Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at the Village Hall, Singleton
on 24 November 2020 at 7.15 pm
Present: – Cllrs Gallagher (Chair), Bailey (Vice Chair), Cholmondeley, Ibbotson and Lee, one member of the public and the Parish Clerk, Verena Henderson, who took the Minutes.
| 1. | Apologies for Absence – None |
| 2. | Police Matters The crime figures for October showed that there were 3 recorded cases of Anti-Social Behaviour and 1 case of driving off without paying at a petrol station. Information received that the Fylde and Wyre Task Force Team, which is made up of four officers working alongside existing neighbourhood teams, have been working to address a number of issues from anti-social behaviour to drugs. During the last 12 months they have arrested 34 suspects, executed 27 warrants, seized £5,500 worth of class A drugs, seized £1.1m worth of class B drugs, seized £16,000 in cash, seized £25,000 worth of vehicles and recovered £20,000 worth of stolen plant equipment. |
| 3. | Minutes of Previous Meeting and any Matters Arising The Minutes of the previous meeting heldon 27 October 2020, having been previously circulated and agreed, were signed as a true and correct copy by the Chairman. Matters arising Bridleway adjacent to Bankfield Manor, Pool Foot Lane. The complaints about this bridleway continue to come in. The Enforcement Officer at Fylde BC has been very helpful about this matter and has promised to keep an eye on the situation but the matter is largely in the hands of Lancashire County Council. Cllr Gallagher is also keeping a watching brief on works being carried out there.Flooding outside a property on Mains Lane. This has still not been resolved despite Highways England identifying the problem and having given two dates for work to be carried out – both of which have expired. Highways England admits there are significant historical problems in the area but there doesn’t appear to be a budget to resolve these. The Clerk was asked to write to them again and the Environment Agency to see if they could help and perhaps the Waterways. |
| 4. | Open Forum Concern expressed about the number of rocks being placed on grass verges on Mains Lane, which are often obscured by long grass, and querying whose responsibility would it be if a vehicle was to be damaged by hitting one of these? It was generally felt that this was something which insurance companies would fight over in court as to whether it was the driver’s responsibility for mounting the grass verge, or the householder’s for putting the rocks there.The signs for Singleton are still in need of repainting/replacement. This had been requested many months ago from LCC. Another request with a photo would be sent off.Dog fouling signs – More are needed for Mains Lane. The Clerk will request these.Litter on Mains Lane is bad. We have an excellent litter-picker who covers the parish in all weathers and goes deeply into hedges to remove litter. Unfortunately, more often than not, it reappears again as soon as he moves on to another area. |
| 5. | Declaration of Interests – None |
| 6. | Planning Matters and Decisions 20/0823 – Charlton House, 146 Mains Lane, Singleton FY6 7LB – Erection of detached garage within rear garden – The Parish Council has no specific observations to make.20/0821 Grange Farm, Grange Road, Singleton FY6 8LP – This is for a certificate of lawful development to confirm planning permission already given in 1991 for 6 dwellings, 1 granny flat, 6 garages, 8 visitor parking spaces and new access. 20/0846 – Land southwest of Weeton Road (Opposite the Miller Arms) Singleton – Outline application with all matters reserved for a residential development of up to 4 dwellings. These would be for 4 detached dwellings. This application refers to a previous application (14/0652) for 15 dwellings and states that this was `recommended for approval’ although it was withdrawn and never came before the Planning Committee. The Parish Council is concerned by the amount of recent development in and around the village and would like the Planning Committee to note that since 14/0652 was withdrawn, 10 houses have been built off Lodge Lane, 2 in the village centre and 7 more will be in the Grange Farm development (20/0821) and there have been many more in the Mains Lane area. This far exceeds the 15 dwellings mentioned above. The Parish Council is also concerned that of all the recent developments in Singleton Parish, none are affordable for first-time buyers. The latest house price data shows that Singleton and Greenhalgh ward is now the most expensive ward in the whole of Lancashire. The Parish Council is also concerned about the increase in traffic through the village which will be caused by the new A585 bypass which is currently under construction. The size and nature of these proposed 4 dwellings would indicate occupation by multi-car families and so will exacerbate this traffic problem. |
