Penwortham Town Council

4551

PENWORTHAM TOWN COUNCIL

Meeting of the Council held at the Penwortham Community Centre, Kingsfold Drive, Penwortham at 7.00pm on Tuesday 1 September 2015.

Present: The Mayor, Councillor D Howarth (in the chair)

Councillors D Bretherton, G Crewe, H Hancock, Mrs M Hancock,

K Martin, J Patten, Ms S Prynn, D Shaw, R Taylor, Miss A Turner,

I Watkinson, Mrs C Wooldridge, D Wooldridge and T Young.

Members of the public: 9

In attendance: Steve Caswell - Town Manager

Marie Dardis - Democratic Services Officer

PCSO Mark Holliday

PCSO Hannah Blundell

46. Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors D Bennett, A Best and AE Pimblett.

47. Minutes of the Last Meeting

RESOLVED: that the minutes of the meeting held on 7 July 2015 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

48. Declarations of Interest

Councillor Howarth and Councillor Prynn both declared a non personal and prejudicial interest in the electoral review of Lancashire County Council (minute no. 50) 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.

Councillor Martin also declared a non personal and prejudicial interest in the same item (minute no. 50) due to being a member of the South Ribble Boundary Committee, but was able, under the Members’ Code of Conduct, to remain in the meeting and take part in the discussion.

49. Communications by the Town Mayor

The Mayor reported that he had had an enjoyable Summer and looked forward to attending Mayoral events during the forthcoming months.

50. Town Manager’s Report

i) WAR MEMORIAL

Child Action Northwest had been assisting with general maintenance works at Hill Road Cemetery, including painting the cemetery hut and works to the footpath through the woodland burial site.

Elsewhere in the cemetery memorial trees and benches were still proving very popular, with the site now almost at capacity for memorials such as these.

Penwortham War Memorial was looking as splendid as ever with the new bedding and clearance works to the rear of the memorial all being undertaken by the Friends of Penwortham War Memorial.

ii) COMMUNITY CENTRE

Following the summer recess, Homestart, The Dog Training Classes and the weekly work club were now back at Penwortham Community Centre alongside the regular Keep Fit Classes, luncheon club, Alzheimer’s Group and the craft groups. UCLan were now holding regular “Reading the World” groups on Thursday afternoons and Wednesday evenings.

There was still capacity for a “games afternoon” on Tuesday afternoons at the centre. Games such as snooker, table tennis, card games, backgammon, dominoes etc were all available. There was simply a need for an enthusiastic individual to take a lead for the afternoon.

South Ribble Borough Council were currently undertaking a review of all their assets, any further information would be provided to the Town Council as soon as it became available.

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 and thus paid for by LCC too.

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.

Recent works carried out by the Town Lengthsman;

·  Abbot Meadow – clear gulley

·  Braid Close – clear gulley

·  Clough Field – repair stile

·  Valley Road – cut back brambles

·  Leyland Road – trim hedges

·  Howick Cross Lane – litter pick

·  Liverpool Road – litter pick down to Leyland Road junction

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

Recent examples of “in the Know” updates;

Message sent by
Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National)

Fraudsters have created a high specification website template advertising flat screen televisions for sale which are below market value and do not exist. Payment is being requested via bank transfer and will offer no protection to the consumer when the television does not arrive.
Protect yourself:

·  Payments made via bank transfer are not protected should you not receive the item.

·  Always make payment via a credit card or PayPal where you have some avenue of recompense should you not receive your product.

·  Conduct some online research on the website, company name and business address to identify any poor feedback or irregularities.

·  Check the authenticity of websites before making any purchases. A ”whois” search on the website will identify when the website has been created, so be wary of newly formed domains. This search can be conducted using the following website -https://who.is/

·  If the item advertised seems too good to be true, it probably is

If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud you can report it online at http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud or by telephone on 0300 123 2040

Message sent by
Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National)

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has been alerted to an Advance Fee Fraud in which individuals believe they are being recruited by Business Loan Scanner who will be moving to 34 Lime Street, London on 24th August.
Applicants receive a job offer and are then asked to pay an upfront fee for CRB checks etc.
However, please be aware that there is NO such company at this location and this activity is a fraud

v) Further Updates;

Government Buildings, Cop Lane

Tesco representatives will attend the October 2015 Town Council meeting to give a short presentation and answer questions regarding this site.

Penwortham Newsletter

The Town Council distribute a newsletter four times a year to the residents of Penwortham containing various amounts of information and usually targeted at Town Council events. The date for delivery of the next newsletter is as follows with dates for the editorial material to be submitted included.

Penwortham Firework Display edition delivered last week in October - editorial in by 15th Sept

Members are invited to submit stories, editorial, pictures etc for the newsletter but please note, any articles with a political line will not be printed.

vi) Upcoming Events;

Paint Penwortham Pink

Paint Penwortham Pink involves turning the local community pink for one week during Breast Cancer Awareness month in October. Penwortham will turn pink during the week 16th to 23rd October 2015 culminating in a pink Friday on the 23rd October. During the Paint Penwortham Pink week many of the local shops and businesses will be decorating their shops and windows and pink ribbons, bows and balloons will decorate the town.

Any members wishing to become involved or help in any way are asked to contact the Town Council office.

Penwortham Firework Display

This is an advance notice for the annual town firework display. The display will once again take place on Pear Tree Park, Middleforth Green on Thursday 5th November 2015. Members are asked to make a note of the date as their support on the evening would be most appreciated.

