Singleton Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at the Village Hall, Singleton
on 26 September 2019 at 7.30 pm
Present: – Cllrs Gallagher (Chair), Bailey (Vice Chair), Lee and Ibbotson, PCSO Lauren Vallely, a representative from Singleton Trust plus a member of the parish and the Parish Clerk, Verena Henderson, who took the Minutes. The Chairman welcomed newly co-opted Councillor Christine Ibbotson to her first meeting.
1. Apologies for Absence – Cllr Smith.
2. Minutes of Previous Meeting and any Matters Arising
The Minutes of the previous meeting held on 29 August, having been previously circulated and agreed, were signed as a true and correct record by Cllr Lee.
Matters arising from previous Minutes
• The Clerk had checked the Parish Council’s insurance in regard to the Play Area and there is a clause whereby it states that the Parish Council has to ensure the equipment is in good repair. Checks are currently carried out weekly by Fylde Borough Council and the Insurance Company was happy with this course of action.
• The Clerk had checked with the Information Commissioner’s Office about the use of surveillance cameras. Fly-tipping certainly seems to fit under the justifiable usage but the Parish Council needs to be very careful to protect the rights of people under the Data protection Act. There are strict rules on keeping any information on people and how we pass it on. A copy of the Code of Practice will be kept on file.
• The Clerk had responded to LCC’s consultation on 20mph and 20mph speed limits in Church Road, Lodge Lane, Miller Crescent, Station Road, Mile Road, The Beeches, The Village and Weeton Road fully supporting these proposals which provided much needed traffic calming measures in the village.
3. Open Forum
The Trust reported that the sale of number 16 had been completed. As regards no. 2 Station Road, this was currently being renovated and would be let out again in the near future. A lot of work is currently going on doing repairs to Trust properties, in particular to windows and doors. Maintenance is also going on to the fencing on the walks. There is a problem of gates being left open and stock getting out on land close to the walks and this is causing quite a bit of bother. The Trust would like everyone to be vigilant and ensure that all gates are closed.
As regards the Cuadrilla site, all the reinstatement work has been completed and the land re-seeded to the Trust’s satisfaction.
Cllr Bailey enquired if Highways England had approached the Trust about archaeological digs currently taking part in the parish. This would be looked into.
4. Declaration of Interests – None
5. Planning Matters and Decisions
One item had only just been listed – 19/0724 – River Wyre Holiday Camp – Erection of Single Storey Building for storage. Further details are awaited
Decisions
18/0655 Windy Harbour Holiday Centre – Change of use of land to allow the siting of an additional 48 static caravans for holiday use – Granted.
6. Police Matters
The Parish Council was very pleased to welcome PCSO Lauren Vallely to this meeting. She told the meeting that in August there had been 3 reports of Anti-social behaviour (1 neighbour dispute, 1 break in property next door [this was down to confusion and has since been withdrawn] and 1 case of youth nuisance. There had been 3 reports of theft, all involving driving off garage forecourts without paying for fuel and 1 auto crime which was theft from a vehicle. This vehicle had been unlocked and she stressed that it was important to keep vehicles, sheds and all outdoor buildings locked, particularly as the dark nights are now here.
In our neighbouring area of Wyre, there had been reports of quad bikes and tractors being stolen. Again it was important for farmers to secure their equipment and have CCTV to protect their premises.
Finally PCSO Vallely said that people could report crimes on the Police website, by ringing 101 or 999. PCSO Vallely was thanked for her attendance and left the meeting.
7. Traffic and Highway Issues
The PCSOs had conducted a Speed Watch and had caught 20 motorists doing over 30mph. All these motorists would be contacted by the Police. The Parish Council was very grateful for this and would like to see it repeated at regular intervals.
8. Proposed new By-Pass
The Chairman, together with Cllrs Bailey and Lee, along with the Chairman of Greenhalgh Parish Council, recently met with the MP Mark Menzies to discuss this subject. Mr Menzies was very supportive of the Blue Route as he always has been and has promised to write to both the Secretary of State and the Head of Highways England to try and push for the Blue Route.
The Clerk was asked to write to Mark Menzies MP thanking him for his support and asking for copies of the letters he has sent out.
9. Update on SpID – None
10.
Correspondence
• Remembrance Sunday – 10 November. Arrangements for St. Annes and Lytham services noted.
• Email from Fylde Borough Council regarding the recycling of plastics. LCC has confirmed that from 1 October, Fylde residents will be able to recycle plastic pots, tubs and trays in the usual bins/boxes. The Clerk will put full details of this on the website.
• Letter from the Conservation Officer at Fylde Borough Council to say that the roads Fingerpost in Singleton had been added to the Local List of Built Environment Heritage Assets. The Clerk had asked her to let us have a full list for our files.
11.
Website – On-going
12. Accounts and Invoices to Pay
• T A Pawson, Mounting of SpID – £30.00. Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Bailey. Agreed.
• T A Pawson, Weed-killing on car park – £18.00. Proposed Cllr Bailey, Seconded Cllr Gallagher. Agreed.
• Mr S Butcher, Litter-picking – £154.60 – Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Bailey. Agreed.
• PKF Littlejohn LLP – Official Annual Audit – £240.00 – Proposed Cllr Bailey, Seconded Cllr Gallagher. Agreed.
• Clerk, Salary and Expenses for August/September – £395.84. Proposed Cllr Bailey, Seconded Cllr Gallagher. Agreed.
The Clerk reported that a donation of £870.50 had been paid into the bank by the Trustees of Richard Dumbreck’s Singleton Trust in respect of the Trust’s contribution to the Parish Council towards the annual cost of paying for the service of a litter-picker. The Parish Council was very grateful for this contribution.
13. Any Other Business
• The Clerk will put an item on the website to let the parish know about the co-opting of Christine Ibbotson to the Parish Council.
• New letter-heading will need to be ordered to bring the councillors’ contact details up-to-date.
14 Date and Time of next meeting
This will take place at 7.15pm on Thursday 24 October 2019 at the Village Hall.
As there was no further business the meeting closed at 8.30pm.
Signed …………………………………………… Dated ………………………………………
Verena Henderson
Clerk to the Parish Council
Tel: 01995 670455