Please find below the minutes for the latest Formby Parish Council meeting. A copy of the minutes is available to download at the bottom of the page.
MINUTES OF THE MEETING
15 June 2026
Present: Maria Bennett (Chairman), Colin Appleton, Derek Baxter (from item 24.1), Dawn Brodie, Luke Brodie, Jill Butler, Karen Cavanagh, David Dutton, Dave Irving, Leo Kolassa, Joe Riley, Mike Weild and Paul Wiencke.
In Attendance: Claire Jenkins (Clerk) and 5 members of the public.
17.0 Apologies for Absence
There were apologies received from Cllrs S. Baxter and Y. Irving.
18.0 Members Declaration of Interest
18.1 Cllr D Irving declared an interest in item 19.2 as a member of Formby Civic Society.
18.2 Cllr Bennett declared an interest in West Lane
19.0 Public Forum
The meeting was adjourned for this item.
19.1 A representative from Formby British Legion came to address the Council regarding a service at the War Memorial for Remembrance Sunday. Formby British Legion has always held the service at 3pm as the Cadets and other representatives from the Armed Services are unavailable at 11am due to attending other services across the Borough. Members of the public have enquired as to the possibility of a short service to be held at the War Memorial at 11am to pay their respects. It was agreed that a short service of Remembrance can be held at 11am with The Exhortation and The Kohima Epitaph and a few prayers. Members of the public will be able to lay a cross at this service, but the crosses may be rearranged on Armistice Day to make way for the Wreaths that will be laid by local dignitaries. The traditional service on Remembrance Sunday along with the parade at 3pm will still take place at Holy Trinity Church which will be attended by Cadets, other representatives from the Armed Services, Parish Councillors and other local dignitaries who will lay Wreaths at the altar of the Church which will then be moved to the War Memorial on Armistice Day.
19.2 A member of the public addressed the Council regarding a comment made during the last meeting held 18 May 2026 regarding the development at Shorrocks Hill. During that meeting a Cllr referred to what they believed may have been maladministration by Sefton Council in relation to housing developments and planning matters affecting Formby. Given the seriousness of such a concern, can the Parish Council clarify whether it intends to formerly investigate the matter, seek further information from Sefton Council or make any representations on behalf of residents?
It was clarified that the comment was made by Cllr Irving, reporting from the Formby Civic Society, who had received complaints from residents regarding Shorrocks Hill. Cllr D Irving, (acting on behalf of the Civic Society) submitted a complaint which listed 14 items to the Ombudsman on behalf of the Civic Society which they accepted. The potential maladministration was muted between the Civic Society and the Ombudsman. Cllr Irving has received a letter from the Ombudsman who have said they will not pursue the complaint any further at this time because although the development was approved by the Planning Committee, the consent for planning must be signed off by the Chief Planning Officer and this has not taken place. If the plan does get approved, then Cllr Irving, on behalf of the Civic Society, can contact the Ombudsman who may then investigate the complaint. It was clarified that the Parish Council have not and legally cannot take such action.
Further discussion took place regarding the developments at West Lane and Brackenway. It was noted that the Parish Council had objected to the use of driven piling as it did not meet best practicable means ie the quietest available method of piling. The Parish Council had employed geotechnical engineers to do an assessment of the site conditions and advise on the best method of piling for the site. Sefton Council planning approved the developer’s preferred method of piling, and the Parish Council took legal advice on whether we could take this to a Judicial Review. Unfortunately, the legal advice was that we only had just over 50% chance of winning, which was not sufficient to take this further. The resident was advised that all planning documents are available on Sefton Council’s website. She asked if she could submit a Freedom of Information request to Sefton Council regarding this to which she was told she could. The resident was also advised that they can attend the Planning meetings and Sefton Council meetings.
19.3 A resident addressed the Council regarding traffic management and parking around the beach area in Formby. What can be done to try to resolve the problems?
Cllrs Cavanagh and Irving had attended a multidisciplinary Stakeholder meeting with residents and reported that:
People parked on both sides of the roads only allowing movement of one vehicle but with cars arriving and exiting the area log jam resulted. Over 180 parking fines were issued over the Bank Holiday weekend. The situation was exacerbated by Merseyrail closing the crossings. It was reported that a vehicle had earlier got stuck on the crossing, so Merseyrail closed the crossings to prioritise the movement of trains. The Police were directing the flow of traffic, over the station hill to Duke Street, the only remaining accessible route from the west of Formby. It was reported that in future Merseyrail must consult with Sefton Arc before closing the crossings. See item 24.1 for further discussion.
