Minutes of Shevington Parish Council Meeting
Held Thursday 28 February 2013
7:30 pm – Appley Bridge Community Centre
Present: Councillor J Ball (Chair), Cllrs C Horridge, H R Bridge, C Miles, K Shaw, W McKnight, A Bland, C Chadwick and I Whiteley.
10 members of the public.
Officer in Attendance: Mrs K Pilkington (Clerk)
520 Apologies for Absence
Dist Cllrs M Crosby, P Collins and D Edwardson.
521 Declaration of Interests
Cllrs Whiteley, Bland, Horridge and Miles w.r.t. Item 530. (personal & prejudicial)
Cllr Whiteley w.r.t. Item 531. (personal & prejudicial)
Cllrs Whiteley, Horridge and Miles w.r.t. Item 536 a). (personal & prejudicial)
Standing Orders were suspended.
522 Matters Introduced by Members of the Public
The Chairman explained the procedure in relation to public participation and the Council engaged with members of the public over the following issues:
· the Friends of Shevington Memorial Park constitution;
· the starting time of meetings;
· the railway sidings at Appley Bridge;
· provision of additional copies of agendas and minutes for meetings;
· concerns about possible developments in Appley Bridge;
· parking issues in Appley Lane North;
· the date of issue of the next newsletter.
See Appendix A.
523 District Councillors’ Reports
The District Councillors’ had sent reports, which were received. The reports were read out by the Clerk. See Appendices B & C.
Standing Orders were re-instated.
524 Minutes of the Last Ordinary Meeting of the Council (24 January 2013)
The previously circulated Minutes were considered.
Resolved: That the Minutes of the last Ordinary Meeting of the Parish Council held on 24 January 2013 were approved as a true and correct record.
525 Chairman’s Report
There was no report from the Chairman.
526 Reports from Councillors
Trees Overlooking the Motorway
Treeworks had recently been carried out by Balfour Beatty on trees overlooking the M6 motorway in the vicinity of Naylor Farm Avenue and The Oval. Trees had either been pruned or removed altogether.
Premature Occupation of New Properties on the Beechwood Development
In reply to a question about the position with regard to reports about the premature occupation of new properties on the Beechwood development, the Clerk explained that the Planning Department had established that the conditions of planning consent had been broken and were in the process of writing to the developers. The Clerk would write to the LA’s Legal Department to ask them if they would consider taking matters further.
Grass Verges
A member had contacted the District Councillors to ask them if they would look into the possibility of bollards being installed at the boundaries of grass verges to prevent vehicles being driven over them.
Patient Participation Group
A member advised that the ‘Active Living’ initiative was due to begin soon – most probably in April. There had been some concern recently amongst patients about Shevington Clinic and its practices. People were being asked to use Standish Clinic instead of Shevington for many things. The PPG had asked patients to complete a complaints card, if they had a complaint about these practices, as they wished to know how many people had actually been asked to attend Standish Clinic for their dressings to be dealt with. The Clerk would write to the Bridgewater Trust to express the Parish Council’s support for residents’ concerns.
In future the minutes of PPG meetings would be published on the Parish Council website and a notice about the PPG would appear on the Council’s notice boards. The appointment of a PPG representative to report to the Council would be considered at the next Policy Committee meeting.
527 Reports from Representatives
Shevington & District Community Association
Following Andrew Moakes’s retirement as the Chair of the Community Association, Marlaine Whittam had been elected as his successor at the recent AGM. It had also been agreed that a new Finance Committee would be set up to take decisions about the use of funds currently in the system.
Crooke Village Residents’ Association
There was no report.
Shevington Youth Club
Since the previous report Jane Gavin had resigned as Bookings Secretary. The past month had witnessed the official opening of the new Mother & Toddler Group by Lisa Nandy MP. Approximately 50 parents and 70 children had attended the Group’s sessions over the past two weeks.
Shevington Recreation Ground Trustees
The Trustees were currently involved in research and discussion over future projects in relation to the Recreation Ground. See Appendix C.
Standards Committee
Cllr Chadwick had been unable to attend the January meeting of the Standards Committee, but had attended the previous meeting on 27 November 2012. He presented a report on the latter meeting. A large number of complaints had been lodged against Wigan District Councillors and cases were at different stages. It had been decided that, in future, councillors against whom a complaint had been made would be told the identity of the individual who had made the complaint.
Shevington in Bloom
The Chair of Shevington & District in Bloom reported that the Appley Bridge in Bloom Committee, which was set up in 2012, was flourishing. This year the Group planned to extend their focus to ‘The Slacks’, which were owned by Wigan Council. However, contractors employed by West Lancashire borough Council often carried out work on the area. ABinB wished to find out what the contractors would be doing there, as they would like to reinstate it as a bluebell wood.
Cllr McKnight joined the meeting.
Plans were in the pipeline for Spring and Summer planting which would include the West Lancashire side. The intention was to enter ABinB for the ‘My Neighbourhood’ section of the North West in Bloom competition in 2013.
528 DRAFT Minutes of the Policy Committee Meeting (7 February 2013)
The DRAFT minutes of the Policy Committee meeting of 7 February 2013 were received.
