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PENWORTHAM TOWN COUNCIL
Meeting of the Council held at the Penwortham Community Centre, Kingsfold Drive, Penwortham at 7.00pm on Tuesday 5 July 2016.
Present: The Mayor, Councillor T Young
Councillors D Bennett, A Best, D Bretherton, G Crewe, H Hancock,
Mrs M Hancock, D Howarth, K Martin, AE Pimblett, D Shaw, R Taylor and I Watkinson.
Members of
the public: 16
In attendance: Steve Caswell - Town Manager
Marie Dardis - Democratic Services Officer
PCSO Michael Riding – Police Community Support Officer
32. Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J Patten, Miss A Turner and Mrs C Wooldridge.
33. Minutes of the Last Meeting
RESOLVED: that the minutes of the meeting held on 7 June 2016 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.
34. Declarations of Interest
Councillor Howarth and Councillor Prynn declared a non personal and prejudicial interest in the Penwortham Bypass Consultation (minute no. 37) as elected members of Lancashire County Council; but were able, under the Members’ Code of Conduct, to remain in the meeting and take part in the discussion and voting.
35. Communications by the Town Mayor
The Mayor reported on the following recent events:
i) Penwortham Gala 11 and 12 June 2016 – The Mayor thanked everyone that was involved in making this year’s gala a great success despite the wet weather, in particular Councillor Robert Taylor and officers, Steve and Marie for all their hard work.
ii) Service of Remembrance on the centenary of the start of the Battle of the Somme - Friday 1 July 2016 at Penwortham War Memorial.
iii) 4 and 5 July 2016 – Official Judge of Penwortham in Bloom 2016.
iv) South Ribble District Scouts Annual General Meeting – 28 June 2016.
36. Town Manager’s Report
i) CEMETERY & WAR MEMORIAL
New kerb stone memorials have now been placed at the entrance to the Woodland Burial Site. The memorials will be used to commemorate people whose ashes have been scattered in the woodland within the Woodland Burial area of Hill Road.
Elsewhere within Hill Road, memorial benches and trees are still proving very popular and more space is being sought to accommodate the demand for these memorials.
A new Willow tree has now been planted behind the cemetery hut to replace the large willow that died during last summer.
ii) COMMUNITY CENTRE
The flower beds adjacent to the main door at the centre have now established themselves and are doing well. This has meant the number of complaints about children loitering around the front of the centre has reduced.
A new group have now started in the centre on Wednesday evenings, a driving instructors instruction course will take place in the lounge most Wednesdays for the foreseeable future.
iii) LENGTHS’PERSON’ SCHEME
Penwortham Town Council employs a Town Lengthsman whose role it is to improve the visual impact of the town. This may be simply by litter picking an area or helping an established group within the town to complete an environmental project.
The Town Lengthsman also carries out works on Public Rights of Way, usually as work ordered through Lancashire County Council but this has now changed slightly as LCC will soon not have a countryside services.
At this moment LCC have paid the initial service grant to Penwortham Town Council for low level maintenance of the footpaths throughout the town.
Any elected members or members of the public should contact Penwortham Town Council officers in the first instance should they feel works needed could be carried out by the town’s Lengthsman. The role of the Lengthsman is to carry out works over and above the statutory obligations of the borough and county councils.
In response to a question from Councillor Wooldridge, the Town Manager informed the council that due to the forthcoming loss of Countryside Services, the lengthsman’s role would include maintainance of the footpaths in Penwortham. Councillor Wooldridge suggested that the matter be considered at the next Strategy and Finance Committee meeting. Councillor Howarth requested that funding for dog bins and litter bins also be included for consideration at the next meeting of the Strategy and Finance Committee.
