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
19 January 2026
Present: Maria Bennett (Chairman), Colin Appleton, Derek Baxter, Sandra Baxter, Dawn Brodie, Jill Butler, Karen Cavanagh, David Dutton, Dave Irving, Leo Kolassa, Mike Weild and Paul Wiencke.
In Attendance: Claire Jenkins (Clerk) and three members of the public.
72.0 Apologies for Absence
72.1 There were apologies received from Cllrs L Brodie, Y Irving, and Riley.
73.0 Members Declaration of Interest
73.1 There were no declarations of interest declared.
74.0 Public Forum
The meeting was adjourned for this item.
74.1 West Lane Development
Residents addressed the Council regarding the West Lane development. The residents reported that they received no consultation about the development before the plans were submitted. They have been experiencing their houses shaking and items in the houses have been moving due to the shaking. Large vehicles carrying rubble and soil have left the road in a poor state and they report it is deteriorating. They are concerned the piling that will be done is the most intrusive option possible, considering the development site is surrounded by housing, they want a quieter more community focused piling method. They would like some advice as to what they can do and if they could see a copy of the piling report that the Parish Council have commissioned.
Cllr Baxter advised that the report will be submitted by the end of the consultation period (22 January). Cllr Baxter understood that the developer should not be able to start work on the site until the Construction and Environmental Plan has been agreed and yet works have been started. The Parish Council have written to Head of Planning at Sefton Council regarding this issue, and we are awaiting a response. The Environmental Health officers at Sefton Council, have stated that they are not qualified geoengineers and cannot comment on the technical aspects of the developer’s geo technical report. For this reason, the Parish Council commissioned an independent report. The problem with challenging the planning decision is that you cannot bring to the Secretary of State a discharge of conditions application, which is what this is. The only avenue of challenge is a judicial review which is expensive. Residents have been advised to write to Head of Planning at Sefton Council. We will publish the report and our response to planning on our website.
74.2 ABL Health
A community engagement officer from ABL Health addressed the Council. They have been commissioned by Sefton Public Health to deliver smoking cessation sessions across Sefton. If there is anyone is interested in quitting smoking, they can call 0300 100 1000 and they will be able to tell them where the nearest session is. There is a monetary incentive to quit smoking, £50 for the first month and £50 for the second month plus the money they save from not smoking. They use CO2 monitors to check on and see the improvement on your health. If anyone is interested in becoming a smoking cessation officer, they should also get in touch. Currently, Southport is the nearest clinic, Cllr Bulter has said that the sessions used to run in Formby Clinic before the pandemic, and she believes there is capacity at the clinic for it to be held there again.
The meeting was reconvened.
75.0 Minutes of the Previous Meeting
75.1 Minutes of the Ordinary meeting held on 17 November 2025
It was resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 17 November 2025 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
76.0 Matters of Report from Previous Meeting
76.1 Item 68.3 Letter to Sefton Council regarding Section 106 developer contributions in the Formby area.
It was noted that there hasn’t been a response from Sefton yet. It was agreed to send a freedom of information request regarding this.
77.0 Chairman’s Report
77.1 The Chairman thanked everyone who helped to pack the Christmas Hampers at the Methodist Church, it was a very smooth day and was done extremely quickly. We also delivered a small gift to residents attending the Luncheon Club Christmas lunch which was well received.
77.2 Community Centre
It was noted that the Gild Hall is no longer available, as a lease agreement is being drawn up for another interested party. The Parish Council will continue to look at other options for a Community Centre.
78.0 Planning Applications
78.1 Number Plate Recognition at National Trust
There are plans to put number plate recognition at the National Trust carparks, this would affect people who go down early in the morning to quickly walk their dogs or late in the evening. It was agreed to respond to this application and request free resident access at certain times.
78.2 Chindit Memorial
A planning application has been submitted for a monument at Harington Road shops. The hopes are that it will be in place by VJ Day.
