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 MEETING
Present: Maria Bennett (Chairman), Derek Baxter, Sandra Baxter, Dawn Brodie, Jill Butler, Karen Cavanagh, Helen Duerdon, Kevin Haygarth, Dave Irving, Yvonne Irving, Liz Mercer and Carol Richards.
In Attendance: Claire Jenkins (Clerk) and 1 member of the public
93.0 Apologies for Absence
There were apologies received from Cllrs L. Brodie, Prescott and Weild.
94.0 Members Declaration of Interest
94.1 There were no declarations of interest.
95.0 Public Forum
The meeting was adjourned for this item.
There were no members of the public who wished to address the Council.
The meeting was reconvened.
96.0 Minutes of the Previous Meeting
96.1 Minutes of the Ordinary meeting held on 19 February 2024
It was resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 19 February 2024 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
97.0 Matters of Report from Previous Meeting
There were no matters of report.
98.0 Chairman’s Report
There was no Chairman’s report.
99.0 Planning Applications
99.1 Morris Homes application – it was noted that there have been complaints from residents that the finished floor level (FFL) of the Morris Homes site is too high.
The residents on Monks Drive, who back onto the development, had previously been re-assured by the Planning Officers (the officer’s report on the original application, stated that the FFL was set at a maximum of 80cm to protect the amenity of the gardens on Monks Drive which these new houses will overlook).
The residents and Cllrs took some measurements and found that the FFL is considerably higher than that which was stipulated. They estimated the FFL to be 1.3m above the original land height so .5m above the maximum permitted. Following an objection raised by the Parish Council, the developer has now submitted a change of conditions application. On reviewing the change of condition application, the land at the back of 18 Monks Drive has gone up from 5.6m (which was just within the 80cm maximum) to 6.3m giving a 70cm increase over the maximum. That is almost twice the maximum allowed.
Members also noted that the Neighbourhood Plan has a policy against land raising and this increase in levels appears to be for no valid reason and points to the developer making an error, but with a direct effect on the amenity for the residents on Monks Drive. We believe the developer should have confirmed the FFL with Sefton before commencing the build.
It was reported that a change of conditions application cannot be called in by the Ward Cllrs. Members agreed to write to the Head of Planning and ask for this to be called in due to exceptional circumstances.
99.2 West Lane – members noted that the Local Plan had allocated the site for 40 houses, however the current application is for 91 dwellings (C3) one 6-bedroom supported living accommodation (C2), and a new sports pavilion with vehicle parking and access from West Lane and Brewery Lane. If approved this would provide a windfall of 52 properties. Members questioned the capacity of sewerage to accommodate the additional properties and the impact on the traffic accessing the site.
99.3 Cllr Irving reported on the number of windfall properties since the Local Plan inception. For the Local Plan period to date there have been 265 approvals for additional properties. For example, if one house is demolished and 3 houses built there is a windfall of 2 properties. However, an additional 54 houses over the Local Plan allocation have been built at the Liverpool Road site (this may not be the final number of additional properties as the build out of the site is not yet complete). And the potential 52 additional properties at West Lane if approved will give a windfall figure of minimum 371. Members discussed the problems associated with the increasing number of windfall properties and the lack of infrastructure development and the lack of open green space, noting that this number of properties is equivalent to a large development site.
100.0 To discuss and approve the following.
100.1 To approve the Service Level Agreement with Sefton Council for the maintenance of the roundabouts in Formby and the provision of a bin emptying service at the Platinum Jubilee Park for 2024-25.
It was resolved to approve the Service Level Agreement at a cost of £2445.82 net for the roundabout maintenance and £220.80 net for the bin emptying service.
100.2 To approve the cost of maintenance of the Platinum Jubilee Park for 2024-25.
It was resolved to approve the cost of £2880 net for the maintenance of the Platinum Jubilee Park.
100.3 To approve a provisional cost of watering at the Platinum Jubilee Park in the event of a prolonged dry spell for 2024-25.
It was resolved to approve the provisional cost of £3,648 net for watering the Platinum Jubilee Park in the event of a prolonged dry spell.
100.4 To approve the purchase of 2 flags for the D-Day 80th commemoration.
It was resolved to approve the purchase of 2 flags for the D-Day 80th commemoration.
100.5 To approve the quote for the flagpole maintenance.
It was resolved to approve the quote of £834.00 for the flagpole maintenance.
100.6 To note the Pride of Formby event will be held on Friday 14 June 2024.
Members noted the date for the Pride of Formby event.
100.7 To discuss whether to support a petition to re-wild the grass verges on the Formby by-pass.
Members discussed the proposal and noted the information provided by Sefton Highways and agreed that in principle Formby Parish Council would support the re-wilding of the grass verges on the by-pass, pending sight of the petition which has not yet been presented.
101.0 Payments
- employer expenses – £1,738.22
- Office lease, Sefton MBC – £250
- Office phone and broadband, BT – £70.66
- Grant, Roots and shoots toddler group – £425.00
- Swipe Card, Ravenmeols Community Centre – £20.00
- Newsletter printing, Custom Print – £662.00
- Leaflet delivery, Formby Publishing Co Ltd – £360.00
Total – £3,525.88
It was resolved to make the payments as listed above.
102.0 The following reports were noted (circulated with the agenda):
- Minutes of the Finance and General Purposes Group Meeting
- Minutes of the Environment Group Meeting
For information Cllr Richards reported that following the Environment Group meeting the following actions have been undertaken:
1 The report of 2 dead trees on Alt Road has been referred to the Ravenmeols Ward Cllrs to investigate.
2 Brewery Lane the information regarding the flooding has been forwarded to Highways.
3 Following the complaints regarding the verges on Foster Road, the Ward Cllrs have agreed to install posts on the verges to stop vehicles driving on them.
4 Following complaints regarding the Cambridge Road open green space being a mud slide between Elm Drive and Cambridge Road, the Harington Ward Cllrs have agreed to fund bark chips along the pathway.
103.0 Date of Next Meeting:
The next Ordinary meeting of Formby Parish Council will be held on Monday 15 April 2024, 7pm, at Formby Library, Duke Street, Formby.
Downloads
This file will download in Microsoft Word Format