Parish Council Meeting Minutes – Feb’19
April 10th, 2019
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on: Thursday 21st February 2019 at the YIPS Centre, Nelson Gardens
Present:
Cllr Phil James (PJ – Chair)
Cllr Carol Berry (CB)
Cllr Geoff Carter (GC)
Cllr Martin Delaney (MD)
Cllr Chris Houghton (CH)
Cllr Alan Lingard (AL)
Clerk: Mike Ainsworth (MA)
Members of the Public: 4 members of the public were in attendance
Apologies: Wyre Cllr Susan Catterall
Cc:
Parish Councillors; Joanne Porter (Wyre Council); Wyre Cllr Susan Catterall; Wyre Cllr Sue Pimbley; LCC Cllr. Matthew Salter
Meeting opened: 20:00
Meeting closed: 21:40
Agenda
1. Open Forum for the general public
2. Minutes of the last meeting held on Thursday 17th January 2019
3. Matters arising from the last meeting
4. New Business:
4.1. Planning applications
4.2. Correspondence
4.3. Carrs Green
4.4. Financial matters
4.5. Wyre-in-Bloom
5. Any other business
Next meeting Scheduled for: Thursday 21st March 2019 at 8pm
Status: APPROVED
Chair: Cllr. Phil James
Date: 21st March 2019
1. Open Forum
1.1. Mr. Brian Dearnaley asked about the state of Footpath No.15, which crosses Carrs Green. It was explained that the Parish Council recognised that decisions needed to be made about the future of the Common as it is no longer grazed, meaning that its flora and fauna would fundamentally change over time. The Parish Council had decided to put forward proposals for the future of the Common, and first on the list was the restoration of this footpath. Other proposals included provision of a picnic area, parking and Interpretation Panels, the establishment of ponds and bird feeders to improve bio-diversity, and potentially further mechanical mowing. The Parish Council have recently consulted with Commoners and with other stakeholders with regard to these proposals and the next steps would involve wider consultation with residents and inviting membership of a “friends of the Common” group.
1.2. Concern had been raised by a number of Commoners that the current track of Footpath No. 15 is unviable owing to the swampy land over which it crosses and it was proposed that it might require some re-routing onto firmer land. It was agreed that this matter should be resolved ahead of wider public consultation and Parish Councillors agreed to meet with Mr. Dearnaley and other interested parties on the Common to establish the viability of current route of the footpath.
Action 2.19/1 – MA to arrange meeting on Common to evaluate the track of Footpath No.15
1.3. Mrs. Dianne Hogarth advised that though the rejection by the Secretary of State of the Cuadrilla appeal against the refusal to allow fracking at Roseacre Wood was good news, that the risks of fracking remained real and that a Drop-in Coffee Morning had been arranged for Saturday 9th March at Elswick Village Hall. It was agreed that notification of this event would be included in the final publication version of the proposed Parish Newsletter and Cllr. Berry confirmed that she would attend on behalf of the Parish Council.
Action 2.19/2 – MA to update Parish Newsletter to include details of Drop-in Coffee Morning
2. Minutes of Last Meeting – approved as read.
3. Matters Arising
3.1. The following outstanding actions were cleared:
7.18/12 – fix Parish Noticeboard at Preston Road
11.18/6 – to ask Commoner for advice on location of paths and picnic benches
1.19/1 – issue Letter of Claim
1.19/2 – seek advice from website supplier
1.19/3 – update and baseline Carrs Green Development Masterplan
1.19/4 – arrange meeting with Commoners
1.19/5 – to engage further with Myerscough College
1.19/6 – to write to owner of Carr House Farm with regard to vehicle parked on Common
1.19/7 – to send letter of thanks to householder providing power supply for Christmas Crib
1.19/8 – to update draft Parish Newsletter
3.2. With regard to Action 1.19/1 it was understood that the action taken recently by a contractor working on behalf of the owner of Carr House Farm to reduce the width of the track followed on directly from receipt of the Letter of Claim. Parish Councillors had inspected the work carried out but considered the work to be totally unacceptable. It was not apparent that any stone had been removed. The track appeared to have been narrowed merely by placing some soil on each side of the track on top of the existing hardcore. The widened “bell mouth” remained a problem. It was unclear whether the owner of Carr House Farm was aware of the work that had been carried out and it was agreed that he should be made aware that the work was considered unsatisfactory and that unless the track was re-instated to its original width then legal action would result. It was agreed that the Parish Clerk should liaise further with the owner of Carr House Farm and with the solicitor.
Action 2.19/3 – MA to liaise further with the owner of Carr House Farm and with the solicitor acting on behalf of the Council with regard to the re-instatement of the track across the Common to its original width
3.3. With regard to Action 1.19/2 the advice provided was that “having looked over the summary guidance and run the website through a number of online tools, designed to check websites for accessibility issues, I think you’re pretty safe. The website uses free, open-source frameworks (Bootstrap, CSS, HTML) and a free, open-source platform (WordPress) which are all designed with usability and accessibility in mind. The accessibility checker tools reported an 84% score with only very minor technical issues being noted – certainly nothing that would prevent a user from accessing the content. Based on what I tell after an hour of digging into the subject, I’m 95% confident that all you need to do is add your accessibility statement”. The Parish Clerk suggested that this matter be parked until further guidance with regard to the content of accessibility statement is issued later in the year. Cllr James commented that in reality compliance was unlikely to be audited.
