Parish Council Meeting Minutes – June 2018
July 20th, 2018
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on: Thursday 21st June 2018 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: None
Apologies: Wyre Cllr Susan Catterall; Wyre Cllr Sue Pimbley
Cc: Parish Councillors; Joanne Porter (Wyre Council); Wyre Cllr Susan Catterall; Wyre Cllr Sue Pimbley; LCC Cllr. Matthew Salter; PCSO Kirsty Newson (Lancs. Constabulary); Maureen Nield (In Focus)
Meeting opened: 20:00
Meeting closed: 21:35
Agenda
- Open Forum for the general public
- Minutes of the last meeting held on Thursday 17th May 2018
- Matters arising from the last meeting
- New Business:
4.1. Planning
4.2. Carrs Green
4.3. Correspondence
4.4. Financial matters
4.5. Wyre-in-Bloom
- Any other business
Next meeting Scheduled for: Thursday 19th July 2018 at 8pm
Status: APPROVED
Chair: Cllr. Phil James
Date: 19th July 2018
- Open Forum – no members of the public were present.
- Minutes of Last Meeting – approved as read.
- Matters Arising
3.1. The following outstanding actions were cleared:
4.18/2 – to draft Parish Newsletter
5.18/1 – to confirm that Parish Council Insurance indemnifies individual Councillors for ‘wrongful acts’ in their capacity as a Councillor: insurance cover includes “officials indemnity”
5.18/2 – to submit Parish Council concerns with regard to the proposed flagpoles to Wyre Planning
5.18/3 – to write to Commoners with regard to the agricultural surplus on the Common
5.18/4 – to seek technical advice and guidance on landscaping, design, and path-building on the Common from Myerscough College
5.18/6 – to advise the owner of Carr House Farm that the Parish Council require the track across the Common to be reinstated and to liaise with the Solicitor accordingly
5.18/7 – to submit Annual Governance and Accountability Return to the External Auditors, to publish on-line in conformance with the Transparency Code, and to issue a public notice stating when and where the full accounts can be inspected by members of the public
5.18/8 – to highlight Risks from the Risk Register for Parish Council attention
5.18/9 – to confirm with Cllr. Houghton whether the defibrillator pads needed to be replaced
5.18/10 – to write to Create Homes about on-street parking on Preston Road and availability of parking on-site
3.2. The following actions were carried forward:
3.3. The following action was declined by the Parish Clerk:
5.18/5 – to liaise with Inskip St. Peters School with regard to involving the School in plans to develop the Common. MA advised that he was unwilling to engage with the School until a detailed plan for implementation had been agreed by the Parish Council.
- New Business
4.1. Planning Applications
4.1.1. The following planning applications were approved by Wyre Council:
17/00631/DIS1: Discharge of condition 11(a) (dilapidation reports on condition of highway) on planning permission 17/00631/REMMAJ: Land North And South Of Preston Road
17/00631/DIS: Discharge of conditions 2 (Phasing Plan), 4 (Surface Materials), 7 (Landscape Management Plan), 12 (Provision of Highway Improvements) and 14 (Proposed Future Arrangements) on planning permission 17/00631/REMMAJ: Land North And South Of Preston Road
4.1.2. The following planning applications were submitted by Wyre to the Parish Council for consideration:
18/00525/FUL: Side Porch extension and alterations to window arrangement of rear sun lounge at Bramblemoore, 1 Leach Villas, Preston Road – no issues were raised by Parish Councillors;
18/00539/FUL: Single storey rear extension at Geytescales, Lewth Lane, Woodplumpton – no issues were raised by Parish Councillors.
4.1.3. The Parish Clerk reported on a Fylde Planning Application on behalf of MOD for an additional mast at DFHCS Inskip. Treales, Roseacre and Wharles Parish Council have suggested that the applicant also consult with Inskip-with-Sowerby Parish Council.
4.1.4. Cllr. James reported back on the final session of the Public Examination of the proposed Wyre Local Plan. The Public Inspector used this session to reflect on his approach to addressing the key considerations that he would need to address in his report. Cllr. James felt that the Inspector tended towards discounting the impact of the alleged “gagging” of the Parish Council by Wyre officials when they had consulted with the Parish Council ahead of the public consultation on a basis of confidentiality.
4.1.5. Cllr. James reported also that the Inspector intended to give consideration as to whether the proposed scale of development proposed at Inskip was disproportionate, but emphasised that this did not mean that the Inspector would rule out significant development at Inskip. He also highlighted that Wyre Council have acknowledged, in line with current government policy, that though the proposed Local Plan is scheduled to run until 2031 they would be minded to review it after 5 years. In summary, we are not out of the woods yet by any means!
4.1.6. The Parish Clerk reported that he had sought clarification from Wyre Council with regard to the last minute revelation that there were no health and safety constraints against development of the field opposite to the Derby Arms as a village green. Wyre Council in response stated that there was no change in the council’s position, but that the Inspector will be giving consideration to the allocation at Inskip and those elsewhere.