| 7. | Traffic and Highway Issues Cllr Lee reported that at the recent Parish Liaison Meeting he was introduced to the new Chief Superintendent of Police who had been appointed two weeks previously. They discussed enforcement of the 20mph speed limit and it would appear that a motorist could receive a warning for a first offence but that a second offence could result in the vehicle being seized! |
| 8. | New By-Pass There has been a lot of communication between Gaynor Wainwright of Kier and the Clerk and Cllr Bailey. Ms Wainwright has been extremely helpful and has also met with Cllr Bailey and circulated a video of the whole by-pass project which is very informative. Ms Wainwright would like to advise members of the public regarding the bypass and will liaise with the Parish Council to pass on information which we will publish on our website, Facebook page and Singleton Chat. |
| 9. | Correspondence Email received from Fylde BC regarding the electoral review by the Boundary Commission and asking for any organisation which could be added to the list of stakeholders for the consultation process. The Church should be included.Christmas collection arrangements received from Fylde BC. These would be put on the website and noticeboards.Letter from a resident who was having problems with overgrowing trees and vegetation interfering with his telephone/internet line as this had become entangled with branches from a tree in Church Wood. Despite contacting several people, nothing had been heard from them and he wanted the Parish Council’s help. The Clerk will write to those concerned to see if this matter can be resolved. Nb.The necessary pruning work was carried out on 26 November so the Parish Council did not intervene on this occasion. |
| 10. | Update from Fylde Borough Council Cllr Lee reported that following the Parish Liaison meeting, a lot of people from the rural area had complained about flooding and Fylde Borough Council had written to LCC asking for drains and gullies to be cleaned out to help with this. There is still discussion on the combined authority across Lancashire and no decision has been reached as yet as to who Fylde will be combined with. It may be Wyre and Blackpool but could also include Lancaster and perhaps Ribble Valley. We await further developments. As regards planning matters, if a Parish Council objects to a planning proposal, then Fylde would expect a member of that council to be present at the relevant planning meeting. |
| 11. | Accounts and any invoices to Pay The Official Audit had been concluded and signed off with no matters giving any cause for concern that relevant legislation and regulatory requirements had not been met. Notices had been placed on the noticeboards and website saying that the Annual Governance & Accountability Return is available for inspection by application to the Clerk. The claim for VAT refunds for 2019/2020 financial year has been lodged and acknowledged and is for a reimbursement of £2017.45. Rent from June – October – £142.50. Proposed Cllr Bailey, Seconded Cllr Ibbotson. Agreed.John Chew – spring planting in tubs – £240.00. Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Cholmondeley. Agreed.PKF Littlejohn LLP – Official Audit – £240.00. Proposed Cllr Bailey, Seconded Cllr Gallagher. Agreed.Clerk Salary & Expenses – £268.80. Proposed Cllr Bailey, Seconded Cllr Ibbotson. Agreed. |
| 12 & 13 | Any Other Business Christmas card competition. All the entries were displayed and the winning entry chosen. Another entry was chosen to be printed on the back of the card. Cllr Gallagher has our printing company on stand-by to print these quickly and Cllr Ibbotson will purchase selection boxes for all the entrants with a larger one for the winner. The Parish Council’s thanks go out to all the children who entered this competition. The cards will be hand-delivered to each home in the parish in December.Newsletter – Cllr Ibbotson is busy working on her next newsletter which will have useful contact numbers on it and a reminder to watch out for lonely neighbours during these strange times. |
| 14 | Date and Time of next meeting – Tuesday 15 December 2020 at 7.15pm at the Village Hall. As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 8.50pm. |
Signed …………………………………………… Dated ………………………………………
Verena Henderson
Clerk to the Parish CouncilParagraph
Tel: 01995 670455