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 November 2025
Present: Maria Bennett (Chairman), Derek Baxter, Sandra Baxter, Dawn Brodie, Jill Butler, Karen Cavanagh, Dave Irving, Yvonne Irving, Joe Riley, Mike Weild and Paul Wiencke.
In Attendance: Claire Jenkins (Clerk) and three members of the public.
61.0 Apologies for Absence
61.1 There were apologies received from Cllrs Appleton, L Brodie.
62.0 Members Declaration of Interest
62.1 Cllrs D Irving, Y Irving and Cavanagh declared an interest in item 68.4 and took no part in the discussion.
63.0 Public Forum
The meeting was adjourned for this item.
63.1 Gild Hall
A resident addressed the Council asking for an update on the community asset for the Gild Hall. Cllr Bennett informed him that there were no further updates, but that it would be discussed later in the meeting.
63.2 Football services across Formby
A member of the community, who has been a football referee for many years, addressed the Council regarding the lack of/or poor changing room and toilet facilities across Sefton. He complained about the lack of toilets on the grounds where the players must resort to using a bush. There is a safeguarding issue with no separate changing rooms for the referees to use. He also addressed the Council regarding the Formby Football club that has closed and asked if there is anything else that the Council can do to re-open the facilities again for the community to use.
63.3 Clinic Services
A resident addressed the Council regarding the lack of appointments at clinics in the area for routine procedures such as wound dressings. They asked if there was anything that the Council could do to help.
63.4 Formby Heritage Centre
A member from Formby Civic Society addressed the Council. The Heritage Centre has a large archive of Formby which includes 600 paintings of Formby by Muriel Sibley, 7000 photographs 1930s – 2010, 200 historic photographs, 22 scrap books with cuttings dating back to 1910 and film footage from 1932 of the Formby Show, films from 1960s – 1990s with footage of how Formby has changed. They also have surviving records of the final launch of the lifeboat from Formby Lifeboat Station (built in 1776). Since opening the Heritage Centre in 2022, it has become a vibrant and well used community space which is used by community groups and school groups who learn about their local area. They are asking for help from the Parish Council to keep the centre open as the owner of the building can no longer give the space to them to use free of charge. It was noted that this item was for discussion later in the meeting.
The meeting was reconvened.
64.0 Minutes of the Previous Meeting
64.1 Minutes of the Ordinary meeting held on 20 October 2025
It was resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 2025 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
65.0 Matters of Report from Previous Meeting
There were no matters of report.
66.0 Chairman’s Report
66.1 The Chairman went to the Remembrance Sunday service at Holy Trinity and laid the wreaths for Formby and Little Altcar Parish Council. There were negative comments towards the Parish Council about the cancellation of the parade to the memorial due to the bad weather, however, the Parish Council do not organise the Remembrance Services, the British Legion does this. The Chairman suggested meeting with the British Legion to ask if we can have a service at the memorial gardens at 11am on Remembrance Sunday, rather than a church service at 3pm.
66.2 The Chairman reminded Cllrs that the Christmas Lights Switch on is taking place on Thursday 20th November and asked for volunteers to help run the day. The Chairman also reminded members that we will be packing the Christmas Hampers on 15th and 16th December in Formby Methodist Church.
66.3 Update on Formby and Little Altcar Parish Council merger
The Clerk spoke with the Electoral Services Manager, who has said that he is going to write to the residents of Little Altcar to explain the proposal, what a community governance review is, the timeline and the impact that the local government review had on the process and invite any comments. He asked what the name of the proposed Council would be, members agreed that the name should be Formby and Little Altcar Parish Council.
67.0 Planning Applications
No new planning applications to discuss.
67.1 Conservation Areas in Formby
Cllr Cavanagh asked if we could create a new conservation area in Formby. Cllr Irving informed members that we can only do this when we next review our neighbourhood plan.
68.0 To Discuss and Resolve the following.
68.1 To receive written applications for the office of Parish Councillor and to co-opt two candidates to fill the vacancies.
It was resolved to co-opt Mr David Dutton to the Parish Council to represent Harington Ward.