4.2. Carrs Green
4.2.1. It was reported that the footbridge on the Common was in process of being repaired.
4.2.2. It was reported that the landowner of Carr House Farm had stated that he was prepared to re-instate the track across the Common from the main road towards Carr House Farm to its original width. It was agreed to await further developments.
4.2.3. Cllr. Delaney was concerned that growth of vegetation on the Common adjacent to the junction of Woods Lane with the main road had led to reduced visibility for road users at this junction. It was agreed that as landowners the Parish Council should take action and it was agreed that Cllr. Lingard would liaise with the Lengthsman.
Action 6.18/1 – AL to liaise with Lengthsman about clearing vegetation on Common at junction of Woods Lane and main road
4.2.4. Parish Councillors agreed that wholesale mowing of the Common was impractical but asked whether it was known if one of the Commoners would be putting cattle on the Common to graze this year; whether he had given any consideration to grazing other areas of the Common; and whether he had now formally registered his rights of common.
Action 6.18/2 – MA to liaise with Commoner with regard to grazing and registering his rights of common
4.2.5. With regard to the proposals to develop the Common Cllr. Lingard expressed concern about the impact of providing parking opposite to the houses at Carrs Green. Parish Councillors discussed the options. It was agreed that parking places at this location would not extend beyond the current area already tarmacked. There was concern that residents would use these parking places as their own and develop prescriptive rights, however this would not occur provided the Parish Council demonstrated that they had advised residents that parking was for visitors only. An alternative parking location on Woods Lane was also discussed.
4.3. Correspondence
MA highlighted the following correspondence to Councillors for consideration:
4.3.1. Garstang and District Heritage Society – Poppy Trail
Action 6.18/3 – MA to contact St. Peters and Inskip Baptists asking whether they favoured the placement of poppy plaques at their locations
4.3.2. LCC Children and Family Wellbeing Service consultation
4.3.3. LCC Shared Lives Service – it was agreed to display this on the Parish Noticeboards
4.3.4. Open Spaces Society AGM
4.4. Financial Matters
4.4.1. The Risk Register prepared by MA and distributed to members by email in advance of the meeting was reviewed. Cllr. James proposed a few amendments to the Likelihood and Impact scores, which the Parish Clerk agreed to amend. It was agreed that in future Councillors should also initial invoices at the point when cheques are signed.
4.4.2. A discussion was held with regard to Council records and documentation. It was confirmed that Parish Council minutes should be retained indefinitely as they are public records. They may be held locally or can be archived with the County Council Records Office. Cllr. James expressed concern at transferring archived Parish Council records to LCC and it was agreed to continue to retain them within a metal filing cabinet in the Parish Council archive. Some old Meeting Minutes had been loaned out to a member of the public and Cllr. Lingard agreed to recover these.
Action 6.18/4 – AL to recover old minutes out on loan with a member of the public
4.4.3. It was agreed that all other valuable documents should be scanned with originals retained in a small fireproof safe and that the Parish Clerk should procure such a fireproof safe to protect valuable documents such as deeds.
Action 6.18/5 – MA to procure a small fireproof safe to protect valuable Parish documents such as deeds
4.4.4. Payments approved at the meeting: Clerk salary; PAYE; Clerks expenses; Publication of Parish Council Newsletter; Publication of Wyre-in-Bloom leaflet; Lengthsman charges; Wyre-in-Bloom expenses.
4.5. Wyre-in-Bloom – Cllr. Lingard reported that he had bought some new planters and all the planting out had been completed. Judging is mid-July.
- Any Other Business
5.1. The Parish Clerk provided 3 new Defibrillator PADs with expiry dates of 04/19, 11/20 and 11/20. It was agreed that these would replace PADs with imminent expiry dates. The Parish Clerk agreed to provision further PADs on a just in time basis.
5.2. Cllr. James asked whether the signage on the Noticeboard in Mill Lane was going to be repaired or replaced. Cllr. Lingard agreed to liaise with the sign-writer.
Action 6.18/6 – AL to arrange for the signage on the Noticeboard at Mill Lane to be repaired or replaced
5.3. Cllr. Lingard raised the state of repair of the highway along Woods Lane. It was agreed that the Parish Clerk would write to our LCC Councillor.
Action 6.18/7 – MA to write to Cllr. Salter with regard to the poor state of repair of the highway at Woods Lane
5.4. Cllr. Delaney reported that a number of consumers in Inskip had experienced low water pressure. It was agreed that the Parish Clerk should write to United Utilities seeking information on what action they intend to take to alleviate this problem, copying in our MP, Ben Wallace.
Action 6.18/8 – MA to write to United Utilities, copying Ben Wallace MP, seeking information on action to be taken to address the poor water pressure experienced by some consumers in Inskip