78.3 Shorrocks Hill
It was reported that a complaint relating to Shorrocks Hill, has been submitted to Sefton Council and the Ombudsman by the Civic Society.
79.0 To Discuss and Resolve the following.
79.1 To receive the budget report and approve the budget for 2026-27 (Finance minutes refer).
It was resolved to approve the budget for 2026-27.
79.2 To approve the precept for 2026-27 (Finance minute refer).
The precept for Formby is collected by Sefton Council along with their council tax demand. The tax base for Formby as advised by Sefton Council is 9378.1. Each year the tax base is calculated based on the number of properties on the banding list on 30 November. This figure is adjusted for the number of properties subject to discounts, exemptions, premiums, and council tax support on the same date on the Council’s council tax system. Further adjustments are made for anticipated changes during the year and for non-collection. The calculation is set out in the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012. The funding that is provided to the Parish Council is based on an average band d property. For residents with properties on other bands (higher or lower) the actual precept amount paid is adjusted according to Sefton Councils calculations.
It was resolved to approve the precept for 2026-27 with an increase of £0.99 per band d property per annum.
79.3 To approve the purchase of 2 sets of liners for the window box hanging baskets (Environment minutes refer).
It was resolved to approve the purchase of 2 sets of liners for the window box hanging baskets.
79.4 To discuss a request to fund the CCTV maintenance for Duke Street Park.
Members discussed the request for an additional CCTV column to be installed at the rose garden end of Duke Street Park and link in with Sefton Arc. A radio transmitter will be installed at the camera at the shops to connect it to the new CCTV column. A tree may need to be removed so that the camera can see the whole of the park or put the column in a different place which will incur an additional cost of £4,000.
It was resolved to defer this item until it has been discussed further at the Environment Meeting.
79.5 To earmark £30,000 to add to the Community Centre project fund.
It was resolved to earmark £30,000 to add to the Community Centre project fund.
80.0 Payments
December 2025 Payments
- Employer expenses – £2048.94
- Office lease, Sefton MBC – £291.66
- Office phone and broadband, BT – £77.90
- Compere Christmas Lights event, named person – £200.00
- Traffic management, Dowhigh Ltd – £1,152.00
- Security Christmas event, Matrix Security – £884.00
- Stage Hire, XS Events – £3,540.00
- Food for hampers, Parfetts – £810.45
- Food for hampers, Tesco – £39.50
- Food for hampers, Tesco – £39.50
- Food for hampers, Tesco – £39.50
- Food for hampers, Tesco – £15.80
- Food for hampers, Tesco – £103.50
- Lease for Heritage Centre, Imagine Formby CIC – £6,500
- Boxes for hampers, Kite Packaging Ltd – £351.78
- Food for hampers, Tesco – £250.00
- Food for hampers, Tesco – £36.00
- Food for hampers, Bookers – £2,545.67
- Food for hampers, Tesco – £18.00
- Food for hampers, Iceland – £18.00
- Report on piling, Envirosolution Ltd – £720.00
- Food for hampers, Costco – £82.68
Total £19,764.88
January 2026 Payments
- Employers expenses – £2,048.94
- Office lease, Sefton MBC – £291.66
- Office phone and broadband, BT – £77.90
- Suspension of parking bay, Sefton MBC – £375.00
- Planning application fee, Planning Portal – £234.00
- Set up fee for Junior Park Run, Park Run UK – £4,000.00
- Annual contract 50%, Illumidex Ltd – £2,058.00
- Compost for community gardening group, Huys Gray – £30.43
Total £9,115.93
It was resolved to make the payments as listed above.
81.0 The following reports were noted (circulated with the agenda):
- Minutes of the Finance and General Purposes Group Meeting
- Minutes of the Environment Group Meeting
82.0 Date of Next Meeting:
The next Ordinary meeting of Formby Parish Council will be held on Monday 16 February 2026, 7pm, at Formby Library, Duke Street, Formby.
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