It was resolved to co-opt Mr Leo Kolassa to the Parish Council to represent Harington Ward.
68.2 To discuss and approve a budget of £750 to purchase a small gift for the elderly residents attending the Luncheon Club Christmas party.
It was resolved to approve a budget of £750 to purchase a small gift for the elderly residents attending the Luncheon Club Christmas party.
68.3 To discuss and approve the submission of a letter to Sefton Council requesting transparency of information for the allocation of Section 106 developer contributions in the Formby area.
It was resolved to approve the letter and send it to Sefton Council requesting transparency of information for the allocation of Section 106 developer contributions in the Formby area.
68.4 To discuss and approve the application for funding for the Heritage Centre lease for 2026 at a cost of £6,500.
Members discussed the benefits of the Heritage Centre for Formby and agreed that it is a valuable community asset and would not want the centre to close. The company that the lease is under has now been dissolved and members asked for clarification on who the lease is with.
It was resolved to approve the funding for the Heritage Centre lease for 2026 at a cost of £6,500 subject to clarifying the lease and the name of the organisation the payment is to be made out to.
68.5 To discuss the Gild Hall and St Jerome’s Church Hall lease opportunity for a community centre and to decide whether to take any further action.
Members of the Parish Council went to view St Jerome’s Church Hall and the Gild Hall. It was decided that St Jerome’s was not in an ideal location as not central to Formby. The Gild Hall is in a suitable location being closer to the centre of Formby. However, many fixtures and fittings have been removed from the Gild Hall including the stage, hand dryers, and all furnishings. There is also damp and damage to the walls. On the positive side the space upstairs would be ideal for the Heritage Centre, if a lift were installed to make it accessible, leaving the downstairs rooms as function rooms for hire. The lease is £40,000 per annum with a suggested term of 5 years. Further consideration and a draft business case would need to be drawn up to identify the finances involved in both bringing the building back into use and running this as a community centre.
It was suggested that we should consult with residents. The question was also asked whether the archdiocese would consider selling the Gild Hall to us and the Clerk will contact them to find out.
It was resolved to draw up a business case and undertake a consultation with the residents.
68.6 To discuss and approve the quote for a mixed native hedge for the Platinum Jubilee at a cost of £2,955 plus vat.
It was resolved to approve the quote for a mixed native hedge for the Platinum Jubilee at a cost of £2,955 plus vat.
68.7 To discuss and approve the employment of a consultant to undertake a piling report at West Lane.
It was resolved to approve the employment of a consultant to undertake a piling report West Lane.
69.0 Payments
- Employer expenses – £2,048.94
- Office lease, Sefton MBC – £291.66
- Office phone and broadband, BT – £77.90
- Leaflets, Solopress – £26.39
- Office software, Microsoft – £104.99
- Delivery of leaflets, Formby Publishing Co Ltd – £360.00
- Maintenance tree lights, Illumidex UK Ltd – £3,384.00
- Purchase of Xmas tree, installation, removal, labour to install lights, Illumidex UK Ltd – £2,652.00
- Removal of temp cabling, installation of new cabling rectifiers and Wiska boxes, Illumidex UK Ltd – £2,316.00
- Supply and install spiral lighting and new roundabout tree, Illumidex UK Ltd – £3,504.00
- 50% annual contract to install, remove and store Xmas lights, Illumidex UK Ltd – £2,058.00
- Spring bulbs, JC Landscape & Horticulture – £168.00
- Winter planting and new centre cones, JC Landscape & Horticulture – £3,408.00
- Wreath and crosses donation, Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal – £27.50
- First Aid Switch On, Chorley’s Angels – £200.00
- Grant Formby Library garden group, Formby Library – £1,500
Total £22,127.38
It was resolved to make the payments as listed above.
70.0 The following reports were noted (circulated with the agenda):
- Minutes of the Finance and General Purposes Group Meeting
- Minutes of the Environment Group Meeting
71.0 Date of Next Meeting:
The next Ordinary meeting of Formby Parish Council will be held on Monday 19 January 2026, 7pm, at Formby Library, Duke Street, Formby.
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