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
20 April 2026
Present: Maria Bennett (Chairman), Colin Appleton, Derek Baxter, Sandra Baxter, Dawn Brodie, Jill Butler, Karen Cavanagh, Dave Irving, Yvonne Irving, Leo Kolassa, Mike Weild and Paul Wiencke.
In Attendance: Claire Jenkins (Clerk), 7 members of the public and 1 representative from Merseyside Police.
Before the meeting started, a representative from Merseyside Police was invited to join the meeting to speak with the Parish Council regarding antisocial behaviour in Formby. There has been an increased Police presence in Formby over the last 3 – 4 weeks. Their working model has changed to operating under a VCU model. There will be designated officers on patrol in Formby all the time, including the response team and the neighbourhood police team, which means that the response time will be quicker as an officer will be in the area. There have been youths from Crosby and Hightown who travel on the train network causing antisocial behaviour in Formby. Arrests have been made in relation to their behaviour across Sefton. Relations have been improved with the local shops, encouraging them to report shop thefts, which have led to an increase in arrests being made. Cllr Bennett commented that some of the elderly residents feel very intimidated by young people being dressed all in black with balaclavas. A recent Police operation was run from Hightown to Formby on the footpath towards the beach running through Altcar following an increase in electric bikes being used by youths causing problems. The helicopter and drone teams have been up with Police Officers at each end of the path which led to a bike being ceased and an arrest being made. The Police encourage reports to be made by members of the public in relation to antisocial behaviour and disruptive behaviour with e-bikes and ask for descriptions of the bikes and people to help with their enquiries.
Cllr Appleton asked what effect will the increased Police presence have on response rates for non-antisocial crimes such as theft from houses? These crimes should still be reported by either using the online or by calling 999 or 111. There is a dedicated Command team operating across Sefton who are now responsible for investigating local crimes.
Cllr Kolassa asked if there will be a physical presence walking the streets and how often this will take place? Police Officers will be on foot during the daytime across Formby. There will always be designated cars within Formby and Hightown area which will increase response times.
Cllr Bennett asked if Formby Police Station would be reopened to the public in the future? This would be a decision made by the Command team. The station currently is used by the local Police Officers and interviews with suspects do take place here.
The Police officer asked if there is an update on the CCTV connection to Sefton Arc at Duke Street Park. Cllr Cavanagh confirmed that recently there have been changes made supported by Formby Parish Council, the Ward Cllrs and Green Sefton clearing out areas of the park making it more open and stopping people hiding there. The CCTV will be connected to Sefton Arc soon.
105.0 Apologies for Absence
105.1 There were apologies received from Cllrs L Brodie, D Dutton, and J Riley.
106.0 Members Declaration of Interest
106.1 Cllr M Bennett declared an interest in item 112.7.
107.0 Public Forum
The meeting was adjourned for this item.
107.1 Footfall in Formby Village
A member of the public expressed concern about the number of shops that have closed in the village over the past year and asked the Parish Council about what can be done about the impact on the footfall in the village.
Over the years, the Parish Council have tried to get free parking in the area, encourage more people to come into the village. Shops were offering refunds on parking in Sumner Road car park. Formby Parish Council have no control over the rates or the rents on the shops in the village. It is a challenging time for businesses who struggling with the high rents and rates.
Cllr D Irving informed the resident that a meeting took place about 18 months ago with the developer of the employment site on the bypass. They advocated that although it is an employment site, they could not justify going ahead with it as they needed financial backing which would come from Marks and Spencer and Lidl. The Parish Council was genuinely concerned with the businesses leaving Formby Village and raised an objection about this. Aldi is due to open in Ainsdale and the hope is that this will stop more supermarkets opening on Formby bypass. Cllr Cavanagh said there have been several meetings with Marks and Spencer who do not want to stay in Formby Village and want to open a larger store at the new development which would increase employment.
Cllr Cavanagh and Bennett are going to be meeting with some of the local businesses. As Formby train station does not open directly into the village unlike Ainsdale and Birkdale stations, the Ward Cllrs are hoping to install more signage directing people to the village including banners encouraging people to shop locally. Parking is free in the village after 6pm.
107.2 Brackenway
A member of the public addressed the Council regarding a rodent infestation. The resident lives at the end of Paradise Lane near the old Kenton Wood stables which are now part of the Brackenway development site. Over the past 6 months the rats have been found in the cavity wall and burrowing from the stables. Odours first started in the bathroom and have spread across the house. Pest control has been out and could not find any entry points from outside of the house and recommended getting a drainage specialist to see if they were getting in the house through the pipes. A drainage specialist with heat detection devises found a rat burrow coming from the stables. The resident’s specialist looked in the stables and found at least a hundred breeding pairs in there. Mary Bowlers have had pest control come out to shoot rats, with over fourteen rats shot in 1 hour. Due to the development works taking place on Brackenway, the rats are coming towards the houses and have been found in drains across the local area. Environmental Health have encouraged the developer to clear the site. Sefton Council have said that they cannot clear the nesting material due to nesting birds. The Parish Council will write to Taylor Wimpey, Sefton Council and to Environmental Health with regards to this problem and arrange a meeting.
