Minutes of the Shevington Parish Council

Policy Committee Meeting

Held 7 February 2013

7.30pm Shevington Library

Present: Councillor J Ball (Chairman), Councillors I Whiteley, W McKnight, C Horridge, C Miles, HR Bridge, A Bland and C Chadwick.

Co-opted Members: Mr B Lomas, Mr B King (non-voting), Mr M Thomas and Mrs E Longmore.

2 members of the public.

Officer in Attendance: Mrs K Pilkington (Clerk)

1.Apologies

None.

  1. Declaration of Interests

Cllrs Miles, Horridge, Whiteley and Bland w.r.t. Item No.5.

  1. Minutes of the Policy Committee Meeting (4 October 2012)

The previously circulated minutes were considered.

Resolved: That the Minutes of the Parish Council Policy Committee Meeting of 4 October 2012 be approved as a true and correct record.

  1. Village Issues

Council Meeting in Appley Bridge

A co-opted committee member reported that news of the February Council meeting arranged to take place in Appley Bridge Community Centre had been included in the Appley Bridge Community Association newsletter, which is circulated to all properties in Appley Bridge and Shevington Vale.

New Properties on the Beechwood Development

A member advised that a local paper had recently reported that 50% of the houses on the Beechwood development had been sold. Residents living nearby had also observed that several of the properties appeared to be occupied. One of the conditions relating to the development was that no properties should be occupied until the road improvements at Gathurst had been carried out. As the latter had yet to occur, the Clerk would write to both the Borough Solicitor and the Borough Planning Officer to express concerns about planning conditions possibly being contravened.

Shevington Recreation Ground

A representative to Shevington Recreation Ground Trustees advised that, following a recent meeting of the Trustees, a report about the contributions made by the Football Clubs in relation to the up-keep of the Recreation Ground had been prepared. The report had been circulated to councillors and the representative would be speaking about it at the next Council meeting.

Herons Wharf Consultation

A co-opted committee member reported that to date there had been no reply from Morris Homes to questions asked by the Parish Council about the level of contamination on the site at Heron’s Wharf which they were considering developing and about which the company had consulted. Equally, no report had been published on the results of the consultation.

Cllr Bland joined the meeting.

Quality of Lighting in Stockley Park

The Committee had visited Stockley Park during its annual Inspection of Property during the past two years. On each occasion observations had been made about the quality of lighting in the park. A member asked that the possibility of the Council’s providing improved lighting for the park be included on the agenda of the next Council meeting.

  1. Memorial Park

The Council had received a letter from a representative of a group of residents who had set up a constituted group called ‘The Friends of Shevington Memorial Park’ whose aim was ‘the development of Shevington Memorial Park and the provision of playground facilities for the recreation, leisure and social needs of local residents’. It was their stated intention to seek funding from all available sources to enable access to future s106 monies. Before the group could do this they would need the Parish Council’s permission. Copies of the group’s constitution were circulated.

During the long discussion that followed, issues raised by members of the Committee included:

  • the suggestion that the initiative should be extended to other parks within the civil parish;
  • the need to develop a strategy;
  • the role to be played by the Parish Council, as the owner of the park, in relation to the initiative;
  • the drainage, which was the responsibility of the Parish Council;
  • the suggestion that there should always be one parish councillor on the ‘Friends of Shevington Memorial Park’ committee.

The Committee were assured that the Friends of Shevington Memorial Park were working on a strategy and would work with the Parish Council throughout, consulting at every stage. Nothing would take place without the Parish Council’s permission. A member observed that it was better to focus on one park at a time. Other residents should be encouraged to form similar groups to focus on parks in their areas.

The Clerk advised that terms of reference providing a framework within which the partnership would function could be agreed.

The Chair spoke of his involvement when ‘The Friends of Mesnes Park’ were set up and commended the positive attitude and enthusiasm of the group of residents. However, he also observed that the Parish Council would need to manage the project in partnership with the ‘Friends’ group and cautioned that all necessary safeguards needed to be put in place.

Resolved: The Committee 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.

  1. Budget Information for Council Tax Letter

Suggested text for the budget information to be included on the council tax letter had been circulated and was discussed. The amount of space allocated this year had been reduced to one paragraph.

Resolved: Only the first two sentences of the paragraph would be included on the council tax letter.

  1. Wigan Core Strategy

Mr King presented his report, which was received. See Appendix A.

Mr King would represent the Parish Council at the Planning Inspector’s hearing scheduled for 7 March and would report verbally to the General Purposes Committee meeting later that evening.

  1. West Lancashire Local Plan

Mr King’s report was received. See Appendix B.

Mr King would represent the Parish Council as a participant at the Planning Inspector’s hearings scheduled for 5 March (The Economy and Employment Land) and 6 March (Infrastructure and Services Provision) and would report back to the General Purposes Committee on 7 March.

Mr Lomas left the meeting

  1. West Lancashire Borough Council’s Preliminary Draft Charging Schedule

West Lancashire Borough Council had consulted the Parish Council on the Preliminary Draft Charging Schedule for their proposed Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). Mr King explained the rationale behind the process. See Appendix C.

The Committee received and noted Mr King’s report. The Clerk would write to West Lancashire BC to thank them for consulting the Parish Council.

  1. Wigan Athletic Training Ground

It had been brought to the Committee’s attention that Wigan Athletic were planning to develop Christopher Park in Standish Lower Ground to cater for a Junior Academy and at the same time move the Senior Academy and training facility to a site at the rear of Wrightington Country Club. Mr King had researched the information available to date and presented his report. See Appendix D.

The Committee discussed the impact such developments could have on the Parish.

  1. Newsletter Contents (Spring Edition)

The Committee discussed suggestions for the contents of the Spring newsletter.

Resolved: The Spring newsletter would include items about the following:

  • Lancashire Day/Jubilee Oak Tree Planting;
  • Unify Credit Union;
  • Christmas Shop-front Competition Results;
  • Bowling Green advert;
  • 2013/14 Precept and Budget;
  • Friends of Shevington Memorial Park;
  • ‘Our Story – Shevington with Lower Ground’ DVD and where it was available;
  • Annual Fete

Mr Thomas withdrew from the meeting.

  1. Wigan & Leigh Friendship Group

A representative of the Wigan & Leigh Friendship Group had written to ask if the group could have permission to hire the bowling green for a charity fundraiser on Sunday, 23 June.

Resolved: The Committee approved the request and, as the event was intended to raise funds for charity, waived the usual hire charges.

Mr Thomas returned to the meeting.

  1. Devolution of Services Conference

The Clerk had attended a joint LGA and NALC conference on devolution of services the previous week and circulated a report, which was received. See Appendix E.

  1. Financial Aid Applications

None.

  1. Planning Applications

None.

  1. Dates of Next Meetings

Council: 28 February at Appley Bridge Community Centre;

General Purposes and Finance Committees: 7 March.

There being no further business, the Chairman closed the Meeting at 9:27 pm.

Chairman

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