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
16 February 2026
Present: Maria Bennett (Chairman), Colin Appleton, Derek Baxter, Sandra Baxter, Dawn Brodie, Jill Butler, Karen Cavanagh, David Dutton, Dave Irving, Yvonne Irving, Leo Kolassa, Joe Riley, Mike Weild and Paul Wiencke.
In Attendance: Claire Jenkins (Clerk) and 1 member of the public
83.0 Apologies for Absence
83.1 There were apologies received from Cllr L Brodie.
It was resolved to approve the reason for absence for Cllr L Brodie
84.0 Members Declaration of Interest
84.1 Cllrs D. Irving, Y. Irving and Cavanagh declared an interest in item 90.1 as members of Formby Civic Society.
84.2 Cllr Bennett declared an interest in item 90.3
84.3 Cllr Appleton declared an interest in item 90.5
85.0 Public Forum
The meeting was adjourned for this item.
85.1 Formby Lifeboat 250th Anniversary Commemoration.
A member of the Formby Civic Society addressed the Council regarding the Formby Lifeboat 250th Anniversary Commemoration. They are asking Formby Parish Council to become a partner in the Lifeboat 250th Anniversary celebrations taking place 27th and 28th June 2026 including some events in the Platinum Jubilee Park with live acts, events in the Village, Formby High choir is putting on a concert on Wednesday 24th June and another concert on 26th at the Methodist Church. 2026 marks the 250th Anniversary since the establishment of the first lifeboat station in the world founded in Formby. We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to the Parish Council for the support you have shown over the last 2 years for the Heritage Centre, without your backing, Formby Civic Society and Imagine Formby would not have been able to safeguard the very history that we are about to celebrate. We have explored external funding opportunities from Wetherspoons who are unable to help as their charitable donations this year are going to a children’s cancer charity. Securing funding for heritage events has become increasingly difficult. The event will be an opportunity for Formby to celebrate something truly unique, something that no other town in Britain or the world can claim. This anniversary gives us the opportunity to promote Formby positively, beyond our boundaries, stoke community pride, engage younger generations with our heritage and leave a lasting legacy for interpretation and education. We are not asking the Parish Council simply for funding, we are asking you to stand alongside us as a partner to help support and give civic weight in what should be one of the most significant events in Formby’s recent history. The Parish Council has already demonstrated their commitment to heritage and community life and with your partnership, the celebration can reflect the scale and importance of this achievement. We have written letters to invite the Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside who is coming to the event, the Mayor of Liverpool, Mayor of Sefton who is coming to the event, the Metro Mayor and to the King about the event.
The meeting was reconvened.
86.0 Minutes of the Previous Meeting
86.1 Minutes of the Ordinary meeting held on 19 January 2026
It was resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 19 January 2026 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
87.0 Matters of Report from Previous Meeting
There were no matters of report
88.0 Chairman’s Report
88.1 I have personally, in my own name and as a resident living adjacent to the site on West Lane, submitted a complaint to the ombudsman in respect of the piling condition. I have declared an interest in this planning application.
88.2 Many local traders are raising concerns about the state of the village with the number of independent traders closing, 4 this month. This appears to relate to when leases are coming to an end that the landlords (normally asset management companies based in London) are hiking up the rents making it impossible to extend their leases. Whist we have no control over what landlords’ charge, it is having a huge impact on our Village, and we may need to have a look at who we need to contact to see if we can persuade them to be more in tune with the village and its needs. I doubt we will have any effect at all but if we don’t do something now and try our village will disappear.
89.0 Planning Applications
89.1 43 Bushby’s Lane
The property has now been sold and once a planning application has been submitted to Sefton MBC, then we can request to view the ecological report.
89.2 Formby Employment site
The application will be up for consideration next week.
89.3 Windfall properties
There are now 341 extra houses and flats in addition to the development sites allocated by the Sefton Local Plan.
