SINGLETON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council
Held at Singleton Village Hall on 20 June 2024
Present: – Cllrs Lee (Chair), Cllr Cholmondeley (Vice-Chair), Bailey and Clifford and the Parish Clerk, Verena Henderson, who took the Minutes.
| 1. | Apologies for Absence – County Councillor Singleton |
| 2. | Parish Council Vacancy This item was moved forward from item 12 on the agenda as a letter had been received from the Monitoring Officer at Fylde Borough Council which stated they had not received any requests for an election to take place by the deadline of 14 June 2024. The letter went on to say that the Parish Council should fill the vacancy by co-option as soon as possible. Notices from Fylde BC had previously been posted on all 3 noticeboards and also on the website from 24 May until 14 June 2024. One person had come forward to fill the position of Parish Councillor – Rebecca Rushworth who had had previous experience of being a Parish Councillor. Cllr Lee proposed that Rebecca Rushworth be co-opted as the new Parish Councillor. This was seconded by Cllr Bailey and unanimously agreed. Cllr Bailey will deliver the relevant forms and information to her. |
| 3. | Police Matters PCSO Georgina Fleming had sent out the first Fylde Policing Newsletter, introducing the new Geographic Inspector Kate Buckingham and giving details of the recently launched Rural Task Force. It also contained details of recent assistance to the Border Force in regards to 20 kilos of cannabis being found in the Warton area. This newsletter was well received by the Parish Council which welcomed the initiative of keeping parishes informed of Police work in their areas. As regards reported crimes in the Elswick, Little Eccleston, Singleton & Greenalgh areas, according to the Police website numbers during April 2024 were as follows: – Anti-social behaviour – 12; Violence and sexual offences – 8; Theft – 4; Burglary – 3 The Chair had written to the new Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw to welcome him back to the role and hoping that he would be continuing with the work on the rural anti-speeding campaign in order to achieve better results. |
| 4. | Open Forum – None |
| 5. | Minutes of previous meeting held on 21 May 2024 and any matters arising – The Minutes of the previous meeting, having been already circulated and agreed, were signed as a true and correct copy by the Chairman. Matters arising from previous Minutes Acknowledgement received from the Trust in regard to the Parish Council’s wish to seek help with funding from other interested groups in respect of creating a car park on Church Road. This will be raised in their next meeting in July.Replacement of Singleton signs on Mains Lane and Shard Road. Fylde BC had suspended this until the roadworks had been completed. Now that they are nearing completion, they are happy to pursue the replacement of the signs. It was suggested that the one on Mains Lane be put next to the newly replaced milestone. |
| 6. | Declarations of Interest – None |
| 7. | Planning matters and decisions 24/0267 Land adjacent to Greenways, Mains Lane, Singleton FY6 7LD – Permission in principle for erection of up to two dwellings. The Parish Council did not submit specific observations on this proposal. |
| 8. | Traffic and Highways issues Two Temporary Prohibition of Through Traffic orders had been received in regards to Lodge Lane and Pool Foot Lane. In regards to Lodge Lane, work will be carried out to install street light nightly from 2030 to 0500 on Monday 24 June to Saturday 29 June. Resurfacing work on Singleton Junction, Pool Foot Lane, Lodge Lane (North), Mains Lane and Shard Junction will take place from 24 June for 5 nights between 8.30pm and 5.30 am. Cty Cllr Singleton had circulated his report on LCC Highway matters. He continues to chase up matters which have still to be carried out and his diligence was welcomed by the Parish Council. Cllr Singleton reported that carriageway potholes have been repaired on Church Road, but Cllr Clifford reported that unfortunately only two had been repaired because of parked vehicles and the work team had then left the area. The Clerk will advise Cllr Singleton of this. Work has been programmed in for other potholes in the area, noisy manhole covers and blocked gullies. Work to remove the metal plates on Station Road is to take place in the last week in July. The Clerk will ask Cllr Singleton to look into having the disabled parking space outside the school repainted. |