A member of the public reported overhanging hedges along the footpath next to Penwortham Holme and requested that the lengthsman cut them back.
iv) POLICE “In the Know” updates
To register for “in the know” updates to receive regular information via email please go to the address below and complete the on line form.
https://member-registration.neighbourhoodalert.co.uk/137/Join
Latest info from “in the know” updates;
Counterfeit Cheques
Businesses are being contacted for the sale of goods or services by fraudsters, who request to pay by cheque. The fraudster sends a cheque with a higher value than the amount expected, and then sends the business a request for the difference with instructions on how it should be paid back. This is usually by bank transfer or through a money transfer service, such as Western Union or PaySafe. Once the ‘refund’ has been provided, it is realised that the cheque provided was fraudulent and no funds are credited to the business’s account.
The NFIB has seen an increase of 84% in the number of counterfeit cheque frauds reported to Action Fraud since November 2015. Criminals are targeting a wide range of services including paintings or other artwork, photography and lessons, with various amounts requested to be refunded. The average amount requested to be refunded is £1,818. The highest amount requested was over £80,000.
The suspects have used pressure tactics to persuade victims to refund the amounts immediately prior to the cheques clearing.
Crime Prevention Advice
· Be cautious of payments where the amount provided is higher than expected. Refuse to provide the service unless the correct balance is received or wait until the cheque has cleared before refunding the difference.
· Always contact banks on a trusted number found on their website or correspondence that is known to be authentic to confirm whether the cheque has cleared.
· Do not feel pressured to provide a refund before the cheque has cleared
University Students
A new phishing campaign which has hit students of UK universities claims that the student has been awarded an educational grant by the Department for Education. The email purports to have come from the finance department of the student’s university and tricks the recipient into clicking on a link contained in the message to provide personal and banking details.
One victim reported that after submitting their sensitive information (including name, address, date of birth, contact details, telephone provider, bank account details, student ID, National Insurance Number, driving licence number and mother’s maiden name), they were taken to a spoofed website which appeared like a genuine website of their bank, where they were asked to type in their online banking login credentials.
Protect Yourself:
· Do not click on any links or open attachments contained within unsolicited emails.
· Do not reply to scam emails or contact the senders in any way.
· If an email appears to have come from a person or organisation you know of but the message is unexpected or unusual, contact them directly via another method to confirm that they sent you the email.
· If you receive an email which asks you to login to an online account via a link provided in the email, instead of clicking on the link, open your browser and go directly to the company’s website yourself.
· If you have clicked on a link in the email, do not supply any information on the website that may open.
If you think you may have compromised the safety of your bank details and/or have lost money due to fraudulent misuse of your cards, you should immediately contact your bank, and report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040, or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk.
v) Further Updates;
Penwortham Neighbourhood Development Plan
Mr Nigel McGurk has now been appointed as the examiner for the Penwortham Neighbourhood Development Plan. Once Mr McGurk has finished his examination any amendments will have to be made before the NDP is subjected to a Public Referendum. Should the referendum result in at least 50% of the people turning out to vote, voting in favour, the NDP will then be presented to SRBC for adoption as a forma; Supplementary Planning Document. (SPD).
Tesco – Government Buildings Cop Lane
Following the recent public consultation event we are still awaiting any further news or a new planning application for this site
LCC Property Strategy
Lancashire County Council are now consulting on their proposal to close Liverpool Road Library, Penwortham Youth & Community Centre on Priory Lane and the Children’s centre on Martinfield Road. The proposals also include keeping open the Kingsfold Library.
Penwortham Town Council have expressed an interest in each of the three properties recommended for closure by LCC.
The consultation is now open and runs until Sunday 14th August 2016. The consultation can be found at www.lancashire.gov.uk .
Penwortham Town Council have expressed an interest in both the Penwortham Library and the Penwortham Youth & Community Centre on Priory Lane. Documents relating to the running costs and management of these building have been received by the Town Council and will be presented as a business case to the Strategy and Finance Committee of this council before being presented to LCC.
Penwortham Gala – 11th and 12th June 2016
The 2016 Penwortham Gala was very well received again this year. Despite the inclement weather the procession was well attended and over seventy stalls opened on Hurst Grange Park. The rain slightly spoiled the turnout which was lower than most years.
