SINGLETON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council
Held at Singleton Village Hall on 13 August 2024
Present: – Cllrs Lee (Chair), Cllr Cholmondeley (Vice-Chair), Bailey and Clifford and the Parish Clerk, Verena Henderson, who took the Minutes. County Councillor Singleton also attended, along with one member of the public.
| 1. | Apologies for Absence – Prospective new Parish Councillor, unfortunately no apologies received. |
| 2. | Police Matters Cllr Lee had attended the recent AGM where the new Police and Crime Commissioner, Clive Grunshaw was in attendance. Mr Grunshaw had pledged to rebuild local community policing and had agreed with Cllr Lee to carry on with the work on speeding undertaken by several community groups in the parish. One criticism which came out strongly at the meeting was the complaint that good PCSO’s were continually being moved on, many becoming Police Constables in other areas. Continuity is therefore a real problem. Crimes reported in the Elswick, Little Eccleston, Singleton & Greenhalgh in June were as follows: – Anti-social behaviour – 16; Violence and sexual offences – 11; Shoplifting – 4; Burglary – 3. |
| 3. | Open Forum Kier has been cutting the grass on Garstang Road East from the new by-pass Poulton junction to the lay-by just past Kier’s compound. They haven’t done any cutting further eastwards than the lay-by. Overgrown grass and hedgerows on Lodge Lane remain a problem. |
| 4. | Minutes of previous meeting held on 16 July 2024 and any matters arising – The Minutes of the meeting held on 16 July, having been previously circulated and agreed, were signed as a true and correct copy by the Chairman. Matters Arising The non-attendance at the last three meetings of the Parish Council’s prospective new councillor, who was co-opted to the Council in June 2024, has created a problem for the continuing business of the Council. To pass resolutions a minimum of 3 councillors need to be in attendance at any meeting and at the moment there are only 4 sitting councillors. As the acceptance forms have not been returned either, it was unanimously agreed to look for another person to co-opt onto the Council. Mr Neil Carruthers, who has attended many meetings as an interested resident, offered to sit on the Parish Council and he was subsequently co-opted. The Clerk will forward to him the necessary forms which need to be completed for the Returning Officer at Fylde Borough Council. Mr Carruthers was welcomed onto the Council. The Clerk had pursued the matter of the overgrown hedges and grass on Lodge Lane with a landowner who had told her it was not on his land. She had therefore pursued the matter with LCC through their “Love Clean Streets” app, but as this was deemed to be on private land, the matter had been closed. Cllr Lee will have another word with one of the landowners and it this is still not successful the Clerk will ask the Grounds Contractor to cut all this back as a one-off. The Clerk had also contacted Fylde Borough Council about the pathway further along Lodge Lane towards the village, but they referred her to LCC. County Councillor Singleton undertook to help with this one. |
| 5. | Declarations of Interest – None |
| 6. | Planning matters and decisions 24/0362 – North Lodge, Lodge Lane FY6 8LT – Two and single storey extensions. The Parish Council has no specific observations to make on the proposal. 24/0404 – Windy Harbour – Application to vary conditions of planning permission 19/0318. The original application has already been given planning permission. This application was to alter the layout of the development which hadn’t been enlarged. Although the Parish Council still had concerns about further developments on already stretched local resources, as planning permission had already been granted it had no specific observations to make on this proposal. 24/0408 – Land at North Lodge, Lodge Lane – Permission in principle for erection of four dwellings. The Parish Council objected to this proposal as the development falls into designated countryside and there are already more than adequate houses in Singleton. Entrance to Singleton Hall. Complaints received about two large gateposts which have been erected at the entrance to Singleton Hall. These are estimated to be about 8 feet tall, and complainants feel they are not in keeping with the area. The Clerk will check with Fylde BC’s Planning Officer if planning permission has been granted for these. |
