Parish Council meeting minutes – Jan 2021
February 18th, 2021
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on: Thursday 14th January 2021 via Skype
Present:
Cllr Phil James (PJ – Chair)
Cllr Carol Berry (CB)
Cllr Martin Delaney (MD)
Cllr Chris Houghton (CH)
Cllr Alan Lingard (AL)
Clerk: Mike Ainsworth (MA)
Members of the Public: Jonathan Palmer (JP)
Apologies: none
cc: Joanne Porter (Wyre Council); Wyre Cllr Susan Catterall; Wyre Cllr Peter Cartridge; LCC Cllr. Matthew Salter
Meeting opened: 20:00
Meeting closed: 21:45
Agenda
- Open Forum for the general public
- Minutes of the last meeting held on Wednesday 9th December 2020
- Matters arising from the last meeting
- Carrs Green
- Financial
- Any other business
Next meeting Scheduled for: Thursday 18th February 2021 at 8pm
Status: APPROVED
Chair: Cllr. Phil James
Date: 18th February 2021
1. Open Forum – Mr. Jon Palmer representing the Governors of Inskip St. Peter’s School raised the decision of the Planning Committee at Wyre Borough Council to approve a planning application for a housing development adjacent to the School. Both the School Governors and the Parish Council had made representations objecting to the proposed layout and in total over 40 local objections were made. Cllr. Phil James had proposed an alternative site layout that alleviated the concerns raised. It was felt however that the Planning Committee had proceeded without giving the objections or the alternative site layout proposal due consideration.
JP stated that he was taking legal advice on behalf of the School Governors with regard to the possibility of challenging the Council decision on grounds that the proposed development breached the human rights of school students and asked whether the Parish Council would join the School Governors in raising a complaint with regard to the way in which the planning application had been handled. Cllr. James concurred with JP saying that he felt that the conduct of both Wyre officials and Planning Committee members was unsatisfactory.
Any complaint would be addressed to Wyre Council in the first instance but if their response proved unsatisfactory there would be an option to appeal to the local government ombudsman. The Parish Clerk advised that any complaint would need to be well presented, accurate and credible – otherwise its impact might be detrimental. It was agreed that the Parish Clerk should prepare a draft for review.
Action 1.21/1 – MA to prepare draft complaint with regard to the conduct of Wyre officials and Planning Committee members
2. Minutes of Last Meeting – approved as read.
3. Matters Arising
3.1. The Parish Clerk advised that all Actions had been cleared with the following exceptions:
7.19/2 – to ask LCC to carry out speed surveys and ascertain whether rumble strips were required (MA to further liaise with MS)
8.19/5 – to liaise with Wyre with regard to provision of doggie bins on the Common (c/f)
10.19/5 – to liaise with Create Homes with regard to availability of affordable homes (c/f)
9.20/4 – to chase contractor for invoice for maintenance of planter on Carrs Green (Cllr. James to follow up)
3.2. Cllr, Delaney raised Action 12.20/3 – a letter had been sent to Rt. Hon. Ben Wallace MP with regard to the experience of poor quality mobile telephony service locally and potential interference from the MOD communications station but his reply was felt to be unsatisfactory, focusing solely upon signal strength and 4G coverage. It was agreed that the Parish Clerk would write again (c/f).
4. Carrs Green
4.1. The Parish Clerk reported that Fylde Bird Club have installed feeders on the Common and asked if Parish Councillors wished to visit the site? It was agreed that this was a good idea but would need to be scheduled once the lockdown had been lifted.
4.2. The Parish Clerk reported that he had received quotations for maintenance of the Tank Trap (clearing the course of the watercourse downstream of the main road and clearing the banks upstream) and for improvements to public footpath #15 adjacent to the planned boardwalk (laying down hardcore over a geomembrane)
Action 1.21/2 – MA to let business for maintenance of Tank Trap and for improvement to footpath #15
4.3. The Parish Clerk had previously supplied Parish Councillors of details of four Information Panel manufacturers. These suppliers had each provided quotations for supplying 2 x A0 aluminium or stainless steel panels and separately quoted for artwork design. In addition the Parish Clerk had obtained a quotation from a local designer for artwork and recommended accepting this quotation as it proved best value for money. A further consideration was that a local designer might offer a more responsive service.
Action 1.21/3 – MA to let business for Information Panel artwork design
4.4. Once the artwork was completed and had been signed off by the Parish Council it would then be practical to let the business for supply of the Information Panels. Parish Councillors agreed that the Parish Clerk should in the meanwhile draft the evaluation criteria for selecting a supplier for the Information Panels.
Action 1.21/4 – MA to draft evaluation criteria for selection of Information Panel supplier
5. Financial Matters – in response to Action 12.20/1 the Parish Clerk advised that owing to the increased number of households resident in the village, the tax base, the Precept could be increased to a maximum of £11,025 without increasing the community charge per household. As a result the Parish Council agreed to a Precept of £11,000 for the upcoming financial year.
Action 1.21/5 – MA to submit Precept to Wyre Council by 15/Jan/2021
6. Any Other Business
6.1. Wyre-in-Bloom – Cllr. Lingard proposed that similar arrangements be made as last year for Inskip-in-Bloom this coming season.
6.2. Cllr. James suggested that the oak benches in the village should be treated. It was agreed that he would approach the decorator who had treated one of the other benches last year for advice on suitable treatment.
Action 1.21/6 – PJ to seek advice from decorator on treatment of oak benches
6.3. Cllr. Lingard raised concerns with regards to a grid on the highway adjacent to the Create Homes development and Cllr. James raised concerns with regards to the footpath on the opposite side of the road.
Action 1.21/7 – MA to raise issue of grid and footpath with LCC Highways
6.4. Cllr. Lingard also asked that the Parish Clerk liaise with Wyre Council with regard to re-siting of the bin on School Lane, which had been moved temporarily owing to land drainage works.
Action 1.21/8 – MA to liaise with Wyre Council with regard to re-siting of bin on School Lane
6.5. Cllr. James expressed concern that elderly residents of the village were being invited to Knott End if they wanted to receive a Covid inoculation. This is a difficult journey for elderly residents and in some cases it is known that the invitation had been declined for that reason.
Action 1.21/9 – MA to raise Parish Council concerns with regard to inviting elderly residents to travel to Knott End in order to receive a Covid inoculation with Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Group and with Rt. Hon. Ben Wallace MP
6.6. Cllr. Berry suggested that the Parish Council write a letter of thanks to the organizers of the visit by Santa Claus, his elves and his sleigh to the village before Christmas.
Action 1.21/10 – MA to write a letter of thanks to Santa