3.4. The following actions were carried forward:
11.18/1- highways issues raised with LCC Cllr. Salter
4. New Business
4.1. Planning Applications
4.1.1. The following applications were approved by Wyre Council:
18/00938/FUL: Change of use of agricultural building including partial demolition and rebuilding for office and storage use at Part Keeps Barn, Hornby Lane.
4.1.2. The following new applications were submitted to the Parish Council for comment:
19/0082/FUL: single storey side extension and rear single storey extension at 6 School Lane – no issues were raised.
4.1.3. With regard to the Wyre Local Plan 2011 to 2031 (Adoption Draft), which will be presented to the Wyre Council on 28 February 2019 for formal adoption, Cllr. James commented that whilst the reduction in the scale of the proposed Inskip Extension was welcomed, he remained disappointed at the scale of development permitted under the Plan. He felt that had Wyre Council delivered a Local Plan back in 2011 then the current development of 55 homes might not have been approved.
4.2. Correspondence
MA highlighted the following correspondence to Councillors for consideration:
4.2.1. Household Waste Recycling Centres – opening times consultation
Action 2.19/4 – MA to provide feedback with regard to Parish Council concerns that restricting access to Household Waste Recycling Centres might result in more fly-tipping
4.2.2. NW Air Ambulance “Skylines” magazine
4.2.3. geViews brochure
4.2.4. From member of the public with regard to the track across Carrs Green
4.2.5. LCC – planned closure of Hornby Lane on 10th April
4.2.6. Preston City Council – local plan consultation
Action 2.19/5 – MA to identify the impact of the Preston Local Plan on neighbouring Parishes
4.2.7. From member of the public with regard to state of pavements
Action 2.19/6 – MA to reply to member of public with regard to state of pavements and refer issue to LCC Cllr. Salter
4.2.8. From member of the public with regard to fracking
4.2.9. DEFRA – improving our management of water in the environment consultation proposals
4.2.10. Wyre Council – nominations sought for Sheraton Trophy 2019
4.2.11. HMP Kirkham – Community Project
Action 2.19/7 – AL to confirm whether the Parish Council has retained sufficient materials to support a proposed re-painting of the Cheshire Railings
Action 2.19/8 – MA to liaise with LCC with regard to provisioning of additional materials required to support a proposed re-painting of the Cheshire Railings
4.2.12. YIPS Trustees with regard to installation of new noticeboard
Action 2.19/9 – MA to liaise with YIPS Trustees with regard to proposed new noticeboard at Nelson Gardens
4.2.13. Pensions Regulator with regard to re-enrolment
Action 2.19/10 – MA to re-enroll employees in Pension Scheme
4.3. Carrs Green
4.3.1. The proposed Carrs Green development was discussed earlier in the Open Forum for members of the public.
4.3.2. The Parish Clerk noted that a member of the public was aware of a second area of Japanese Knotweed near to the patch that had recently been cleared.
4.3.3. Though the Principal of Myerscough College had advised that the College staff would be unable to provide active support for the proposed Carrs Green development owing to funding issues the Parish Clerk was able to report that one of the lecturers had now put the Parish Council in touch with a consultant able to advise on Countryside Stewardship Scheme funding. The consultant felt that it might be practical to apply for funding to support a number of developments on the Common, such as provision of a water supply, provision of invisible fencing, drainage, and potentially also mechanical grazing. A new Stewardship Scheme is due to be announced in March and at that point further plans could be made.
4.4. Financial Matters – payments approved at the meeting: for fencing adjacent to footbridge on Common; Clerk Salary; PAYE; YIPS room booking; Lengthsman fees.
4.5. Wyre-in-Bloom – Cllr. Lingard reported that the next Wyre-in-Bloom meeting was scheduled for April and in the meanwhile he plans to place plant orders. He noted that since the removal of two planters on Preston Road the overall order size would be reduced. It was suggested that Create Homes be approached to ask how they might contribute to Wyre-in-Bloom. In addition, Cllr James requested that Create Homes be asked what the plans were for making good the area adjacent to Preston Road that is marked on plans as “reserved for potential future shop”.
Action 2.19/11 – MA to liaise with Create Homes with regard to Wyre-in-Bloom and with regard to area adjacent to Preston Road that is marked on plans as “reserved for potential future shop”
5. Any Other Business
5.1. Cllr. Carter reported that a number of drainage gullies were blocked and overflowing and asked that LCC be advised. It was agreed that the Parish Clerk would liaise with LCC Cllr. Salter.
Action 2.19/12 – MA to liaise with LCC Cllr. Salter with regard to clearance of drainage gullies
5.2. Cllr. Berry reported that she had met a member of the public on the Common collecting litter. It was agreed that this was beneficial and should be thanked.