The meeting was reconvened.
20.0 Minutes of the Previous Meeting
20.1 Minutes of the Annual meeting held on 18 May 2026
Amendments were asked to be made for the following items:
Minute 5.1 Add a further sentence to say: Cllr Bennett commented that members of the publics letters/complaints to Sefton Council go missing into a black hole and should be copied to the Parish Clerk so that we have a record of each complaint submitted.
Minute 5.2 Amend to read: A resident addressed the Council regarding “Mass migration crisis across the country. Can the Council clarify whether there are any current proposals, discussions, or plans involving any use of hotels, temporary accommodation or housing in our local area and surrounding communities for accommodating migrants or asylum seekers? If there are any plans, what information can be shared with residents?”
It was resolved that the minutes of the annual meeting held on 18 May 2026 were approved as a correct record subject to amendments above and signed by the Chairman.
21.0 Matters of Report from Previous Meeting
21.1 Cllr Cavanagh informed members that item 12.1 Formby Swimming Pool Trust planning application and item 12.2 Bushby’s Lane planning application have both been called in by Ward Cllr Harvey.
21.2 To note the wording for the sign at Duke Street Park has been approved and the play equipment ordered. (Finance and Environment minutes refer).
21.3 To note the Chindit Memorial project is proceeding, with approval from the landowner.
22.0 Chairman’s Report
There was no Chairman’s report
23.0 Planning Applications
23.1 Green Lane Conservation Area – Jungle Play signage
An appeal has been submitted to keep the signage for the play centre.
24.0 To discuss and approve the following.
24.1 To discuss and make recommendations to Sefton Council Highways regarding traffic and parking near the beach.
Members discussed the parking issues at the beach. It was suggested that a public consultation take place with the residents so they can express their views and offer suggestions to improve the traffic. Cllrs suggested Temporary Traffic Orders could be installed from May to September to create red routes for the Emergency Services. Another suggestion was for vehicles only allowed to park on one side of the road to enable traffic movement in both directions.
It was agreed that a consultation with residents would be undertaken.
24.2 To discuss and approve the quotes for the restoration of the old village stocks and cross.
The Clerk reported that she had consulted with the Heritage Officer, who had made some suggestions which were being pursued. It was noted that the companies were on the approved list held by the Heritage Officer as the stocks and cross are grade II listed. The companies quoting were stonemasons and could not do the wood repairs to the stocks. A further quote is needed for the wood elements, but this will need to be done at the same time as the stone repairs. Members discussed whether to lift the stocks rather than repair in situ, removing the old concrete at the base. The Clerk reported that the Heritage Officer had recommended covering the old concrete base with soil to disguise it.
It was resolved to set a budget of up to £10,000 for the restoration of the old village stocks and cross and to delegate to the Finance Group the detail of agreeing the quotes.
25.0 Payments
- Employer expenses – £2,060.36
- Office lease, Sefton MBC – £291.66
- Office phone and broadband, BT – £18.62
- Grant for cakes and lifeboat celebration, Formby WI – £100.00
- Blue plaque lifeboat celebration, Signs Of The Times Ltd – £587.44
- Data protection annual fee, Information Commissioner’s Office – £47.00
- Subscription, Zoom – £167.88
- Formby 250 event posters, ABC Design & Communications Ltd – £220.80
- Chindit memorial, Paul Ennis & Company Ltd – £6,000.00
- Refreshments for memorial meeting, named person – £27.75
- postage, named person – £9.95
- Marquee hire 250 events, A-Z Marquees Ltd – £550.00
- Disco 250 celebration, named person – £150.00
- 4 x singers/groups 250 celebrations, named people – £800.00
- Book for 250 celebrations, ABC Design & Communications Ltd – £3,342.72
- Face painter 250 celebrations, named person – £150.00
Total £14,524.18
It was resolved to make the payments as listed above.
26.0 The following reports were noted (circulated with the agenda):
- Minutes of the Finance and General Purposes Group Meeting
- Minutes of the Environment Group Meeting
27.0 Date of Next Meeting:
The next Ordinary meeting of Formby Parish Council will be held on Monday 20 July 2026 7pm, at Formby Library, Duke Street, Formby.
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