Parish Council Meeting Minutes March 22
May 6th, 2022
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on: Thursday 17th March 2022 at the Baptist Church Hall, Preston Road, Inskip
Present:
Cllr Phil James (PJ – Chair)
Cllr Carol Berry (CB)
Cllr Martin Delaney (MD)
Cllr Alan Lingard (AL)
Clerk: Mike Ainsworth (MA)
Members of the Public: 4 members of the public in attendance
Apologies: Cllr Geoff Carter (GC)
Cc:
Parish Councillors; Joanne Porter (Wyre Council); Wyre Cllr Susan Catterall; Wyre Cllr Peter Cartridge; LCC Cllr. Matthew Salter
Meeting opened: 19:00
Meeting closed: 20:10
Agenda
1. Open Forum for the general public
2. Minutes of the last meeting held on Thursday 17th February 2022
3. Matters arising from the last meeting
4. Highways
5. Planning
6. Carrs Green
7. Financial matters
8. Wyre-in-Bloom
9. Any other business
Next meeting Scheduled for: Thursday 21st April 2022 at 7pm
Status: DRAFT / APPROVED
Chair:
Date:
1. Open Forum
1.1. Two members of the public who had attended the previous meeting provided an update with regards to the alleged continued operation of a vehicle repair business from a domestic address in the village. They stated that there had been activity up until the last couple of days. The Clerk reported that following the last meeting he had contacted both Wyre and LCC advising of the continued activity and both had stated that they would be taking further action. Cllr. James advised the residents that they should continue to maintain records of any nuisance and forward these to Wyre. All the Parish Council could do would be to follow up with Wyre once a new Clerk had been appointed.
1.2. A member of the public, Mr. Brian Dearnaley (BD), again raised the issue of the poor state of the public rights of way in the Parish, reminding the Parish Council of one obstruction, a broken bridge that had been reported to LCC Highways two years back. As well as liaising with Highways and our LCC Councillor BD had also sought assistance in clearing footpaths from the Wyre Coast and Countryside team. Parish Councillors agreed that at future meetings, once a new Clerk had been appointed, specific issues with regards to local footpaths would be discussed and local farmers approached in order to remind them of their duty to maintain public rights of way across their land.
2. Minutes of Last Meeting – approved as read.
3. Matters Arising
3.1. The Parish Clerk reported that all new Actions from the last meeting had been cleared.
3.2. With regards to celebrations of the Queen’s platinum jubilee the Parish Council had consulted adjoining Parish Councils. The consensus view was that whilst Parish Councils would of course support residents who were keen to arrange local events it was not the role of local authorities such as the Parish Council to organise events directly.
3.3. Cllr. James asked about the Parish Council vacancy. The Clerk reported that a notice of the Casual Vacancy had been published and that unless the requisite number of ten electors request an election from the Returning Officer then it will be the responsibility of the Parish Council to co-opt someone to fill the vacancy. The set time for the Returning Officer to receive request for election expired on Tuesday and the Clerk advised therefore that he anticipated correspondence back from Wyre imminently.
4. Highways – Cllr. James noted that he understood from personal contacts at the North West Stages Rally that the proposed maintenance of Woods Lane had been cancelled. Concern was raised that though the Rally organisers had been informed LCC Highways had not bothered to let anyone else know. It was felt that the cancellation of this essential work was unacceptable as was the failure to notify the Parish Council.
5. Planning – Parish Councillors noted that two planning applications had been referred to the Parish Council for consideration by Wyre planners.
6. Carrs Green – Parish Councillors noted that further works are required to the path towards the boardwalk and that a quotation is required for the installation of information panels. The Clerk promised to contact the contractor for an update on the works to improve the path whilst the Parish Council was awaiting an update from Cllr. Carter who was seeking a quotation for the second matter.
7. Financial Matters – the following payments were approved at the meeting: Lengthsman’s fees; room rental for Baptist Hall covering period May’22-Feb’23 inclusive. The Clerk noted that the financial year finishes in a few weeks and he would balance the books before handing them over to Cllr. Delaney.
8. Wyre-in-Bloom
8.1. Cllr. Lingard reported that he had attended a meeting at Wyre with regards to this year’s Wyre-in-Bloom and had received our medal certificate for last season, which he intends to display on the Parish Council noticeboard(s). He noted that to commemorate the Queen’s platinum jubilee the colour scheme this year was red, white and blue.
8.2. Cllr. Lingard said that he had been approached by a lady in the village who would be interested in helping with the planting up. Wyre had suggested that volunteers should be covered by insurance and the Clerk advised that they would be covered by the Parish Council insurance provided the insurer were informed. On the matter of insurance the Clerk advised the Council that the annual premium would come up for renewal in May and that he recommended remaining with the same insurer as previous experience indicated that other insurance brokers were unable to offer a competitive alternative.
9. Any Other Business
9.1. Cllr. Berry reported that she was to be trained as a community safety volunteer, who work with police community support officers to monitor traffic speed.
9.2. The Clerk reminded Parish Councillors that the Parish Council had received a grant of £500 for additional defibrillators and recommended that it would be appropriate to move this matter forward as soon as possible once a new Clerk had been appointed.
9.3. The Clerk reminded the Parish Council of the recent application received from the Bowling Club for a grant to renovate their pavilion. It was agreed that the Parish Council should endorse the application and forward it to the Parish Champion at LCC. It was noted that it may be necessary for both the Parish Council and the Bowling Club to contribute funds in addition to any grant monies received.