Next meeting with Agenda

1.

Apologies for Absence

2.

Open Forum – The Council will open the meeting for 15 minutes for any questions from the public –

3.

Minutes of previous meeting held on 10 March 2026 and any matters arising-

4.

Police Matters

5.

Declarations of Interest

6.

Planning matters and decisions –

26/0146 Land Southwest of Weeton Road, (Opposite the Miller Arms) application to vary conditions of planning permission 24/0085 to replace two pairs of semi-detached dwellings and one detached dwelling with five detached dwellings

26/0105 – 89 Mains Lane, FY6 7LD – Extensions and alterations to bungalow to form two storey dwelling

7.

Traffic and Highways Issues

8.

New Bypass

9.

Update from Fylde Borough Council

10.

Vacancy on the Parish Council

11.

Correspondence

12.

Accounts and any invoices to pay –

13.

Any Other Business –

14.

Date and Time of Next Meeting/s

1.

Apologies for Absence were received and accepted from Cllr Cholmondeley. 

Cllr Bailey has tendered his resignation due to poor health and mobility issues.  Cllr Bailey has served on the Parish Council for 15 years and has dedicated a lot of his time over the years for the benefit of Singleton and in recent years, to liaise with Kier during the building of the by-pass to ensure residents’ concerns were taken into consideration.  His efforts have been greatly appreciated by residents and the Parish Council.  The Democratic Service Manager at Fylde Borough Council will be informed of the vacancy and a vacancy on the Parish Council will be advertised.

2.

Open Forum – None

3.

Minutes of previous meeting held on 3 February 2026 and any matters arising

The Minutes of the previous meeting, having already been circulated and agreed, were signed as a true and correct record by the Chairman.

Matters arising

·       Rubbish on by-pass.  The Chairman had spoken with officers at Fylde, including the Chief Executive, about the unsatisfactory state of the bypass with rubbish left uncleared throughout the length of the road.  Bins were not emptied often enough at the laybys, which added to the problem. A new schedule was being drawn up and staff would be instructed to clear the rubbish around the area when they emptied the bins.  These are currently emptied once a week, but they will look to increase the collection frequency.

·       Access to car park.  Problems had occurred during the Christmas/New Year period because the gates had been closed to the car park.  It had been thought that there was a key safe and members of the Parish Council would need to know the combination in case any further problems arose. This was being investigated.

4.

Police Matters

There were no reported crimes for Singleton during January 2026.

5.

Declarations of Interest – None

6.

Planning matters and decisions

26/0106 – Land southwest of A585 junction of Garstang New Road and Mains Lane and south of Skippool Service Station.  The Parish Council objects to this proposal as any changes to this complicated junction would be extensive and their impact on traffic flow post completion would be detrimental to the aims of the bypass and would likely cause significant delays whilst being modified.  The current access to this site is only for occasional farm use and is not designed to cater for ingress and egress for an increased traffic volume from a housing development.

Planning Decisions

25/0665 – Shard Bridge Farm, Shard Road FY6 9BU – Permission in principle for erection of up to nine dwellings – Granted.

7.

Traffic and Highways issues

County Councillor Singleton reported on the latest situation regarding highways issues in the parish. 

·       The work needed by Network Rail on Station Road to remove the metal plate under the railway bridge has at last moved a step forward.  They have now got a better design and reduced the size of the plate and will not have to close the road completely to carry out the repairs as had been previously thought.  A date for starting this work is still awaited.

·       Cllr Singleton highlighted the importance of reporting highway issues via the Love Clean Streets App.  LCC does not receive enough of these complaints from Singleton and therefore thinks all is well and Singleton loses out on inclusion in the capital spending program.  Church Road still has problems with potholes and an uneven surface, even though several have been patched up.  Cllr Clifford will report these again and encourage residents to report these sort of issues via the Love Clean Streets app.  If there has been no response after 28 days, please advise Cllr Singleton.

Future road works –

·       Station Road, 9 March – 8 April.  Two-way signals to install 565m of 54/56 duct in the carriageway to connect to existing BT network by Openreach Ltd.

·       A585, National Highways – 21 – 22 March, Drainage works

·       M55, National Highways – 12 March – 14 March, Barrier, fence repairs.

·       M55, National Highways, 22 – 23 March, Maintenance on exit slip road at Jct 4.

8.

New By-Pass

The problems of the untidy mess of the by-pass with stones, pebbles and debris left behind at each junction was reported to National Highways.  Their representative had contacted the Clerk who then forwarded photographs taken by Cllr Clifford for their attention.  Nothing further has been heard from them, and the Clerk will re-send these photographs.

9.

Update from Fylde Borough Council

Re-organisation still dominates matters at Fylde with the final decision as to which councils will merge with whom still to be made.  Fylde is still working on its new Local Plan to help cement plans for the coming years for when the decision is made.

The annual agreement for the maintenance of the children’s playground was duly signed by the Chairman for the financial year 2026/2027.  This amounted to a commitment of £4,973.82.  Fylde Borough Council regularly checks the play equipment and repairs equipment on the spot, such as removing any rust, tightening up bolts etc and ensuring that the equipment is safe for children to use.  This commitment is necessary for the Parish Council’s insurance.

Information and posters received to advise members of the parish that the annual subscription for green waste bins is now due.  These have been put up on all three noticeboards.  The annual subscription payable to Fylde is £39.00.

10.

Correspondence

·       Renewal of the Annual Controlled Waste Transfer Note received from Fylde BC in relation to the waste bin they supply for the weekly collection by the litter-picker.  This is now shared by Greenhalgh Parish Council, and they contribute half of the annual fee towards this.  This was completed by the Clerk on 4 March 2026.

·       Request received from the Forestry Commission about a woodland creation proposal by the Singleton Trust to create 3 areas of woodland in the parish.  The Parish Council has welcomed this proposal and further information is awaited.

11.

Accounts and Any Invoices to pay

The Parish Council’s request for a 12% rise in the annual precept has been acknowledged and accepted by Fylde BC.

·       Litter-picker – 4 weeks – £443.00.  Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Carruthers. Agreed.

·       First Cut Grounds Maintenance – £643.67.  Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Carruthers. Agreed.

·       Fylde BC – Annual payment for collecting trade waste – £1,519.96.  (£759.98 will be reclaimed from Greenhalgh Parish Council). Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed.

·       Rent for the use of the Village Hall from October 2025 – March 2026, payable to Singleton Village Hall – £105. Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed

·       PDQ – Charges for dismantling the SpID and delivering it for repair – £87.50.  Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed.

·       One-Com – Charges in relation to extended support on website – £7.19.  Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed.

·       Clerk – Salary and Expenses for January/February 2026 – £441.97.  Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Carruthers. Agreed.

·       Clerk, reimbursement for thank-you present for work on SpID by local gentleman – £33.75.  Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Carruthers. Agreed.

12.

Any Other Business

·       Still concern expressed about speeding on Garstang Road East.  This is now a 30mph road but there is no signage for those leaving the petrol station to indicate this.  The only signs are on Lodge Lane and at the Poulton junction with the bypass.  The Clerk had previously asked LCC to put another sign up or to paint 30mph in the road to advise drivers.  Cllr Singleton will look into this.

·       Request made by the Bowling Club for the hedge to be trimmed between the play area and the bowling club, which apparently was done annually by the previous contractor.  The Clerk will contact the new contractor and ask that this be done either before the nesting season or later in the year.

13.

Date and time of next meeting – 7 April 2026 at 7.15pm.

As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 9.00pm.