SINGLETON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council
Held at Singleton Village Hall on 12 August 2025
Present: – Cllrs Lee (Chair), Cllr Cholmondeley (Vice-Chair), Carruthers and Clifford and the Parish Clerk, Verena Henderson, who took the Minutes.
| 1. | Apologies for Absence were received and accepted from Cllr Bailey and County Cllr Singleton |
| 2. | Open Forum – None |
| 3. | Minutes of previous meeting held on 15 July 2025 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: – Milestones – The Handyman has agreed to clean up and restore the two milestones on Mains Lane and will get back with a price. Disappearing footpath – The Clerk had written twice to the relevant officer at LCC regarding the section of a public footpath which seems to have disappeared under properties currently being built on a site in Wyre. Cllr Carruthers reported that an alternative section seems to have been created on the site. The old path is still listed on the register of public footpaths however and Cllr Carruthers hopes to take this matter up when he is next attending a meeting at LCC. Community Payback Scheme and tidying up the closed section on Garstang New Road. Cllr Clifford has been unable to get in touch with the contact who has been on holiday. He will try again next week. However, this section seems to have been tidied up and it would appear residents have done this. Litter remains a big problem on the by-pass and still queries remain about who is responsible for clearing this and for emptying the bins. A large amount of fly-tipped rubbish has now appeared at the end of the closed section. The Clerk will write to Fylde BC about these matters in the first instance. “Welcome to Singleton” signs have at last been erected on Mains Lane and Shard Road by Fylde BC. |
| 4. | Police Matters The reported crime figures for the 4 parishes of Elswick, Little Eccleston, Singleton & Greenhalgh for May 2025 were as follows: – Violence and Sexual offences – 12; Anti-social behaviour – 8; Criminal damage and arson = 5; Other theft – 4 |
| 5. | Declarations of Interest – None |
| Planning matters and decisions 25/0343 – 176 & 176A Mains Lane FY6 7LB – Shared access following the erection of two detached dwellings (approved by planning permission 19/0623) – No significant comments 25/0456 – Land between 169 and 179 Mains Lane FY6 7LB – Permission in principle for a minimum of 5 dwellings and a maximum of 9 dwellings. Objection on the grounds of lack of infrastructure, access to GPs in particular. Also, objection to the developer being vague as to the type and number of dwellings. Without any clear plans, the Parish Council is unable to judge whether the development would be detrimental to the area. The Parish Council also objects to the developer’s idea of changing the boundary and for this section of Mains Lane to become part of Poulton-le-Fylde. Planning Decisions 25/0068 Land southwest of Weeton Road – Erection of 5 houses – Refused 25/0333 The Croft, 117 Mains Lane – Single storey rear extension – Granted 25/0097 18 Mains Lane, Singleton – Erection of front boundary wall – Granted 25/0068 Lever Lea, 112 Mains Lane – Access, Landscaping etc. Granted | |
| 7. | Traffic and Highways issues Complaints received by a member of the public who has a disabled son who uses a wheelchair. Because of the state of the overgrown vegetation and hedges on the footpath from Singleton Lodge, he is unable to use the wheelchair on the pathway and therefore enjoy walks to the village with his son. The Clerk will contact the Trust and request that they cut back the overgrowth as soon as possible. Now that most birds are fully fledged, hedges are beginning to be cut back in other areas. Cllr Singleton had submitted his monthly report: – LCC is now responsible for maintaining the section of Garstang Road East to the new by-pass and he has put in a request that the grass verges be cut. These are currently cut by a resident up to a certain point and then are knee-high and full of weeds towards the bypass. Lancashire Police are responsible for enforcing speeding and dangerous driving. To report areas of concern, contact Lancashire Road Safety Partnership at https://lancsroadsafety.co.uk/submit-concern Future road closures – Grange Road, 26th & 27 August between 21.00 hours on 26th until 0600 hours on 27th or until completion of the works by BT. |
| 8. | New By-Pass Cllr Carruthers reported that he feels Kier has now completed 95% of the works outlined on his list and that the paving slabs have now been removed from their site. As referred to in `Matters Arising’ litter remains the biggest problem and who is responsible for removing it? The bins are overfull and spilling out which is worsening the litter problem. Question about who has a key to the locked gate to the closed section of Garstang New Road? Could the Parish Council have one? |
| 9. | Update from Fylde Borough Council The Chairman will be attending a meeting at Fylde on the 15 August when they will be discussing the Local Government Review and the new Fylde Local Plan. |
| 10. | Village Green The necessary funding has been sorted. Just now awaiting the Trust to agree to the transfer of the land. |
| 11. | Correspondence – None |
| 12. | Storage Facilities The Parish Council and Gala Committee are both in need of storage facilities and a joint venture had been mooted some months ago. Cllr Cholmondeley had recently viewed a cabin, but he felt that this was too large to be sited on the car park. Another suggestion was a portacabin and this will be investigated. |
| 13. | Accounts and Any Invoices to pay The Clerk advised the meeting that she had put in a claim for the VAT refund from the financial year to 31 March 2025 and that this amounted to £1,251.54. This had been acknowledged by Gov.uk and payment was awaited. The Clerk had also written to agents of the Trust regarding their previous agreement to fund half the cost of the litter-picking arrangement. With the cost of hire of the Eurobin from Fylde BC, the litter-picker’s wages and equipment, this amounted to £2,942 for their share. Invoices – First Cut Grounds Maintenance – £643.67. Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Cholmondeley. Agreed. Litter-picker – 4 weeks – £443.00. Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Clifford. Agreed. Clerk, Salary + expenses July/August – £382.07. Proposed Cllr Cholmondeley, Seconded Cllr Lee. Agreed. The Clerk’s salary was linked to the Local Government’s pay grade at Fylde BC and the last pay award was a 3.2% rise in November 2023. The union is still in dispute about the current offer. It was agreed to wait until October and if nothing had transpired, to award the Clerk a pay rise independently and adjust it whenever the new rate was agreed. |
| 14. | Any Other Business Next Agenda – Current state of the SpID machines in the village.Cllr Carruthers will arrange with Cllr Lee and a couple of volunteers to do a community speed watch in the coming weeks. Speeding along Garstang Road East is getting worse. |
| 15. | Date and time of next meeting – Thursday 18 September 2025. 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