107.3 West Lane
A resident addressed the Council regarding the works taking place at West Lane. The resident has submitted several formal complaints to Sefton Council and Redrow regarding the works that took place with the heavy-duty machinery causing vibrations within five meters of their house. The resident has done some research on the Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) and spoken to Alan McGing at Sefton Council. It became apparent that the CEMP, particularly one of the conditions, wasn’t in place and these works have been taken place, the resident have felt they have been ignored and intimidated by the works taking place so close to their home which has caused cups to fall off shelves due to the vibrations. The resident asked if the CEMP was not in place, is this a breach of the planning conditions for the site? Cllr Baxter informed the resident that Formby Parish Council has submitted a complaint to the Legal Monitoring Officer accusing Sefton Council of not enforcing the breach of condition. Condition 6 (Piling) has not been passed and is a Condition Precedent which is important as works cannot take place until this condition has been discharged. The CEMP is there to protect you when the noisiest, most industrial parts of the development and this was not in place. When we wrote to the monitoring officer, they said all development has now stopped and they suggested that they have intervened. Cllr Baxter cannot see any evidence of any enforcement notices and has sent in a Freedom of Information Request to find out the earliest date that Sefton Council were aware of this breach.
The residents have reported that a digger and portacabins has been reinstalled today. The residents are concerned about the future vibrations and structural damage on the house. There is supposed to be vibration monitoring in place, and this has not been in the public domain or shared with the residents to placate their concerns. We need to be fully informed about the future works and piling; there needs to be a more proactive approach from the developer responding to issues.
The meeting was reconvened.
108.0 Minutes of the Previous Meeting
108.1 Minutes of the Ordinary meeting held on 16 March 2026
It was resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 2026 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
109.0 Matters of Report from Previous Meeting
109.1 There were no matters of report.
110.0 Chairman’s Report
110.1 There was no Chairman’s Report
111.0 Planning Applications
111.1 10 Flats above Marks and Spencer
An application has been submitted to convert the gym above Marks and Spencer to 5 x 1 bed apartments and 5 x 2 bed apartments. The application will need fifteen car parking spaces, and the application is only for ten. There is no amenity space, and detrimental to the community infrastructure asset as the car park space is needed for the community.
112.0 To Discuss and Resolve the following.
112.1 To approve an earmarked reserve of £31,944 for the provision of play equipment for Duke Street Park, to be released subject to the approval of the wording for the sign acknowledging the Parish Council’s contribution.
It was resolved to approve the earmarked reserve of £31,944 for the provision of play equipment for Duke Street Park.
112.2 To note the quote to replant the tree outside Waterfield’s and provide additional soil and bark chippings, as approved by the Environment Group of £795 plus vat.
Members noted the quote to replant the tree outside Waterfield’s for £795 plus vat.
112.3 To note the Highways Licence fee of £1,585 for the Chindit Memorial to be funded from the earmarked reserve for that project.
Members noted the Highways Licence fee of £1,585 for the Chindit Memorial.
112.4 To approve the following (updates) to policies in line with the revised audit recommendations:
- IT Policy
- Privacy Policy
- Social Media and Electronic Communication Policy
It was resolved to approve the IT Policy, Privacy Policy and Social Media and Electronic Communication Policy.
112.5 To approve a budget of £6,000 for the Lifeboat Anniversary Celebration – Finance minutes 8.04.26 refer.
It was resolved to approve a budget of £6,000 for the Lifeboat Anniversary Celebration.
112.6 To note the cost of £1,100 plus vat for the review of the Construction, Environmental Management Plan (version 11) and other technical documents submitted by the developer of the West Lane Site – Finance minutes 10.04.26 refer.
Members noted the cost of £1,100 plus vat for the review of the Construction, Environmental Management Plan
112.7 To approve an estimate of up to £5,000 for an opinion of merits on the strength of the case for a Judicial Review, in the event of the planning authority failing to demonstrate consideration of the geo technical report submitted by the Parish Council for the condition 6 on piling at West Lane.
A vote was taken and all members agreed to ask for an opinion of merits, in the event of the planning authority failing to demonstrate consideration of the geo technical report on condition 6 on piling at West Lane.
It was resolved to approve an estimate of up to £5,000 for an opinion of merits on the strength of the case for a Judicial Review.
113.0 Payments
- Employer expenses – £2,052.10
- Office lease, Sefton MBC – £291.66
- Office phone and broadband, BT – £77.90
- Ruby Package, Krystal Hosting Ltd – £132.00
- Domain, Krystal Hosting Ltd – £12.00
- Village tree, Aberforce Group Ltd – £954.00
- Geo Technical Report, Enviro Solutions Ltd – £1,320.00
- Tree Planting 2025, Sefton MBC – £10,000.00
Total – £14,839.66
It was resolved to make the payments as listed above.
114.0 The following reports were noted (circulated with the agenda):
- Minutes of the Finance and General Purposes Group Meetings
- Minutes of the Environment Group Meeting
115.0 Date of Next Meeting:
The next Annual meeting of Formby Parish Council will be held on Monday 18 May 2026, 7pm, at Formby Library, Duke Street, Formby.
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