Singleton Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at the Village Hall, Singleton
on 15 September 2016 at 7.15 pm
Present: – Cllrs Gallagher (Chair), Smith (Vice Chair), Bailey, Chew and Lee, and the Parish Clerk, Verena Henderson, who took the Minutes. Three residents also attended.
1. Apologies – none
2. Minutes of Previous Meeting and any Matters Arising
The Minutes of the previous meeting held on 25 August 2016, having been previously circulated, were agreed as a true and correct record and duly signed by the Chairman.
Matters arising
Fylde BC and Wyre BC’s Local Plan. The Clerk had written to both borough councils to ask them to work together on their local plans, looking at what facilities are available to both boroughs and how these are going to be affected by adjacent developments. Fylde BC had acknowledged receipt of this and Wyre BC had responded to the effect that there has been some joint working between Wyre and Fylde and that there is a “Duty to Co-operate” agreement for joint working between Wyre, Fylde, Blackpool and the County Council.
Litter-picking. The Clerk had contacted the Clerk to Hambleton PC in regard to their highly recommended “handy man”. Hambleton’s Clerk had put our Clerk in touch with Andy Taylor who would be very happy to quote for the work. It would appear that the Trust had already made their own arrangements and the Clerk was asked to verify these. Mr Taylor would be asked to quote for a monthly litter-pick and check that he had the necessary insurance and understood that this would be on a contractual basis. The roads he would be asked to cover would be Mains Lane, Garstang Road, Pool Foot Lane and Shard Road. The Clerk would check with the Trust to see if Mile Road had been included in their remit.
Mark Menzies MP – The Clerk had invited our MP to attend a Parish Council meeting, either of the consultation events held by Highways England or another evening of his choosing to meet with Parish Councillors. Unfortunately Mr Menzies had declined all of these options, saying that his diary was full. The Clerk had responded pointing out that the Parish Council was extremely disappointed that he had not put some time aside in his busy schedule, especially in view of the concern of local residents in regards to the proposed by-pass.
3. Open Forum – Members of the public were invited to contribute at this point.
One member of the public voiced his concern at the by-pass proposals and the fact that planning consent was still being given for house building in his area. Some of his neighbours were deeply upset about what was being proposed. He and his neighbours were encouraged to go along to the consultation events which were being held at the Village Hall on the 16th and 17th September, hosted by Highways England. Highways England had contacted local residents directly and had not included the Parish Council; therefore the information was rather piecemeal with bits added each day. All the Parish Councillors intended to attend one of the consultation events.
Articles had appeared in the Blackpool Gazette and many letters voicing concern. Wyre BC is very much in favour of this road because their housebuilding plans have had to be halted until the A585 is improved. At the moment they are unable to meet Government targets but because of the duty to co-operate agreement they have with Fylde BC (referred to in item 2), if they are unable to meet their target of housebuilding, Fylde will have to release land to build extra houses in the next 15 years. Fylde BC is therefore in a very difficult position. Interestingly, Wyre has thanked its MPs for their support, but our own MP has not been here to support Singleton.
Residents were urged to attend the consultation events and write individual letters to the MP.
4. Declaration of Interests
Cllr Chew declared a personal interest in item 9, Cllr Bailey declared a personal and prejudicial interest in item 9 and Cllr Gallagher declared a personal interest in 2 planning matters – 16/0616 – Bankfield Farm, and 16/0638 Newbrook, Old Mains Lane.
5. Planning Matters and Decisions
16/0616 – Rear of Bankfield Farm, Pool Foot Lane, Singleton – Erection of dwellinghouse and detached garage. Cllr Gallagher did not take part in this discussion. Much discussion about this planning application, its proximity to the Estuary and being against Planning Policies SP2 and EP20. The Parish Council decided to let the Planning Officers decide this one and to make no specific observations.
16/0586 – Land to the West of 178 Mains Lane, – to allow retention of Equestrian Club on a permanent basis – No specific observations.
16/0649 – Lane East of Mains Hall, Mains Lane, Singleton, Resubmission of application for formation of new access track off Mains Lane – No specific observations.
16/0638 – Newbrook, Old Mains Lane, Singleton – alterations to convert existing bungalow to a two storey dwelling – Cllr Gallagher took no part in this discussion. The Parish Council has no specific observations to make upon the proposal.
Decisions
16/0475 – Land off Shard Road, Singleton – Use of land for private equestrian purposes with siting of a series of timber and canvas stables – Refused.
14/0773 – Appeal by Koi Pool Garden Centre for outline application for erection of two dwellinghouses – Dismissed.
6. Police and PACT Report
A Police report had been received this month which showed there were 5 crimes recorded in the period from 27/07/16 – 31/08/16 which included 2 assaults, 1 burglary, 1 theft and 1 driving off without paying for fuel.
7. Traffic and Highway Issues
The road sign for Singleton coming from Hambleton was in need of re-painting. The Clerk would contact Steve Howard of Fylde BC. Also, the sign at Lodge Lane at the Singleton Traffic lights was still in need of repair and the Clerk was asked to contact LCC Highways Department again.
8. Correspondence
• Parliamentary Boundary Review 2018 – Information received from the Boundary Committee of the new proposals. Singleton will remain in Fylde, but the proposal is to extend the boundary to include Poulton-le-Fylde. Noted.
• Advanced notice of payphone removal consultations. There are currently 17 public payphones in Fylde which are being considered for removal. We shall be contacted shortly if Singleton is one of these.
9.
Proposed By-Pass
An invitation has been received for a member of the Parish Council to join the reference group for the A585 Windy Harbour to Skippool Junction Improvement Scheme. The first meeting will be held at Singleton Village Hall on 4th October from 6.30 – 8.30. Cllr Bailey will represent the Parish Council.
10.
Current Balance Sheet
The Clerk distributed a balance sheet to show a balance of £26,166.
11.
Wish List
Items so far:-
• New SPID once we have the 20mph limit in force. We shall see if Weeton want to buy the currently jointly-owned one.
• Replacement of stones on Lodge Lane lay-by.
• Special camouflaged camera for fly-tipping hot-spots
• Upgrade worn equipment on playground.
12. Accounts and Cheques to Pay
• Singleton Village Hall – Reimbursement of money put directly into Parish Council’s account in error by Fylde BC – £300. Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Smith – Agreed.
• T A Pawson – SPID – 3 locations – £85.00 – Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Bailey – Agreed.
• Clerk, Salary and Expenses for August/September – £264.48. Proposed Cllr Chew, Seconded Cllr Smith – Agreed.
13. Any Other Business
• The car park is in need of weeding. The Clerk will contact Andy Pawson.
• Cllr Chew reported that she is now ready to start writing the report on last winter’s flooding and is looking to have the next meeting for the farmers at Weeton.
• Cllr Chew has spoken with Heritage England who are drawing up a Heritage Strategy with special emphasis on the rural area, which should be coming out in January 2017.
• The Parish Council was sorry to hear that a burglary had taken place in Miller Crescent, which included the theft of a child’s bike and scooter.
14. Date and Time of next meetings
The next 3 meetings were arranged as follows:-
20th October 2016 17th November 2016 and 8th December 2016
All at the Village Hall on a Thursday evening at 7.15pm.
As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 9.05pm.
Signed …………………………………………… Dated ………………………………………
Verena Henderson
Clerk to the Parish Council
Tel: 01995 670455