89.4 Section 106 money
A request was made asking for information regarding the expenditure of section 106 funding made by developers in Formby. Sefton MBC should respond by 18th February.
90.0 To Discuss and Resolve the following.
90.1 To receive a proposal to work in partnership with the Formby Civic Society to support the Formby Lifeboat 250th anniversary commemoration.
It was resolved to approve the proposal to work in partnership to support the Formby Lifeboat 250th anniversary commemoration.
90.2 To approve a community fund application for the Formby Luncheon Club (Finance minutes refer).
Members discussed the application for £3,000 to cover the costs of the minibus including fuel, insurance and service costs. A lot of the funding that they received in the past has dried up.
It was resolved to approve the community fund application for £3,000 to cover the costs of the minibus.
90.3 To discuss whether to take legal advice for a potential judicial review if Sefton Council determine the application for West Lane, without demonstrating a lawful multidisciplinary approach to determining Best Practicable Means (BPM) for piling applications.
A letter has been sent to the Chief Executive at Sefton Council outlining our concerns regarding the piling at West Lane and detailing the outcome of our report. The report that we commissioned was contradictory to the developers report and said that they could do bored piling which is the quieter piling method and preferable from our point of view. The only consultee that looks at these matters are the Environmental Health Officers, but they have stated that they are not qualified to assess whether they have achieved best practicable means when it comes to piling as that is a geotechnical assessment. In the latest response from the Head of Planning, he has said that it is not in their remit or their business to determine best practical means and furthermore they have no intention of getting anyone in to assess it. Cllr Baxter said that he thinks that they should change their way of determining this and ensure that they can properly appraise the geotechnical evidence because they do have an obligation to keep the harm of development down to a minimum as stated in the Town and Country Planning Act and the NPPF. There was a heated debate regarding the potential cost of a judicial review, and it was agreed that this was to approve obtaining a quote for legal advice only and any decision to apply for a judicial review would require further discussion by the Parish Council.
It was resolved to get a quote for legal advice for a potential judicial review regarding the West Lane Development.
90.4 To approve funding for purchase and installation of new play equipment for Duke Street Park at £31,943.16 plus the cost of a plaque.
Members discussed the purchase of the two items of play equipment and the provision of a plaque or noticeboard stating that Formby Parish Council have paid for the play equipment. Cllr Cavanagh stated that the Ward Cllrs were providing funding for improvements to the park, together with section 106 funding and that there would be a noticeboard stating all the funding contributions including the Parish Council. There was some disagreement regarding the noticeboard as members stated that the Parish Council had made a significant financial contribution to the Smithy Green playpark but felt that there was no recognition of this by the Ward Cllrs at that time. Members wanted to make sure that this time there would be recognition of the Parish Councils funding.
It was resolved to approve the funding for the purchase and installation of new play equipment for Duke Street Park at £31,943.16 plus the cost of a plaque or noticeboard, acknowledging the contribution of the Parish Council.
90.5 To approve a community fund application for Formby Cricket, Hockey and Squash Club (Finance Minutes refer)
Formby Cricket, Hockey and Squash Club are asking for £5,000 to finish their lighting project.
It was resolved to approve the community fund application for £5,000 to complete the lighting project.
91.0 Payments
February 2026 Payments
- Employer expenses – £2,080.64
- Office lease, Sefton MBC – £291.66
- Office phone and broadband, BT – £77.90
- Window box liners and 2 x 3 tier planters, Plantscape – £2,276.40
- Start up for junior parkrun, Parkrun Ltd – £4,800.00
Total – £9,526.60
It was resolved to make the payments as listed above.
92.0 The following reports were noted (circulated with the agenda):
- Minutes of the Finance and General Purposes Group Meeting
- Minutes of the Environment Group Meeting
93.0 Date of Next Meeting:
The next Ordinary meeting of Formby Parish Council will be held on Monday 16 March 2026, 7pm, at Formby Library, Duke Street, Formby.
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