Council. The noticeboard at the Village Hall was still in need of repair. |
| 15. | Date and Time of next meeting – Thursday 31 March 2022 at 7.15pm at the Village Hall. As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 8.45pm. |
Signed …………………………………………… Dated ………………………………………
Verena Henderson
Clerk to the Parish Council
Tel: 01995 670455