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
17 March 2025
Present: Maria Bennett (Chairman), Colin Appleton, Derek Baxter, Karen Cavanagh, Fraser Hunt, Dave Irving, Yvonne Irving, Paul Millington, Joe Riley and Paul Wiencke
In Attendance: Claire Jenkins (Clerk) and 2 members of the public
96.0 Apologies for Absence
There were apologies received from Cllrs S Baxter, D Brodie, L Brodie, J Butler and M Weild.
97.0 Members Declaration of Interest
97.1 Cllr Cavanagh declared an interest in planning matters.
98.0 Public Forum
The meeting was adjourned for this item.
98.1 A resident addressed the council about the increasing amount of litter in Formby around the Bushby’s Lane, St Luke’s Church Road and Kirklake Road area. During their daily walks, they have been collecting litter including bagged up dog litter, plastics and used nappies. They have requested a litter bin to be installed at the corner of St Luke’s Church Road and Shorrocks and another bin to be installed further down Bushby’s Lane between the beach and the Co-Op. Cllr Cavanagh reported that the Ward Cllrs have agreed funding for 4 new bins, which will be installed from St Luke’s Church Road to Victoria Road at a cost of £850 each. Cllr Cavanagh explained that it is not just the cost of the bin but the ongoing revenue cost for the bins to be emptied by Sefton Council. Cllr Cavanagh is awaiting a date of installation and will keep the resident updated.
The meeting was reconvened.
99.0 Minutes of the Previous Meeting
99.1 Minutes of the Ordinary meeting held on 17 February 2025
It was resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 17 February 2025 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
100.0 Matters of Report from Previous Meeting
There were no matters of report.
101.0 Chairman’s Report
101.1 VE Day celebrations
The Chairman asked for volunteers at the VE Day celebrations to help at the VE Day tea dance on Thursday 8th in the Gild Hall and at the family picnic on Sunday 11th May at the Platinum Jubilee Park. If anyone is interested in volunteering, please let the Clerk know.
101.2 Parish Council Correspondence
The Chairman asked Cllrs to note that if anyone would like correspondence sent from the Parish Council to an outside body then this needs to be approved by the Chairman before it is sent. The Clerk can then amend the letter if required. The only exception will be for planning when an urgent response is required.
101.3 Pedestrian Crossings
The Parish Council has received information that Sefton Council are going to install another pedestrian crossing (beacon crossing) by Riva Bar across Chapel Lane. It was noted that 5 of the 6 Ward Cllrs have objected to this due to its proximity to the existing light controlled pedestrian crossing on Chapel Lane and the Parish Cllrs agreed that other locations in Formby would benefit more from a pedestrian crossing. It was noted that Sefton Council have a list of locations for pedestrian crossings in priority order, which are reviewed by the number of recorded injury collisions and might be elsewhere in Sefton.
102.0 Planning Applications
Members noted the following:
102.1 National Trust have applied for a license to relocate the local wildlife during the construction of the new carpark and removing the rubble for the site.
102.2 Solar Farm application on North Moss Lane. Members noted that the land is not arable land, and the sheep will still be able to graze there. Members wondered if this would have an impact on migrating birds.
102.3 Edenhurst Drive – 2.5 storey house has been approved.
102.4 61 Freshfield Road application to demolish the house and build a new house.
102.5 Toilet block in Furness Avenue car park has been sold.
102.6 Proposed Employment Site – before responding to Sefton Planning, we will await the report on the site flood risk mitigation proposals.
103.0 To Discuss and Resolve
103.1 To approve the quote of £1,734.40 plus vat for additional work to the contract for Platinum Jubilee Park – Environment minutes refer
It was resolved to approve the quote of £1,734.40 plus vat for the additional work at the Platinum Jubilee Park.
103.2 To approve an earmarked sum of £10,000 for a proposed project to renovate the old village stocks situated at St Luke’s Church – Environment and Finance minutes refer.
It was resolved to approve an earmarked sum of £10,000 for proposed project to renovate the old village stocks at St Luke’s Church.
103.3 To approve the quote to remove the box plants from the large cast iron planters and replace with yew plants, to include replacement compost and labour.
Item deferred
103.4 To approve the quote for the VE Day 80 brochure of 500 copies at £980.00 plus vat – Finance minutes refer.
It was resolved to approve the quote of £980.00 plus vat for the VE Day brochure.
103.5 To approve the quote of £285 plus vat for 8 display boards for the VE Day 80 celebration events – Finance minutes refer.
The display boards will be shown at both the tea dance and family picnic along with a variety of items from the wartime gathered by the Civic Society.
It was resolved to approve the quote of £285 plus vat for the 8 display boards for the VE Day celebrations
103.6 To approve an earmarked sum of £20,000 for a proposed project for a sculpture for the Memorial Garden – Finance minutes refer.
Members discussed various options for a sculpture from different artists. A suggestion was also made that some of the money could go towards the proposed community centre and name the centre in remembrance of VE Day. It was agreed to amend the resolution to read “for a memorial in celebration of VE Day 80” so that options other than a sculpture in the Memorial Garden could be considered.
It was resolved to approve an earmarked sum of £20,000 for a proposed project for a memorial in celebration of VE Day 80.
104.0 Payments
- employer expenses – £1,879.62
- Office lease, Sefton MBC – £291.66
- Office phone and broadband, BT – £73.14
- deposit, Gild Hall – £50.00
Total – £2.294.42
It was resolved to make the payments as listed above.
105.0 The Following Reports were Noted (circulated with the agenda):
- Minutes of the Finance and General Purposes Group Meeting
- Minutes of the Environment Group Meeting
106.0 Date of Next Meeting:
The next Ordinary meeting of Formby Parish Council will be held on Monday 14 April 2025, 7pm, at Formby Library, Duke Street, Formby.
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