A meeting was suspended for a short recess.
The meeting resumed.
529 Lighting Provision in Stockley Park
Cllr McKnight had been advised that work on the lighting in Stockley Park had been scheduled for the coming fortnight. Once it had been completed, he would be informed as to whether the lighting would need to be improved. Cllr McKnight would report back to the Parish Council once he had received the information. Parish Councils do have the power to provide lighting, if necessary.
During the discussion that followed some councillors took the view that the responsibility for the provision of lighting in Stockley Park lay entirely with Wigan Council, as the park was their property.
530 Football Club’s Contributions to Shevington Recreation Ground
A member had requested details of rent paid by Shevington Football Club for the use of Shevington Recreation Ground. Details of the contributions made by the Club had been provided to one of Council’s Recreation Ground Trustees and were circulated. The contents of the paper indicated that, as well as paying rent, the Football Club had made other financial contributions towards the costs of maintenance. Members of the Club had also provided the labour involved in over-seeding and laying down of topsoil on the football pitch and had carried out other work themselves.
As a result of an observation made by a member, the Clerk advised against identifying contractors by their personal names at an open meeting, as breaches of the Data Protection Act could easily occur.
531 Shevington Memorial Park
At their meeting on 7 February 2013, the Policy Committee had recommended to the Council that the constitution of ‘The Friends of Shevington Memorial Park’ be accepted, subject to all safeguards and terms of reference being in place.
During the long discussion about the recommendation that followed some members took the view that there was no need for any conditions to be put in place and that the project needed to be able to move forward as quickly as possible. Other members had reservations, observing that the respective roles of the ‘Friends’ Group and the Parish Council needed to be established.
The Clerk advised that the Parish Council needed to have more information about the Group’s plans and intentions, providing examples.
Members who had proposed the Policy Committee’s recommendation withdrew their proposals..
Resolved: The Constitution of the Friends of Shevington Memorial Park was accepted.
A member requested a recorded vote.
FOR: Cllrs Bridge, Shaw and Ball.
532 Spring Newsletter
The DRAFT newsletter had been circulated previously and was considered. Cllr Whiteley agreed to prepare a short article about the Friends of Shevington Memorial Park for inclusion in the one remaining space available.
Resolved: The Spring edition of the newsletter was approved for publication.
533 Audience with the Mayor
An email had been received from Dist Cllr Collins inviting members of the Council to join him and other representatives of the local community at an Audience with the Mayor of Wigan. Members were asked to make their own arrangements if they wished to attend.
534 Prohibition of Waiting Notice & Plan (Consultation)
A member observed that all areas were covered by this Plan except the entrance to The Oval, which was the most dangerous. The Prohibition of Waiting Plan needed to be extended from there to a location opposite Douglas Drive.
Resolved: The Council would respond to the consultation. They would advise Wigan Council that they had no objections to the proposal, but would like the ‘Prohibition of Waiting’ to be extended from The Oval to a location opposite Douglas Drive.
535 Clerk’s Report
The Clerk’s report was received. See Appendix D.
In reply to a question about the timing of the removal of the chinning bars from the trimtrail, the Clerk replied that she did not know at present.
536 Financial Aid Applications
Shevington Fete
Resolved: A s137 grant of £250 towards the costs of Shevington Fete 2013 was approved.
Millbrook & Shevington Vale Primary Schools Federation Romanian Project
Resolved: The Council agreed to make a donation of £50 from the Chairman’s allowance towards this project to aid community cohesion. A letter of support would accompany the donation.
537 Virements
None
538 Payments, Income & Bank Balances
The Income / Expenditure Schedules for February were received.
See Appendix E.
Resolved: That the payments be approved and the cheques signed, due notice being given to the bank statements exhibited.
539 Planning Applications
Current planning applications would be discussed at length during the General Purposes Committee meeting the following week.
CONFIDENTIAL ITEMS
Resolved: That, in view of the confidential nature of the business about to be transacted, it is advisable in the public interest that the press and public be excluded and they are instructed to withdraw.
Members of the public left the meeting.
540 Pest Control Contract for Forest Fold Allotments
Resolution: The Pest Control contract with Wigan Council was approved.
541 Planter Maintenance Contract Renewal
Resolved: The Planter Maintenance contract for 2013/14 was awarded to Moss Bank Nurseries.
542 Bowling Green Maintenance Contract Extension
Resolved: The Bowling Green Maintenance contract currently held by Shaun Heyes Home & Garden Services was extended to run until 31 March 2014.
543 Litter Bin Emptying & Litter Collection Contract
Resolved: The Litter Bin Emptying & Litter Collection Contract for 2013/14 was awarded to WLCT.
544 Orica Land Purchase
At the request of several members, this item was deferred to an Extra-Ordinary Council meeting to be called for the following Thursday, 7 March.
545 Next Meetings: 7 March (GP & F Committee);
21 March (Annual Parish Meeting); 28 March (Council).
There being no further business, the Chairman closed the Meeting at 10:30 pm.
Chairman
Page 1 of 6 Meeting of Shevington Parish Council – 28 February 2013