Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at the Village Hall, Singleton
on Tuesday 29th September 2020 at 7.30 pm
Present: – Cllrs Gallagher (Chair), Bailey (Vice Chair), Cholmondeley, Ibbotson and Lee, and the Parish Clerk, Verena Henderson, who took the Minutes.
| 1. | Apologies for Absence – None |
| 2. | Police Matters Information received from local PCSO that there had been 11 cases of Anti-Social Behaviour recorded in August plus 2 cases of theft (driving off without paying for fuel). It has come to our attention, however, that these monthly figures also include the parish of Greenhalgh and the many incidents of theft from a petrol station refer to the petrol station at Greenhalgh, not at Singleton. |
| 3. | Minutes of Previous Meeting and any Matters Arising The Minutes from the previous meeting held on 25 August, having been previously circulated and agreed, were formally signed by the Chairman as a true and correct record. Matters arising from previous Minutes · Cycling on Pavements: The Minutes of August’s meeting were forwarded to Highways England, as requested, outlining the problem caused by the growing number of cyclists travelling at speed along the footpaths of Mains Lane after the cycling zone has ended. The cycling zone starts opposite the River Wyre Hotel and ends before the set-back area close to the traffic lights at Shard Lane. Nothing has been heard back from Highways England as yet. Cllr Ibbotson, however, nearly got knocked down by a speeding cyclist this week outside her home. Cycling is still going on the length of Mains Lane and it is clear more signage is needed, preferably before a serious accident occurs. · Children’s Playground: The Clerk was asked to find out what the current situation is with regards to repairs and cleansing routine from Fylde BC. The general untidiness of the playground at the moment was a cause of concern. · Broadband Reception on Mains Lane: A letter of support had been received from Mark Menzies MP who would be taking up the matter with the Minister for Digital Infrastructure to see if things could be improved. · Defibrillator: New pads and battery had been ordered, received and installed. |
| 4. | Open Forum – None |
| 5. | Declaration of Interests – None |
| 6. | Planning Matters and Decisions Windy Harbour. Application for 74 more caravans has been refused by Fylde BC. Concern expressed about 2 properties on Mains Lane, one which has had a ship’s container positioned adjacent to the footpath for some time now. Another one has previously disregarded planning regulations and work is underway once again. These will be referred to Fylde BC. |
| 7. | Traffic and Highway Issues Cllr Lee distributed a report showing the data obtained from the new Speed Indicator Devices (SpIDs) which showed the speed of traffic travelling through the village from 1 March – 29 September 2020. The devices were moved between Church Road and Station Road and one was permanently sited on Weeton Road. 30% of drivers were doing 20mph or less and the average speed overall was 26mph as opposed to 37 mph before the machines were installed. A very encouraging start and Cllr Lee will respond to the County Council in defence of keeping the 20mph speed limit through the village and also share this information with neighbouring parishes. Concern expressed as more heavy lorries are coming through the village and along Lodge Lane at the moment. A housing development has been taking place on Mains Lane and complaints made about 18 vehicles being parked on the pavement every day for some time. Work is also underway down Pool Foot Lane involving the movement of a large number of lorries. |
| 8. | Proposed new By-Pass There is still digging going on and new markings have appeared on the road. There is a problem over the hedges now, however, and present ownership of them. They are badly in need of cutting back and whilst other hedges have been tidied up nicely, those on land now owned by Highways England have been neglected. This is making walking along the footpath extremely difficult, especially for parents with pushchairs etc. The Clerk was asked to contact Highways England about this. The Clerk had heard from Kier about a presentation about the archaeological dig, and trying to arrange a convenient date. Members thought that this might better be directed towards the History Society and the Clerk will contact them about this. |
| 9. | Correspondence Email received showing concern about work currently taking place on a bridleway/footpath near to Pool Foot Lane. Fylde Borough Council would be asked to look into this. |
| 10. | Accounts and Invoices to Pay Singleton Trust had authorised a payment to the bank of £691.00 which covered half of the expenses of hiring a litter-picker for the parish. The Parish Council is very grateful for the support from the Trust in its endeavours to keep Singleton tidy. The Clerk is experiencing problems with activating on-line banking and had written to the bank hoping to resolve this. In the meantime, the following invoices would be paid by cheque. · S. Butcher – Litter-picking. £135.00. Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Ibbotson. Agreed. · T A Pawson – Moving and installing solar panel for SpIDs – £48.00. Proposed Cllr Gallagher, Seconded Cllr Cholmondeley. Agreed. · Clerk, Reimbursement for items needed for Defibrillator – £188.40. Proposed Cllr Bailey, Seconded Cllr Gallagher. Agreed. · Clerk, Salary and Expenses for August/September – £271.51. Proposed Cllr Bailey, Seconded Cllr Gallagher. Agreed. |
| 11. | Any Other Business The problem with the drainage outside a property on Mains Lane still hasn’t been resolved yet despite assurances that it would be sorted at the beginning of September. The work has been commissioned but unfortunately not carried out yet. Next newsletter being prepared. Items to Cllr Ibbotson please. Concern expressed that there is now no committee responsible from Fylde BC to oversee the by-pass construction. A number of trees have already been felled and it is felt Fylde’s Tree Preservation Officer should be keeping a watchful eye on the works. Fly-tipping continues to be a problem down Mile Road and Grange Road. Complaints received about parents congregating with their children and others from other schools on the playground after school, ignoring signs regarding social distancing. The Headteacher of the school has put some quite strict measures in place at school to try and prevent the spread of Covid-19. There are staggered drop off times for each year group, social distancing for parents and social bubbles for the children whilst at school. It is feared that the action of some parents after school are negating all the efforts the school has made to prevent the virus spreading. The Parish Council discussed the problems of supervising the use of the playground after the school day and agreed with the Headteacher that if anyone had grounds for complaint, they should contact the Police. It was not considered fair on the village residents as a whole to close the playground once again. Moving the SpID is much harder now and is a 2-person job as the machines are placed much higher than the old SpID. Three locations are used and there are two machines. |
| 15 | Date and Time of next meetings Covid restrictions allowing, the next three meetings were arranged as follows:- TUESDAY nights – 27 October – 24 November and 15 December all at 7.15pm. As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 8.45pm. |
Signed …………………………………………… Dated ………………………………………