South Ribble Borough Council Neighbourhood Forum

Members of Penwortham Town Council have been officially invited to attend and take part in the South Ribble Penwortham Neighbourhood Forum.

An officer from this council will attend each of the forums to promote the work of the Town Council and to encourage further joint initiatives between the two councils.

Friends of Hurst Grange Park Coach House Restoration Project

The Friends of Hurst Grange Park Coach House Restoration Project committee had approached the Town Council with a request to attend a future meeting of the full council to present the latest situation and the future aspirations of the group. The Council was asked to consider the offer and if acceptable choose a date to see the presentation at a full council meeting. It was proposed by Councillor Wooldridge and seconded by Councillor Hancock that due to a current review of assists owned by South Ribble Borough Council, it was considered an inappropriate time to invite the friends of Hurst Grange Park to a meeting of the Town Council and that the matter could be reviewed at a later date.

RESOLVED: that the Town Council write to the Friends of Hurst Grange Park to decline their offer of a presentation at this time due to reasons discussed at the meeting.

Councillor Hancock referred to the Boundary Commission’s electoral review of Lancashire County Council and asked for an update on proceedings. The Town Manager confirmed that the Town Council had previously resolved at the council meeting held on 7 July 2015, to reserve comment until the consultation on the draft proposals of the Boundary Commission had been published. Councillor Wooldridge proposed that the Town Council support the proposals put forward by Lancashire County Council. Councillor Prynn expressed her support in keeping the two communities in Penwortham together.

Councillor Martin abstained from the vote due to his membership of the Boundary Committee at South Ribble Borough Council.

RESOLVED: that the Town Council write to the Boundary Commission to support the electoral division proposals put forward by Lancashire County Council.

51. Penwortham Neighbourhood Development Plan

Councillor D Wooldridge provided the Council with an update on the progress of the Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) and encouraged all members to read the draft document. The Town Manager explained the purpose of the plan and confirmed that following endorsement of the draft plan by this Council, a public consultation on the draft plan would be carried out for a period of six weeks.

Councillor Wooldridge expressed his gratitude to the Steering Group in particular the Town Council officers and South Ribble Borough Council officers for their involvement and hard work in developing the planning document.

RESOLVED: i) that the Town Council accept the Draft Neighbourhood Development Plan and endorse the plan for public consultation to commence 1 September 2015.

52. United Utilities Cryptosporidium Water Contamination Compensation

Councillor C Wooldridge expressed serious concerns in the lack of information provided by United Utilities to the most vulnerable in the community, during the recent water emergency and proposed that the Town Council write to United Utilities, OFWAT and the Drinking Water Inspectorate to address these concerns. Following a short discussion, Councillor Wooldridge proposed that the following questions be asked:

1.  How was this allowed to happen?

2.  What precautions are being put in place to prevent this happening in the future?

3.  Why was there such a lack of communication to people who were affected, particularly to those who did not use the internet, had learning difficulties or are homeless?

4.  Where was water provided by United Utilities for public use for the purpose of those things we were warned to boil water for i.e.; drinking, food preparation and cooking and for brushing teeth, and under what circumstances was the water provided?

5.  On what basis will compensation be paid and when?

It was further demanded that a full and formal enquiry be carried out immediately by the appropriate regulatory bodies and the reports of these bodies made public.

In addition to Councillor Wooldridge’s proposal, Councillor Howarth referred to a number of suggestions by local residents to donate any compensation paid from United Utilities to WaterAid, an international charity that helps to provide access to clean, safe water and toilets. Following a short discussion, it was proposed by Councillor Howarth and seconded by Councillor Turner that any financial compensation paid to the Town Council by United Utilities be donated to Wateraid.

A member of the public informed the Council that United Utilities had delivered water bottles free of charge to all registered disabled customers affected by the water contamination.

RESOLVED: i) that the Town Council write to United Utilities, OFWAT and the Drinking Water Inspectorate to address the concerns agreed at the meeting; and

ii) that any compensation paid by United Utilities to the Town Council be donated to Wateraid.

53. Questions to the Police

The Council meeting constituted the Police and Communities Together (PACT) meeting. The following issues were raised and would be dealt with by the police:

i) Speeding on Kingsfold Drive/Mopeds/illegal drug usage

Councillor Martin raised concerns regarding speeding vehicles along Kingsfold Drive. PCSO Holliday reported that he would contact the Community Roadwatch Team to investigate the matter further. Councillor Martin also reported suspected drug usage on Kingsfold Playing Field and nuisance mopeds driving on the pavements in the area.

ii) Nuisance behaviour on Hurst Grange Park

It was reported that a group of young people had been harassing other park users in Hurst Grange Park during the evening. PC Holliday advised residents to ring the non- emergency police line, 101 at the time of the disturbance/crime to report it to the police.

iii) Disturbance in the Shampan Restaurant Car park

PCSO Holliday reiterated his earlier advice, to ring 101 at the time of the disturbance in order to report it to the police.

iv) Hurst Grange Park

In relation to the report of harassment at Hurst Grange Park, a local resident asked if some of the trees could be cut back to create a more open space to discourage youths from congregating in a hidden area of the park.

v) Speeding on Cop Lane

This would be reported to the Community Roadwatch Team to investigate the matter further.

vi) Illegal U turn manoeuvres by vehicles on Liverpool Road/Kingsway

This would be reported to the Community Roadwatch Team to investigate the matter further.

54. Issues raised by Members of the Public (Non-Police Issues)

The following issues were raised and would be dealt with appropriately:

i) Temporary road changes from Liverpool Road to Slip Road