| 7. | Traffic and Highways issues The “Keep Clear” signage at the entrance of Occupation Lane, off Mains Lane, has been reinstated by Kier. This had been welcomed by local residents.County Councillor Singleton submitted his monthly report. The work on the carriageway on Station Road to remove the metal plates under the bridge is more complicated than first thought and this will take some months before it is completed. This work is being carried out by Network Rail.Cllr Singleton is keeping an eye on all outstanding matters and will keep the Parish Council informed.Road Closures – Grange Road, 30 September – 1 October 2024 for new BT Openreach Pole.The Village – two-way signals will be in operation on 27 August 2024 to allow a manhole frame and cover in carriageway to be reinstated by United Utilities.Cllr Singleton will look into the possibility of providing a seat for the bus shelter on Garstang Road East, 100 yards passed the traffic lights. |
| 8. | New By-Pass The official opening ceremony took place on Friday 9th August at the Village Hall. There are still bits to finish off but officials from Kier will shortly be moving off the site Cllr Bailey reflected on the 4 years of noise and dust which had been endured during the construction of the by-pass which had adversely affected some residents and caused some house prices to fall. He wanted to congratulate Kier however on the good relationship the Parish Council had enjoyed with members of staff who had endeavoured to resolve many issues which had arisen over the period. There is still the issue of broken kerbs on Lodge Lane, which are deemed dangerous by the Parish Council, which had recently been passed as `satisfactory’ by an inspector. This will be reported on LCC’s Love Clean Streets App, and Cty Cllr Singleton will follow this up. |
| 9. | Update from Fylde Borough Council Not a lot going on as it is the holiday season and many local councils do not meet up in August. |
| 10. | Village Green A survey was conducted today (13 August 2024) by an external surveyor on two sites. It is hoped that the concept design drawings will be available in September. A delay has arisen because of works being undertaken in Kirkham taking longer than planned. |
| 11. | Correspondence Email received on behalf of the Trust regarding the question of a car park being developed on Church Road. The Trustees are agreeable to pursuing help from other interested groups. This matter was discussed at length. It was unanimously agreed that parking was a problem on Church Road especially at school times and when a service was taking place at Church. Cllr Bailey complained that he had been unable to park at a recent funeral. Cllr Lee explained that once the village green had been developed, people could safely walk from the Miller Arms car park. For people with disabilities, however, parking outside the Church was necessary. Creating a car park would be a costly and lengthy process and in the meantime it was agreed to request the provision of 2 disabled parking spaces outside the Church, and Cllr Singleton will take this up with LCC. The Clerk will write to the PCC, The Village Hall and the School to advise them of the situation and ask for their support. |
| 12. | Accounts and Any Invoices to pay First Cut Grounds Maintenance – £517.68. Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed Litter-picker – 4 weeks – £427. Proposed Cllr Lee. Seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed. Clerk, Salary and Expenses for July/August 24 – £368.41. Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed. Clerk – Reimbursement for thank you present for Internal auditor – £35.85. Proposed Cllr Cholmondeley, Seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed. |
| 13. | Any Other Business Planting – Cllr Clifford has been looking into acquiring 1 or possibly 2 dinghies for planting purposes, to be located opposite the traffic lights on Lodge Lane. He wondered if the Parish Council would agree to cover the cost of soil/compost, stones, logs and plants for these? It was unanimously agreed that this would be a good idea. Current planted tubs around the village – The handyman had requested help via Singleton Chat for volunteers to keep an eye on the tubs (24 in total around the parish) and water them when necessary. Once the plants are established, the roots need to be kept watered and rain doesn’t necessarily penetrate to the roots. Concerns that trespassers have been around the back of Barnfield Manor on two or three occasions during the night. Grass has been flattened behind two properties there during the last week, coming from the Singleton Hall entrance. Kier has been advised of this and the Clerk will pass this on to the Police. |
| 14. | Date and time of next meeting – Thursday 12 September 2024 at 7.15pm. As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 9.00 pm. |
Signed ……………………………………………… Dated ………………………………
Verena Henderson, Clerk to Singleton Parish Council,
Tel: 07530 605 291: email: Clerk@SingletonParishCouncil.org