Approved Meeting Minutes – February 2020
April 20th, 2020
As the Parish Council has not met since February these meeting minutes have yet to be approved by the Parish Council and therefore have a status of DRAFT
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on: Thursday 20th February 2020 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 Alan Lingard (AL)
Clerk: Mike Ainsworth (MA)
Members of the Public:
Mark Hothersall (MH); David Isles; LCC Cllr. Matthew Salter
Apologies:
Cllr Chris Houghton (CH); Wyre Cllr Susan Catterall; Wyre Cllr Peter Cartridge
cc:
Parish Councillors; Joanne Porter (Wyre Council); Wyre Cllr Susan Catterall; Wyre Cllr Peter Cartridge; 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 16th January 2020
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 19th March 2020 at 8pm
Status: Approved
Chair: Cllr. Phil James
Date: 21st July 2020
1. Open Forum – Mr. Mark Hothersall (MH) and Mr. David Isles (DI) of Motorsport NW provided an update on preparations for the proposed North West Stages Rally on Saturday 21st. March. Cllr. Phil James declared an interest and surrendered the chair to Cllr. Delaney for this item. MH stated that the competition is oversubscribed and includes a number of elite competitors. Though no spectator facilities are scheduled for the Lewth special stage some spectators are nonetheless anticipated. The residents information pack is now at the printers, copies of the text were supplied for Councillors to view. DI is the Residents Liaison Officer. Councillors thanked MH and DI for their attendance and wished them well for a successful event (at this point MH and DI retired from the meeting).
2. Minutes of Last Meeting – approved as read.
3. Matters Arising
3.1. The following outstanding actions were cleared:
11.19/1 – to scan the North-West in Bloom award certificates so they can be published on the website
1.20/1 – to arrange site visit for LEF Fund Manager
1.20/2 – to report Manor Road and Nelson Gardens street signs to Wyre Council
3.2. The following actions were carried forward:
7.19/2 – to ask LCC to carry out speed surveys and ascertain whether rumble strips are required
8.19/5 – to liaise with Wyre with regard to provision of doggie bins on the Common
9.19/12 – to maintain bench adjacent to post box on Preston Road
10.19/2 – to liaise with LCC with regard to erection of signposts for Inskip Youth Club
10.19/5 – to liaise with Create Homes with regard to availability of affordable homes
1.20/3 – to engage with Wyre Council about planting trees on the Common
3.3. With regard to Action 8.19/5 Cllr. Lingard asked whether it might also be practical for Wyre Council to provide a doggie bin at the junction of Pinfold Lane with the track towards Knowle Pad
3.4. With regard to Action 10.19/2 the Parish Clerk reported that that the estimated cost for the erection of one directional sign was between £250 and £300 plus the application fee of £123. It was proposed that the Parish Clerk write to YIPS and to the Bowling Club offering to pay the application fee provided they pay the remainder of the cost of provision of the signage.
3.5. At this point Cllr. Carter highlighted another matter related to the Bowling Club. There were reports that other local bowling clubs had received funds in the wake of local housing developments and funneled to them via their parish councils. These funds supported the development of the clubs. Members of the bowling club therefore wondered how come our Parish Council was not so forthcoming given the scale of development here in Inskip? Cllr. James advised that the Parish Council were unable to funnel funds to the Bowling Club as the Parish Council were not in receipt of any funding directly related to housing development but advised that the Bowling Club might directly approach Create Homes for sponsorship or indeed Wyre Council.
4. New Business
4.1. Planning Applications
4.1.1. The following applications were approved by Wyre Council:
19/01272/FUL: erection of detached ancillary living accommodation (granny annexe) at 7 Derby Crescent
4.1.2. The following applications were referred to the Parish Council for comment:
20/00069/FUL: erection of open fronted parking barn at Chesham Hill Farm, Pinfold Lane: no comments or concerns were raised;
20/00086/COUQ: prior approval for change of use of existing agricultural building to form one residential dwelling at Pad End Farm, Pinfold Lane: Cllr. Lingard recused himself as he is the applicant. No comments or concerns were raised.