| 9. | New By-Pass There are still a number of issues outstanding in regards to Barnfield Manor and Singleton Hall but their resident’s committee is in touch with Kier to resolve these. The milestone has been put back. |
| 10. | Correspondence – None |
| 11. | Update from Fylde Borough Council The meeting the Clerk was to have attended, namely the LGA Peer Review Focus Group originally scheduled for 19th June, has been postponed and will now take place in September.The Enforcement Officer agrees with the complaints made about work being undertaken to a property on Mains Lane where contractors’ vehicles continually block pavements, forcing pedestrians into the road. He has asked the Police to call on the builder involved. |
| 12. | Village Green This item will be put on every month’s agendas until it is completed. On this occasion there is nothing further to report. |
| 13. | Code of Practice The Clerk is in the process of reviewing and updating, if necessary, the Parish Council’s statutory policies. The first one of these is the Code of Conduct for Members which has been adapted from the Local Government Association Model Cuncillor Code of Conduct 2020, which they updated in May 2021. A copy of this revised document was distributed to every councillor, with a copy also for the new councillor. Other policies to be reviewed include Standing Orders, Risk Assessment and the Parish Council’s Privacy Notice in line with GDPR regulations. |
| 14. | Accounts and Any Invoices to pay The Internal Auditor had now completed and agreed the annual accounts up to 31 March 2024 and had signed the documents. These can now be forwarded to the Official Auditor. Notices advising residents of their rights to view the accounts for a 6-week period up to 12 July 2024 have been displayed on the three noticeboards and website. Grounds Maintenance – £517.68 – Proposed Cllr Cholmondeley, seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed.Handyman – Planting out 24 parish tubs, including preserving the oak tubs – £768. Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed.Handyman – Fixing two benches to the ground in the play area – £80. Proposed Cllr Bailey, Seconded Cllr Cholmondeley. Agreed.Litter-picker – 4 weeks – £427.00. Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed.Clerk, salary and expenses – £501.44. Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Bailey. Agreed. |
| 15. | Any Other Business The Chairman expressed his thanks to the Gala Committee for another good job, both on Friday and Sunday, and there was an excellent fancy dress parade. It was good to see this traditional event still taking place in the village.The Chairman wished also to express his thanks to the litter-picker who had turned up on the Sunday morning, with his wife, to ensure the village was clean of litter. It was amazing to see how much rubbish the pair cleared. Mile Road, in particular, was a bad area with motorists throwing rubbish out of their windows. The pride that the litter-picker takes in his work is a credit to him. Long grass and overgrown hedges on the Gala Day were a problem for some. As regards the hedges, this is a contentious issue with birds nesting and there are rules in place not to cut hedges during the nesting season. Complaints were received from residents last year about a hedge being cut just before Gala Day. The Parish Council was pleased to receive a portrait of King Charles III and this will be hung in the Village Hall. Cllr Clifford has been forwarded a photograph of a bench which former councillor Chris Ibbotson would be happy to half-fund. He will be meeting up with her shortly to discuss location and will report back. A resident has enquired about a new-build not having a wall built on its perimeter, as shown on the original planning documents. A wooden fence has been erected instead. Is this something that should be referred to the Planners at Fylde BC? This is something which needs to be taken up with the builder – a possible breach of contract – and should not involve the Planning Department. Website – The Clerk was experiencing problems with some aspects of the website as she did not have all the necessary authorities to create new headings and place items where they could more easily be found by those visiting the website. The Chairman will help the Clerk sort this problem out. |
| 16. | Date and time of next meeting – Tuesday 16 July 2024 at 7.15pm. As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 8.45pm. |
Signed ……………………………………………… Dated ………………………………
Verena Henderson, Clerk to Singleton Parish Council,
Tel: 07530 605 291: email: Clerk@SingletonParishCouncil.org