The new initiative with extra stewards and extra police worked well with the police being more than happy with the relative quiet of the event from a policing perspective.
Despite the particularly wet weekend, Hurst Grange Park survived well with only one area of the main field requiring any repair works. This area has now been levelled and reseeded by the Town’s Lengthsman.
vi) Upcoming Events;
Regular Penwortham Events for 2016;
· Paint Penwortham Pink – October 2016
· Penwortham Firework Display – Saturday 5th November 2016
· Penwortham Remembrance Day Parade – Sunday 13th November 2016
· Kingsfold Christmas Market – 1st December 2016
· Liverpool Road Christmas Market – 14th December 2016
The Town Manager also informed the Council of the following forthcoming events:
· South Ribble Mayoral Charity BBQ at Hurst Grange Park on Friday 15 July from 7pm.
· Penwortham Neighbourhood Forum at St. Mary’s Church Hall on Thursday 7 July from 7pm until 8pm.
· Gathered Voices Choir at Penwortham United Reformed Church on Wednesday 6 July 2016.
37. Penwortham Bypass Consultation
The Town Manager provided a report on the proposal by the City Deal to build a Penwortham By-pass and regenerate the A59 shopping district of Penwortham.
Councillor Bennett raised concerns in relation to the plans displayed at the recent consultation event at St. Mary’s Church Hall and suggested that the details were vague and incomplete. Councillor Bennett raised the following points and suggested that the Town Council request a copy of the technical modelling report to provide the Town Council with further detail and address the concerns with the development.
· Further information was requested on the speed limits entering Liverpool Road from Hutton and how the two-stage crossing, adjacent to the school would operate.
· Additional details were requested on the road layout at the bottom of Liverpool Road Hill and an answer to how traffic would be prevented from proceeding up the hill, and to what degree.
· What measures were in place to prevent vehicles from using Leyland Road as an alternative route if congestion occurred, caused by an increase in traffic from Preston; and how would the diversion of traffic towards Leyland Road from Leyland Road and Valley Road roundabouts be managed.
· Traffic flow concerns for vehicles travelling between Broad Oak roundabout and Valley Road roundabout.
· The plans did not consider any future developments on the Cop Lane site (former Government Buildings site).
· Further information was required on the road layout between Crookings Lane and Howick Cross to reduce speeding as a result of reduced traffic.
Councillor Howarth referred to the ‘Las Ramblas’ style tree lined proposals for Penwortham shopping district and stated that local traffic would need to cross Liverpool Road, from North to South in particular school traffic and suggested that the plans had shown a lack of recognition for this.
Councillor Howarth indicated that a lack of parking provision for users of the new playing fields/sports facility had been identified as a major road safety concern and needed to be addressed.
Councillor Pimblett raised his dislike of shared spaces for Penwortham, recently introduced in Preston Town Centre.
Councillor Wooldridge proposed and Councillor Martin seconded that the issues raised be conveyed to Lancashire County Council.
A member of the public referred to comments made by the council about a potential Tesco store opening on Cop Lane and suggested that it should not be considered as part of the City Deal developments, as a planning application had not yet been submitted for this site.
RESOLVED: i) that the Town Council write to Lancashire County Council to convey the issues discussed at the meeting; and
ii) that the Town Council request a copy of the Technical Modelling Report for the Penwortham Bypass.
38. LALC Annual General Meeting
The Town Manager reported on the invitation from LALC to invite five voting representatives of Penwortham Town Council to their AGM on Saturday 19 November 2016. The Town Manager also asked members to consider submitting a resolution for discussion and decision at that meeting. Councillor Wooldridge suggested that the two leaders in consultation with the Chair submit a suitable resolution.
RESOLVED: i) that Councillor Howarth and Councillor Wooldridge in consultation with the Chair propose a suitable resolution for the forthcoming LALC AGM.
ii) that two members of the Liberal group and three members of the Labour group attend the LALC AGM on 19 November, 2016.