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Approved January meeting minutes

Approved January meeting minutes

January 26th, 2026

Minutes of the Extraordinary Parish Council Meeting held on:  Thursday 15th January 2026 at YIPs Centre, Inskip

Present:

Cllr Geoff Carter (Chair)

Cllr Phil James (PJ) (Vice Chair)

Cllr Samantha Readyhough (SR)

Cllr Nick Danby (ND)

Cllr Dean Faria (DF) 

Clerk:  Susan Gilbert (SG)

Members of the Public: 5

Apologies: 0 

Meeting opened: 7pm

Meeting closed:    9pm

Agenda

  1. Open Forum
  2. Minutes of the last meeting held, 16th October 2025.
  3. Footpaths report
  4. Wyre in Bloom
  5. Neighbourhood Plan
  6. Matters Arising from last meeting
  7. Highways
  8. Planning
  9. Carrs Green
  10. Defib check confirmation
  11. AOB
  12. Parish Admin

Next meeting Scheduled for:  Thursday 19th February, 2026.

Status:  Approved

Chair: Cllr Geoff Carter

Date: 19TH February, 2026.

  1. Open Forum

Nothing raised 

  1. Minutes of the last meeting held 20th November 2025.

Approved as read

  1. Footpaths report

3.1 Footpath maps are now printed and ready for collection free of charge at various positions in the village:

School House, Preston Road.   5 Nelson Gardens, Inskip.  St Peters Church foyer, YIPs centre.

3.2 ENW to be informed of an issue with cabling on the style on Higham Side Road, Brian Dearnaley to provide clerk with location information. Update on this:  ENW have reported that this cabling does not belong to them and as such further investigation will be required. 

  1. Wyre in Bloom

4.1 A report has been received from the judges of the Inskip in Bloom competition which has been forwarded to the In Bloom volunteers for their consideration. Points received 62/100 which resulted in a Silver award.  Council expressed many thanks to all concerned and hoped that they would continue this year.

  1. Neighbourhood Plan

5.1 An extraordinary meeting was held on 8th January, 2026 at YIPs centre with members of the public who had volunteered to be part of the working party for the Neighbourhood Plan.  Residents’ surveys have been compiled and were distributed to all houses in Inskip with Sowerby – copy can be found on Parish website.  Residents have been asked to complete the surveys and return by 30th January 2026 in various locations throughout the village.  These answers to these surveys will be analysed as soon as possible.

5.2 Wyre Council have written to parish council (letter dated 17th December 2025) asking for our Neighbourhood Plan progress and requesting that information be available to them by 1st July 2026.

Excerpt from the letter below: 

It is Wyre Council’s understanding that Inskip Parish Council will be delivering the 150 dwellings in Inskip, and as such the Local Plan would show a minimum of 150 dwellings in the Inskip area (notwithstanding the Parish would be looking into the details of location of the dwellings ). 

Work on the Local Plan is ongoing and is progressing to the published timetable as shown on the Council’s website (search for Local Development Scheme). The consultation is due to start in March 2026 and over the summer the Council will be working towards publication. If the Parish Council decides not to allocate housing development to meet the Local Plan need assigned to the parish in full, or should work on the Neighbourhood Plan not adequately progress, there is a high risk that there could be a situation where neither the Local Plan nor the Neighbourhood Plan are allocating in the area, and therefore Inskip could be in a position where speculative (unplanned) planning applications could be received. It is therefore important that the 150 dwellings are planned for, either through the Neighbourhood Plan, by the Parish, or alternatively, if the Parish does not wish to take this forward, by Wyre Council through its Local Plan. Could you please advise with an update on the progress of your Neighbourhood Plan. Ultimately if your Neighbourhood Plan is not going to progress, for the Local Plan to accommodate the growth, Wyre Council would need this information by the 1 July 2026. This will stand all parties in the strongest position in terms of plan-led development. Wyre Council welcomes continuous ongoing engagement with the Parish Council.

5.3  A resident has very kindly compiled an on-line version of the questionnaire, councilors discussed whether this was the right course of action for completion of this survey and it was decided that in view of the low amount of visits from residents to the parish council website, the paper version alone would continue be used to give a fair account of the answers to the questions.

5.4 Cllr James gave the following report/update:

We are advised by Wyre Council that we will be subjected to a minimum of 150 new homes being built in the village.