4.2. Correspondence
MA highlighted the following correspondence to Councillors for consideration:
4.2.1. Letter from Sir Robert Atkins, Wyre Council
Action 2.20/1 – MA to request that the Parish Council become a consultee on Climate Change and to advise that one useful way to address the impacts of climate change would be to stop building homes on prime agricultural land
4.2.2. Mail from member of the public with regard to policing
4.2.3. Lancashire Best Kept Village competition
4.2.4. Environment Agency with regards to maintaining the Tank Trap across the Common
4.2.5. LCC Budget Consultation
4.2.6. Certificate in Local Council Administration
4.2.7. Roseacre Action Group – planning application from Cuadrilla seeking a further five year extension to the planning permission to extract gas at their Elswick Generation Station site
4.2.8. Action Counters Terrorism event
4.2.9. LALC Spring Conference
4.2.10. Safe Road Users (over 60’s)
4.2.11. Preston Stoneygate consultation
4.3. Carrs Green
4.3.1. Application to Lancashire Environmental Fund. The Parish Clerk reported that the Fund Manager had met with Parish Councillors on a site visit to the Common and had advised us that he anticipated that our application would be submitted to the Board in March but warned that the Fund was heavily oversubscribed and that therefore the Board would have to make the call as to whether to allocate funds.
4.3.2. The Parish Clerk reported that one of the Commoners had asked for permission to run a slurry pipe across the Common as in previous years. He confirmed that he was covered by public liability insurance. Parish Councillors were content to approve this request.
4.3.3. The Commoner also made a proposal for drainage on the Common. Acknowledging his responsibility to maintain the drainage ditch to the north of the Common his problem was that no hire company would offer machinery for works at this location owing to the risk of the equipment becoming marooned in swampy ground. The only way in which this ditch could be maintained would be if equipment were purchased, however this would only become economic if the equipment could be put to other use as well and as a result the Commoner offered to also clear a stretch of the Tank Trap upstream from the main road for a fee of £5K. Parish Councillors acknowledged the offer but deferred consideration until later in the year. Concerns were raised on a couple of grounds. Firstly that any clearance of the Tank Trap would need to take account of ecological niceties. Secondly that any commission of this scale would need to be offered to tender.
4.4. Financial Matters – the following payments were approved at the meeting: Clerk’s salary; PAYE; Lengthsman’s fees.
4.5. Wyre-in-Bloom – nothing to report.
5. Any Other Business
5.1. Cllr. James had noted on the site visit with the LEP Fund Manager a marking increase in dog faeces on the Common. The Parish Clerk agreed to chase up provision of doggie bins on the Common and advised that if funds become available to develop the Common it might be practical to invest in signage (at this point LCC Cllr. Matthew Salter joined the meeting).
5.2. Cllr. James highlighted a campaign started by a member of the public seeking for LCC to reduce the speed limit on the B5269 to 20mph the whole way from Crossmoor to Carrs Green, a stretch of over two miles. He was concerned that reducing the speed limit in this way would make Inskip more vulnerable to planning applications in the future similar to those recently fought by the Parish Council against Metacre, who originally wanted to plant hundreds more homes in Inskip, and against Cuadrilla relating to transport, whose application was previously unsuccessful.
Action 2.20/2 – PJ to supply a copy of the circular published by member of public seeking a reduction of speed limit on the B5269 to LCC Cllr. Matthew Salter and to the Parish Clerk
5.3. Parish Councillors agreed with Cllr. James’ concerns and also expressed considerable doubt as to whether a 20mph. speed limit was enforceable. It was agreed that the Parish Clerk write to LCC Highways opposing any such change in speed limit along this stretch of road whilst endorsing the current 30mph. speed limit and emphasising support for rumble strips to be re-instated by LCC Highways adjacent to the School.
Action 2.20/3 – MA to write to LCC Highways opposing any proposal to reduce the speed limit on the B5269 to 20mph. whilst endorsing the need for rumble strips to be re-instated adjacent to the School
5.4. Parish Councillors felt that the only practical way to prevent road users speeding into and through the village would be by providing physical traffic calming measures such as ramps, chicanes, cushions, or rumble strips, however the feeling was that rumble strips were more appropriate than ramps, chicanes, or cushions – particularly at the approaches to the village where traffic might still be travelling at high speed.
5.5. LCC Cllr. Salter (MS) stated that he was now engaged with the LCC Highways Traffic Calming team and if progress was not made then he would escalate to LCC. Cllr. Keith Iddon, who is the Cabinet Member responsible for Highways. He suggested that if the Parish Council were able to provide evidence of resident support for rumble strips that would strengthen the case.
Action 2.20/4 – CB to provide evidence that residents support of the provision of rumble strips at Carrs Green
5.6. Parish Councillors also asked MS for progress with regards to resolution by LCC of water leakage in Derby Crescent observed last year, the provision of deer signs on the Common, the clearance of roadside gullies, and to a collapsing BT grid adjacent to the School.