SINGLETON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council
Held at Singleton Village Hall on 14 October 2025
Present: – Cllrs Lee (Chair), Bailey, Carruthers and the Parish Clerk, Verena Henderson, who took the Minutes.
| 1. | Apologies for Absence were received and accepted from Cllrs Cholmondeley and Clifford and County Cllr Singleton. |
| 2. | Open Forum – None |
| 3. | Minutes of previous meeting held on 18 September 2025 and any matters arising The Minutes of the previous meeting, having been already circulated and agreed, were signed as a true and correct record by the Chairman, Matters arising:- Fylde BC had made some improvement to the overgrown footpath on Lodge Lane, but the width of the pavement is still not wide enough for wheelchair users or pushchairs. Milestone painting. The handyman confirmed that he had sought expert advice on the type of paint to use. The problem of the traffic lights at Singleton crossroads had been reported to Highways England, who had referred this to Lancashire County Council. [nb email received from LCC on 15/10/2025 to say that they have realigned one of the detectors used to detect vehicles approaching the junction. Hopefully this will help with the tailback which has been caused by traffic not approaching the head of the junction to activate the changing of the traffic lights]. Still problems with overgrown grass on Garstang Road. Pedestrians are now walking in the road which is dangerous. Traffic also travelling at speed from the Singleton crossroads along Garstang Road towards the new by-pass. This is a 30mph zone but there is no signage to that effect if coming from Lodge Lane. This has been reported before, but the Clerk will report it again using the “Love Clean Streets” app. A lot of time has been spent by the Clerk and Cllr Carruthers over the last 18 months in trying to get highway matters satisfactorily resolved, unfortunately without any success. The Clerk was asked to use the new LCC enquiry system to ask for advice on who to report these matters to as the often used “Love Clean Streets” app had not proved successful. |
| 4. | Police Matters The new system of recording reported crimes in Singleton by the Police, was welcomed by the Parish Council. The monthly report now includes a map which shows that out of 26 crime reports for Rural North Fylde, only 4 related to incidents in Singleton. Out of these, there were 2 reports of Violence and Sexual Offences on Mains Lane, and 1 relating to drugs and 1 further report of anti-social behaviour at Singleton crossroads. |
| 5. | Declarations of Interest – None |
| 6. | Planning matters and decisions 25/0542 – Ridgefield, 22 Mains Lane, Singleton FY6 7LF – Alterations and extensions to dwelling – No significant comments to make. 25/0589 – Skippool Service Station, FY6 7LJ – Redevelopment of existing roadside services – No significant comments to make. Decisions – 25/0456 – Land between 169 and 179 Mains Lane – Permission in principle for a minimum of 5 dwellings and a maximum of 9 dwellings – Granted. |
| 7. | Traffic and Highways issues Cllr Singleton had submitted his monthly report – Removal of metal plates under the bridge on Station Road – commencement date still awaited. Lancashire Police are responsible for enforcing speeding and dangerous driving and a link has been provided which the Clerk will use to report speeding on Garstang Road. Leonard Place, Singleton. Road markings with criss-cross yellow lines that prevent vehicles from stopping within the box are proposed. Cllr Singleton is meeting with residents about this. Continued problems for residents exiting their lay-by at the Shard Road traffic lights. Cllr Singleton is again looking into this. Emergency work has taken place on Church Road because of the problem with potholes. Cllr Clifford has tried several times to contact the Community Payback team about litter-picking on the closed section of Garstang Road. The Clerk has tried to report the problem of blocked gullies all along the by-pass but after 4 attempts using the “Love Clean Streets” app feels that only one blocked gully has been highlighted instead of the whole road. Cllr Carruthers complained that the gullies are so blocked on Garstang Road that grass is now growing from them. It is feared that all this will lead to flooding in heavy rain. The Clerk will try using the new enquiry system. Cllr Carruthers circulated a Reporting Issues Table which showed the reporting methods for a variety of regular issues. He will circulate a final version of this very useful document shortly. A new spy camera has been purchased by Cllr Lee to use in areas frequented by fly-tippers. This includes a solar panel and sim card. Fly-tipping has become a regular nuisance in the parish, and this will be a very useful tool. Cllr Carruthers has spoken with the MP about the Parish Council’s frustration with not getting anything done about the state of the overgrown footpaths, lack of grass-cutting on roadsides, litter on the new by-pass and similar matters it has been complaining about for such a long time. The narrowness of some of the footpaths is putting people at risk, especially the elderly, disabled and children in push chairs who are having to walk in the road. Cllr Carruthers still wants to see if these matters can be sorted out but he is to contact the MP again if unsuccessful. The Clerk will write to LCC to see if the Parish Council can take over the cutting of the grass on Garstang Road. The Parish Council already cuts grass on behalf of LCC, for which it is compensated. We will ask if this area can be added to the contract. Cllr Bailey complained about speeding traffic along Lodge Lane. |
| 8. | New By-Pass Fylde BC empty the litterbins on the by-pass twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays, but this is clearly not enough as litter is overflowing from the bins.Blocked gullies – the Clerk will try again to get these sorted all along the bypass. |
| 9. | Update from Fylde Borough Council The main topic from Fylde BC at the moment is the new Fylde Local Plan to 2042. Fylde has arranged consultation events across the Borough, and one is being held at Singleton Village Hall on Thursday 16 October 2025 from 3.30 – 7.30pm, run by Planning Officers. Posters have been put up on all noticeboards and an item put on the website to encourage residents to attend. The Clerk attended a Planning Parish Forum on 22 September, which she found very informative. This concentrated on the new Fylde Local Plan. As regards the Local Government Reorganisation, no decision has been made yet but the 3 options being considered are – Merging Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre.Merging Blackpool, Fylde, Wyre and Lancaster.Blackpool has suggested Blackpool, Fylde and Preston. |
| 10. | Village Green The Parish Council is very disappointed to announce that the Village Green project, which has been worked on for so long, is not going ahead as planned and both Fylde Borough Council and the Parish Council will no longer be involved in the project. Cllr Bailey proposed that the money the Parish Council had earmarked for the Village Green be spent on improvements to the Children’s Play area, including providing a wooden shelter and compostable toilets. This was seconded by Cllr Carruthers and Agreed. Cllrs Lee, Bailey and Carruthers will form a working group. |
| 11. | Correspondence Invitation to the Annual General Meeting at LCC. Cllr Carruthers will be attending. |
| 12. | Speed Indicator Devices (SpIDs)s in the Parish A request has been made for the faulty machine to be checked. The Clerk will see what other machines are available and get costs for the next meeting. |
| 13. | Accounts and Any Invoices to pay First Cut Grounds Maintenance – £643.67 – Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Carruthers. Agreed. Poppy Wreath for Remembrance Sunday – £29.49 – Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Bailey. Agreed. Handyman, fittings to repair benches on Children’s Play area – £40. Proposed Cllr Carruthers, Seconded Cllr Bailey. Agreed. Litter-picker – 4 weeks – £443.00 – Proposed Cllr Lee, Seconded Cllr Carruthers. Agreed. Clerk – Salary and Expenses for September/October – £486.13. Proposed Cllr Bailey, Seconded Cllr Lee. Agreed. |
| 14. | Any Other Business Christmas Card. Good photograph needed. Cllr Lee will approach David Kay. To be discussed again at the next meeting. |
| 15. | Date and time of next meeting – Thursday, 13 November 2025 at 7.15pm. As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 9.25pm. |
Signed ……………………………………………… Dated ………………………………
Verena Henderson, Clerk to Singleton Parish Council,
Tel: 07530 605 291: email: Clerk@SingletonParishCouncil.org