We are further advised by Wyre Council that owing to Blackpool Council not having sufficient land on which to build their allocation that they may transfer their shortfall to a neighbouring Local Authority (Wyre and/or Fylde) and that would likely result in more houses being built in Inskip. As Blackpool Council has not yet decided on their course of action we are no nearer to knowing that potential impact on our village.

The re-organisation of Lancashire’s Local Government is programmed to become effective from 1st April 2028 and Wyre won’t have their revised Local Plan in place by that date. Furthermore the Government published a revised National Planning Policy Framework document on 16th December 2025 that is now in a consultation period which ends in March and won’t likely be finalised until July. Both these issues are further factors that may impact on us.

  1. Matters arising from last meeting

None

  1. Highways
    • LCC have informed of planned road closures to allow telecom pole replacement works in the following locations:

Pinfold Lane (Chesham Hill Farm to Pad End Barn) 27th – 28th January 2026.

Sowerby Road (Rapley Lane to Pinfold Lane) 5th and 6th February 2026

Pinfold Lane (Sowerby Road to Moss Lane) 16th– 20th March 2026

7.2 Premises on Preston Road is allowing cars to be parked fully on the pavement of the main road near the bus stop on several evenings, causing an obstruction and forcing pedestrians to walk on the road.  Clerk to write to homeowner. 

  1. Planning

8.1 The following planning application has been received by Wyre Council:

Application Number: 25/01004/FUL Proposal: Proposed two and single storey side extension.

Location: 4 Swan Cottages, Sowerby Road. Inskip-with-Sowerby. Council had no objection 

  1. Carrs Green

9.1  An organized charity horse trek is taking place on Carrs Green on 17th January, with permission from parish council.   Council are in receipt of their risk assessment and have sight of their insurance.

  1. Defib check confirmation

10.1 Parish clerk can confirm that the defibrillator and case which used to be at the Derby is now safely stored elsewhere but is not in use.  A suitable location is required to house the unit to bring it back into service and invited offers from the public at their premises, preferably in the areas of the village not close to an existing units.  A low voltage electricity supply is required to keep the unit from freezing and to light up at night.

10.2 All other defib checks: tba

10.3 Clerk to update The Circuit when checks are complete.

  1. AOB

11.1 Councillor vacancy

A letter of resignation has been received from Councillor Carol Berry who has moved out of the area. The electoral monitoring office at Wyre Council has been informed, a notice posted on the Inskip with Sowerby website and the two noticeboards informing that should 10 people request it, a by election would be held within 60 days to vote in a replacement councilor.  Should this application not be received, Wyre will inform parish council on 19th January that co-option of a new councilor can take place.  If this is the case, a notice will be posted on the website and noticeboards inviting candidates to apply by 2nd February 2026 by letter.  Any applications will be reviewed by parish councilors and selection will take place before the next meeting (19th February 2026 – YIPs Centre, 7pm)

  1. Parish Admin

12.1 Parish clerk can confirm that a figure of £16500 precept was applied for on 8th January following an extraordinary meeting on that date as the timeline did not allow for an extension.  The following minute was recorded and Wyre Council have been informed of this:

Copy of Minute from pc meeting on 8th January, 2026:

Precept

Councillors considered the amount of precept that should be claimed from Wyre Council for the year 2026/27 and agreed that in view of the fact that £4100 was paid to Wyre Council in 2024 for Poll Expenses in 2003, the precept should again be increased by £2000, as last year, to claw back this expense making the total precept amount £16500. This did not cover any increases in general outgoings that council had to meet but levelled up the shortfall from previous Poll Expenses whilst keeping the burden to the taxpayer as low as possible. Councillors also agreed that any future Poll Expenses would have to be clawed back in this way for the precept to be able to cover the running costs of the parish.

12.2 The following cheques were presented for signature:

Chq 1521 –  Envelopes – Amazon (re-imb SG)

Chq 1522 –  Printing surveys – Eyecatchers (re-imb SG)

Chq 1523 –  Printing surveys – Eyecatchers (re-imb SG)

Chq 1524 –  Open spaces – book. (reimb SG)

Chq 1525 – Poundstretchers – plastic collection boxes – re-imb SG

Chq 1526 –  S Gilbert – wages

Chq 1527 –  J Parkers – plants (re-imb Claire Nash)

Chq 1528  – Ebay plants (re-imb Claire Nash) 

  1. Outstanding issues

13.1 Heras fencing, Pinfold Lane

13.2 Footpath maintenance, FPs .41.11.

13.3 Road repainting

13.4 Pavement re-surfacing